~B
For Sony Playstation
Developed by Big West Ltd., Bandai Visual Ltd.
This document Copyright 1999 Alan Cheng (south_neon@hotmail.com)
Version 3.0
All Rights Reserved
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Foreword (with Web sites hosting my FAQ)
2. Introduction
3. Legal Disclaimer
4. Version History
5. Interface
5.1 Load
5.2 Difficulty
5.3 Key Config
5.4 Weapon Select
5.5 Exit
6. Playing Screen
7. Main Characters
8. Game Start/Walkthrough
8.1 Phase 01:
8.2 Phase 02: Titan
8.3 Phase 03: In the Macross
8.4 Phase 04: Asteroids Belt
8.5 Phase 05: Assault Enemyship
8.6 Phase 06: Saturn
8.7 Phase 07: Big Escape
8.8 Phase 08: Ocean
8.9 Phase 09: Ruins
8.10 Phase 10: Last War
8.11 Final Phase: Do You Remember Love
9. Ending
10. Secrets/Option Plus
10.1 Finished Easy Mode
10.2 Finished Normal Mode
10.3 Finished Hard Mode
10.4 Extra in Hard Mode
11. Hints
12. GameShark Codes/DexDrive Game Save
13. Credits
1. FOREWORD
Finally a classic anime is being integrated into the Sony Playstation and
named as “The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love”. This
1982 anime had been of great hit around the globe, and although this game is
currently available in Japan, it is possible it will hit the America sooner
or later. Either way, I just can’t forget all those exciting shooting
moments, no matter it is inside the anime itself or in the game, especially
Macross signature homing missile trails.
This game, as mentioned, is developed on Sony Playstation platform, although
it was originally released on Sega Saturn also in Japan. Because of the high
replay value and the great love story(ies) lying inside the anime, huge fans
(such as ME!) of course will buy it at any cost.
Millions of thanks to those who post my FAQ to their Web sites. My FAQ can
now be found in the following locations:
- GameFAQs.com:
http://www.gamefaqs.com
- Cheat Code Central:
http://www.cheatcc.com
- Xcheater:
http://www.xcheater.com
- About.com Guide to Video Game Strategies:
http://www.vgstrategies.about.com
2. INTRODUCTION
This game is a 2 CD version, jam-packed with tons of FMVs (Full Motion
Videos) and still pictures from the movie version of Macross (it is also
named “Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love”). Because of
all those videos and pictures, the game is not super long but you can still
understand how the story progresses. After all, it’s an anime and all you
need is to see the videos and listen to how every character expresses their
feelings. Then you will get the whole picture without even understanding
what they are talking about (Note: In case you don’t know, I don’t understand
what they are talking about either :Þ).
Because the anime is such a long time ago product, I’m sorry but I forgot the
names of the characters totally. Therefore, general understanding of each
character is required. Preferably, better had watched this anime 17 years
ago, or you will be in great trouble understanding what they are doing, who
falls in love with whom, etc etc. However, I’ll still try my best to make
the characters as distinctive as possible so that you know whom I’m referring
to. And if you know the names of the characters (no matter in Japanese or
English), please don’t hesitate emailing me =)
**Update**
After doing some research, I finally have found the names of the main
characters. Credits will be followed. For those who also know the names of
the machines, please notify me. Thanks in advance.
3. LEGAL DISCLAIMER
As usual, no one enjoys writing a so-called legal disclaimer, as this is
somewhat useless and tedious. However, in order to protect all the people’s
documents, this is still required, so here you go.
This document, in whole or in part of, is the property of Alan Cheng. No one
should ever attempt to use this document to make money, or I’ll get you for
sure! This is used to guide gamers on how to beat the game only. If you
happen wanted to print a copy for yourself or your friends, go ahead. But if
you want to put it on your web site, please notify me through email
(south_neon@hotmail.com), no matter it is part of or the whole document. All
the names related to the game and the game console belongs to the property of
the respective companies. All rights reserved. Thank you for your co-
operation. Blah blah blah.
NOTE: If you want to print out this FAQ, please set your margin to 1 inch for
all the four margins, with 10 pt font and Courier New type font. This will
make up a total of 28 pages.
4. VERSION HISTORY
Version 3.0 - Another major update (and probably the final one)
(July 28, 99)- Changed technical names for enemies
- Edited the “Weapon Select” section for Machine Gun option
- Changed the name for bomb to “Smart Bomb”
- Edited the “Playing Screen” section for SDF
- Corrected relationship of Lynn Minmei and Linn Kaifun
- Changed some characters’ names and Zentradi to be consistent
- Added more new entries in Credits section
Version 2.1 – Added link to my DexDrive save of this game
(June 24, 99)- Added a new entry in Credits section
- Rearranged the order of version history (from newest to
oldest)
Version 2.0 – Major updates. Revised the whole story (including the FMVs
(June 22, 99) and still pictures in every phase) thanks to Fiefo!. Millions
of thanks :)
– Added the webmasters who helped me posted my FAQ in
their Web sites. See the Credits section for the list.
- Web sites hosting my FAQ are also listed in Foreword section.
Version 1.1 – I have done enough research to find the characters’ names. No
(June 16, 99) more singer, captain, main character, etc.
- Changed name for Robot to Battroid.
Version 1.0 - This is the beginning of this strategy guide. Future
(no date) amendments will be posted (if any).
5. INTERFACE
Personally I think the interface is quite self-explanatory, but in order to
produce a complete strategy guide, I don’t mind repeating what is on the game
manual again.
Before you really start the game, hop in the first CD into Playstation.
Prepare yourself a memory card with one free block and plug the memory card
in. Then start the game as usual.
Once started, there will be a girl saying about the background information of
the Macross story. It has text accompanied also, but both are in Japanese.
You can press start to skip it, or you can wait until the “Now Loading”
screen appears. You will then see the starting screen with Fortress Macross
in the background. It prompts you to “Press Start Button”. Do so, and you
will be given two options.
The first one, “Start”, is to start a new game. The second one is “Option”,
where you can set different things for the game. Let’s begin with the
“Option” option (eh... somewhat redundant).
- 5.1 Load
The first option in “Option” mode is loading a pre-saved game. Because you
can save your progress after finishing a stage every time, you can load the
data afterwards if you can’t finish the whole game in a day (though it won’t
take long to complete the whole game actually). Press the Circle button and
you will have the screen to load data. You can save up to 3 separate files
in a memory card. After choosing the one you desired using the D-pad, press
the Circle button again. Choose “Yes” if this is the file you want, or
choose “No” to choose another one. Press Circle button to confirm.
- 5.2 Difficulty
The second option is setting the difficulty for the game. You can set among
Easy, Normal, or Hard mode. I started out playing Normal, though it’s
already hard enough. The Hard one is really hard: Super fast enemies, super
fast missiles, and super crazy bosses. But you are not any faster or more
powerful. It all depends on your skills to play Hard. Still, the game
levels among the three are the same, so if you can remember anyone of them,
you can get it through quick easily without continuing (hopefully).
- 5.3 Key Config
The third one is configuring the command keys. Notice that ALL the commands
are in Japanese, so for those who don’t understand Japanese, you may have to
experience which button is which. To solve the problem, I’ll list all the
buttons here. Please note that these are the default configuration set by
the developers, so edit it at your own risk.
X-button:
Normal Machine Gun. Press and hold this button to have a continuing stream
of bullets. However, one strange aspect is that if you are in different
modes, you can tap this button quickly to unload all the bullets. However, I
don’t find any difference for unload all of the bullets or simply holding the
button. Strange design. More will be explained later.
Square-button:
Another important button to learn. This is the most signature weapon in
Macross, in which we usually say it is the Homing Missiles (and let’s use it
this way, shall we?). If you see enemies on the screen, quickly press and
hold the Square-button. It will automatically lock on the enemies. Once the
homing-missile bar is full, release the button and the missiles will bomb the
enemies away. However, don’t press it if there’s no enemies on the screen,
as it won’t lock onto the enemies if they suddenly appear.
Circle-button:
Invincible weapon (sort of), or simply Bomb. If you press on it, you will be
surrounded by lots of bombs, and those enemies (and bullets) around you will
be destroyed. However, you are only assigned to four bombs in every stage,
so use this button sparingly. In addition, those boss’ lasers can still hit
you if you use bomb. Just use it if you want to get out of trouble or if you
are going die.
Triangle-button:
A funny yet somewhat useful feature, it will make your Fighter and Gerwalk
spin. Use this when people shoot at you and you don’t have time to make any
sharp movement to avoid the bullets. However, this move is not totally
invincible, as you will still get hit by boss’ arsenals. Also, you can’t use
this in Battroid mode. It has absolutely no functionality on it. Remember
that if you are moving with your D-pad, you cannot spin your machine at all.
You have to stay still to spin.
L1/R1-button:
L1 and R1 buttons are used to transform your machine into Fighter, Gerwalk,
or Battroid mode. L1-button works from Fighter?Gerwalk?Battroid, while R-
button works from Battroid?Gerwalk?Fighter. Change form to get out of
trouble. More will be explained later.
L2/R2-button:
Not used by default.
If you are using the default button layout, the best method to play is to
press the X-button with the lower section of your right thumb at all time
(don’t even let off!), while using the upper section of the right thumb to
press and release the Square-button. Use the left and right index fingers to
work on the shoulder buttons. Use the right index finger also for the
Triangle- and Circle-buttons, though it is quite difficult to operate this
way. It will also make your thumb sore after a few stages.
In order to solve this problem, I have used the Edit function to change the
button layout so that it can accommodate my needs easily. Here are my
recommendations:
X-button: Still the machine gun.
Square-button: Invincible bomb. You’ll seldom use it so don’t really bother.
Circle-button: Still the invincible bomb.
Triangle-button: Still the spin button.
L1-button: Transform from Fighter?Gerwalk?Battroid.
L2-button: Transform from Battroid?Gerwalk?Fighter.
R1-button: Homing missiles.
R2-button: Spinning button.
The method to hold the controller is like this: Still use your right thumb to
press the X-button at all time. Use the right index fighter to press the R1-
button whenever you see enemies, and use your right middle finger to press
the R2-button if you are in danger. Transform (i.e. press the L1/L2 button)
using your left index and middle fingers. That will make your “life” super
easier.
- 5.4 Weapon Select
The “Weapon Select” screen lets you configure how each weapon will work.
Because there are three kinds of weapons (machine gun, homing missiles, smart
bombs), you can set each of them with two settings.
The top panel is for the machine gun. The first option shoots straight ahead.
The second option aims at the enemy, particularly at the boss. When you are
in Gerwalk mode, your machine will point backward to shoot it if you move to
the boss' back. The second option shoots straight in the stage until you face
the boss. Press Down to move down the item.
The second row is for setting the homing missiles. The first option is to
set it the way when there are many enemies on the screen, press the homing
missile button will lock onto all the enemies. Once released, the missiles
will fly separately. The second option is that if there are several enemies
on the screen, it will lock onto one particular enemy. This one is
particularly useful for the boss-heavy stage, as you can destroy a particular
part of the boss first prior to moving to other parts.
The third row is for setting the smart bomb. It is a highly explosive
missile that dodge intercepting gunfire and missiles. The first option is to
make it the way in which the bombs are mainly to generate a shield-like area
to protect your machine. The second option is more aggressive. It will
attack the enemies ahead, but leaving your machine vulnerable. The first
option is preferable though.
- 5.5 Exit
This will exit the “Option” screen and take you back to the “Start”/“Option”
screen.
6. PLAYING SCREEN
Before we start our flight, let’s examine the screen in detail. Because it
is a side-scrolling game that scrolls from left to right (or down to top when
you are in Phase 03: In the Macross), it is quite simple to look at the
environment without confusion. There is one main bar on the top which
complies of all the important legends there. The three most left-hand
symbols indicate which mode you are currently at. The top one is the Fighter
mode (“F”), the middle one is Gerwalk mode (“G”), and the bottom one is
Battroid mode (“B”). Sometimes you will be forced to use a particular mode
and if you attempt to switch, the game will change it back for you.
The top bar near the left labelled “Shield” is your shield level. It starts
out in blue, and if you get hit, it will change colour. It will change from
blue, to green, to orange, and to red, in which red is the dangerous level.
Watch this bar frequently, or you will die suddenly without notice.
The four small neon-green buttons under the shield bar and labelled “B” is
the number of bombs you are carrying. You start out with four bombs. If you
have used up all, you will be in great trouble if you want to get out of
danger. Use it wisely.
There is also something called “SDF” under the “Shield” bar with accompanying
number beside it. The number will drop from 100 to 0 from time to time.
Someone emailed me and tell me about what “SDF” actually means (see “Credits”
section). It is used to measure the accuracy of your shooting. If you let
an enemy or an enemy craft passes by, the “SDF” bar will go down by 2 points.
For those who don’t know, “SDF” is the short-form of “Super Dimension
Fortress”. Hmm... Anything related to the Macross itself, or just
coincidence?
The light green bar on the top right is your machine gun level. If you just
depress the button without tapping it, it will not drop in level. However,
if you tap the button and hold it, it will drain the meter quickly.
Specially, if you are in Fighter mode, it will almost be impossible to drain
the meter, no mater how hard you tap the button (you still can deplete it
though). If you are in Gerwalk mode, after tapping the button thrice and
hold at the third tap, it will be depleted immediately, but will refill
itself once it’s all gone. When you are in Robot mode, tapping the button
twice and hold at the second time will drain the meter.
The green bar with arrows pointing left, just under the machine gun level and
labelled “Missile” is the homing missiles level. Once you start pressing the
homing missile button, the bar will turn red. You can release it anytime or
until it is full. When it is full, it will give out the maximum number of
missiles (duh!). You will never use up the homing missiles.
Remember, enemies come from any direction, and I mean it. They can come from
in front of you, behind of you, above you, below you, from the background, or
even into the screen! So don’t just stay at the back of the screen, or you
will die in a not-so-heroic way. Main strategy: Move a lot. Don’t stop.
7. MAIN CHARACTERS
Hikaru Ichijyo:
Macross hero of all time. Macross main protagonist. Quite cool though. He
falls in love with both Lynn Minmei and Misa Hayase.
Lynn Minmei:
One and only female idol/singer in Macross. Young and beautiful, and every
male likes her. She falls in love with Hikaru at first sight. By the way,
is there any idol and/or singer there??
Misa Hayase:
One of the on-board controllers in Macross. Her “boyfriend” Riber Frurink
died during a civil war on Earth when Misa was just 12 years old. She has
devoted her heart to the job on Macross until she meets Hikaru.
Bruno J. Global:
Captain of Macross. Always wears his captain cap and has a pipe in his
mouth. He won’t let emotional things affect his thoughts.
Roy Fokker:
Another fighter in Macross. He operates the very well-known Valkyrie with
skeleton symbols on it. Fiancé of Claudia LeSalle.
Claudia LeSalle:
Another controller in Macross, she works closely with Captain Global. She is
in the same level as Misa. Fiancé of Roy Fokker.
Maximillian Jenius:
A fighter in Macross who wears glasses. His Valkyrie is blue in colour. He
is also one of the most handsome guy in the anime.
Millia Fallyna Jenius:
Obviously she shares the same last name as Maximillian, and that means she
will marry Maximillian later on when she gets captured (and diminished to
human size). She has a red Valkyrie in the TV series, which makes a perfect
match as that of Maximillian’s.
Linn Kaifun:
Minmei’s cousin. Nothing special with him in the game except he kisses
Minmei once (Eew! They are brother and sister!). For those who don’t know,
Minmei and Kaifun are both Chinese, and therefore their first names should be
“Minmei” and “Kaifun”, not “Lynn” and “Linn”.
Hayao Kakizaki:
Hikaru’s best friend on board beside Roy, he is also a Valkyrie operator. A
fat boy who does not have a good ending (sigh...).
8. GAMESTART/WALKTHROUGH
So enough of what I said, right? Ready to get started? So why don’t we just
press the “Start” button and begin our adventure!
Because this game is full of FMVs and still pictures accompanied with woman’s
voice in the background, I’ll indicate when such things will happen and give
a bring explanation of the story as the game progresses. I’ll also try to
write this walkthrough in a story style so that it is easy to follow along
and still make the story understandable. However, please note that those FMV
and still picture descriptions are spoilers because they are straight from
the movie version. So read them at your own risk. Start your engine!
Millions of thanks go to Fiefo! for his story and ALL the descriptions for
FMVs and still pictures. Because his story is way better than the one I
originally wrote, I have now adopted his story and changed a little bit
wherever appropriate.
*Update*
Thanks Tino Pascual for his correct terms on enemies. All the names
(probably) will be changed and adopted to his writing in subsequent sections.
======
Legend
====== : Indicates where still picture scenes take place. : Indicates where FMV takes place. : Indicates when the level starts. : Indicates the boss fight and strategies to defeat it.
- 8.1 Phase 01:
The narrator explains that a giant ship crashed into earth in 1999, and all
of man's efforts have been poured into the rebuilding of the ship (The Super
Dimension Fortress Macross). After 10 years, the maiden flight of the Macross
is today. Press “Start” if you get bored of her, or if you have gone through
it at the beginning.
The Prometheus air carrier nears Macross Island. Hikaru Ichijyo and the
others fly out to participate in flight manoeuvres for the celebration after
some adjustments and testing of their Valkyries, but, suddenly, red lasers
from space strike and destroy the Prometheus!
The level starts in a city on Earth where it has been destroyed almost
totally by enemies. At first there are several green battleships in the
background which do not fire. Use homing missile to lock-on and destroy
them. After a while, a couple of those two-leg Battle Pods drop down in the
background, and then some more on the same layer as your Valkyries. Don’t
use the Battroid mode in here; if you do, you will not be able to jump out of
trouble when enemies come from behind. Use Fighter to remain in the air, or
press Up on D-pad constantly if you are using Gerwalk.
This level is pretty easy as long as you stay in the upper 1/3 portion of the
screen. Whenever you see enemies, hold the homing missile button and release
once a while. Of course don’t forget about the machine gun button too; hold
it at all time will make this level easier.
Just before the boss comes to you, there will be two 2-leg Battle Pods
jumping from behind. They jump pretty high, so try to stay in the top right
corner to avoid them. When they appear, use the homing missiles to get rid
of them. When the city gets destroyed and the screen shines white, the boss
will approach you.
This is the first time you will encounter a boss. Because those enemies
usually travel in battleships, this boss is of no exception. The boss will
start on the right of the screen, emitting some small red missiles to you.
Watch carefully, as the missiles are aiming towards you. Try to keep the
distance, and you can easily dodge in between the missiles.
After the missiles are dodging. The boss will suddenly dodge to the left of
the screen, but remain in the middle part. Go up to avoid the dodging, and
keep using the homing missiles as your machine gun is of no use to it right
now.
If the head has been destroyed, the battleship will use missiles in the lower
part of its body that goes to three directions. Because they are separated
quite widely, you can go between them. Because this is the first boss, it is
quite easy to defeat it. Just try to use Gerwalk for most of the time and
use the combination of homing missiles and machine gun.
The Macross cannot sustain another bombardment of the lasers. The ship then
prepares for FOLD Operations (sort of like hyperspace) and calling of the
fighters to be in their "FOLD influence" (part of the surrounding that gets
teleported with the ship).
*This does not appear in the game, but happens in the Macross storyline* Due
to miscalculations, the ship, which was to be on the other side of the moon
is now in orbit around Pluto! Worse, the civilian city in Macross Island is
FOLDED with them as well. The Macross crew has no choice but to take the
civilians with them, and build an inner city within the ship. Thus, the long
trip home begins...
- 8.2 Phase 02: Titan
The woman voice comes up again, saying that Macross has been travelling for
some time now, and has reached Titan, but not without some encounters with
their alien opponents, the Zentraede.
Here you go! The theme music of Macross and the logo! Everyone should have
recognised that. Misa Hayase is in the bridge, sending commands that a
strike of aliens is closing in on them, gives orders to scramble fighters.
Meanwhile, The winner of the Miss Macross Pageant, Lynn Minmei holds a
concert... The Air Raid siren sounds, interrupting the concert. The
transformation sequence will start in 5 minutes...
This phase starts out in space with every Valkyrie dressed in armour. The
Valkyries, lead by Skull Leader, Roy Fokker, launches a barrage of missiles
at the opponent. Once finished tracking, they will all fire the missiles
(also automatically) and now you can move the D-pad up or down to control the
directions in order to eliminate more enemies if aimed correctly. However,
the default location is fine, as you will have to fight them anyway
thereafter. Hayao Kakizaki is overjoyed by the direct hit, but Roy orders
him to regain composure because the battle is just starting...
When this process is done, all the Valkyries will change to Gerwalk mode and
start moving backward. The two-leg Battle Pods will approach towards you,
and now you will be able to control the machine again. Try to shoot them as
fast as you can, or they will hit you when they pass over. Before you see
the planet Titan, some heavily armoured two-leg Battle Pods will attack you.
They move in and out of the screen, so don’t get too up close and personal.
When you have finished dealing with the Pods, there will be a refill ship
helping you out if you get hit during the fight. The ship will usually
provide you with 5 to 6 energy capsules, enough for you to refill your shield
to full strength. Remember to take ALL the capsules and don’t leave a single
one behind for later use, as they will disappear after several bounces.
Right after you’ve taken the capsules, you will see some battleships and two-
leg Pods. They are of no big deal, as you can destroy them with either
machine gun or homing missiles or both. Then you will arrive the space ruins
where pieces of defeated Pods lie. You will eventually run into some ruins
in which you think it will do no harm to you, but you are wrong. To ensure
you don’t go into any of them, use homing missiles from time to time; it can
destroy the pieces totally. Surprisingly, another refill ship will come and
give you more capsules. Although you may not be damaged from last time, take
all of them. Leaving any behind does no good or harm to you.
As the music dies down, the boss will come to you and the music will change
to a tenser one. This boss is also a battleship in green, but it is much
tougher than the first one. After all, it will be of no challenge if it
stays in the same level, right? The boss comes from the left side of the
screen, so try to stay to the right first. As usual, Gerwalk is preferred.
The boss will first fire some small missiles, so go in between the missiles
first.
After several shots, the ship will move into the background. You will be
looking at the back of your Valkyrie. Because the boss still fires small
missiles, try to circle the screen in either clockwise or counter-clockwise
direction. The missiles will simply follow the path you’ve taken.
It will then move to the right of the screen, but this time it will release
large red laser balls on the screen. The balls will go to the left side of
the screen, so try to go to the top right corner to give yourself more room
to dodge. Once there are three balls there, the first one released will
explode, producing three smaller laser balls. They are quite fast,
especially when all three large ones explode one after one.
When done with the laser balls, it will send out a thick red laser beam from
its mouth. Because the ship now moves slowly, simply go up or down to make
it follows you. The final attack the boss has is the long-range missiles.
It will produce 4 to 5 at the same time, but luckily they are not homing.
You can use your own homing missiles to destroy them, or simply dodge in
between. When the long-range missiles are used, the boss will repeat the
whole pattern.
After the fighting, Hikaru notices that some of the Zentraede are boarding
Macross. Disregarding Misa's orders to hold his position, Hikaru chases after
the aliens into Macross...
- 8.3 Phase 03: In the Macross
Even though Macross has a heavy armour and protective shield (though not used
for most of the time as it consumes much energy), enemies start attacking it
and go into it. Minmei and Linn Kaifun try desperately to evade the giant
aliens. The Zentraede are about to capture them when they are shocked! "Man
And WoMan - ToGetHer... This Is Not Possible... WoMan is Enemy of Man...".
When Minmei and Kaifun are nearly out of danger, the transformation of the
Macross begins, causing the two of them to be separated!
The level starts where the enemies destroy part of Macross and start sneaking
in. Hikaru follows, and once you have control of him, you will have to fight
those two-leg Battle Pods. Again, Gerwalk is your best choice in here.
(Indeed, I never use Battroid mode other than in the very last stage, so
don’t bother using it unless you want some real challenge.) When you reach
the road inside Macross, some heavily armoured two-leg Battle Pods will be
greeting you with some missiles from their head gun. They will be in a 45-
degree angle, aiming from bottom right corner to the top left corner. Simply
lower your machine to their level, or go right above them. Then use your
homing missile on them.
After those Pods, some gigantic human-cloned genetically enhanced enemies in
Battle Suits (I’ll them “Giants” thereafter) will be flying around. Because
most of them are in the background, use homing missiles. When all of them
are cleared, the whole Macross will be shaking vigorously because it is going
to transform!
Another popular music from Macross. It is the music when Macross transforms
from battleship mode to robot mode. The physics is very great, but I really
wonder if all the things inside are dropped dead after the transformation.
The Macross completes the transformation. Hikaru notices Minmei about to be
captured by the Zentraede soldier and intervenes...
Once you gain control of the Valkyrie again, you will be in the bottom-up
position in which you have to travel UP to fight. However, because there is
still gravity generated inside Macross, you will be sticking to the ground
(the left side), which maybe quite confusing to control. Some Giants will
attack you in front, and there is also one behind you, so better watch out.
Suddenly everything falls back, and after some glass shattering sound, some
cars and trash falls towards you.
There is no boss fight in this phase. And after some FMVs and still
pictures, the level ends.
Minmei is falling and screaming with the trash to the bottom of Macross.
Hikaru sees her falling and pilots the Valkyrie to chase Minmei, who is
flying due to the lack of artificial gravity. He manages to catch her with
the robot’s hand very lightly, but loses control because of too much speed.
They crash into a cargo hold.
Hikaru and Minmei meet face-to-face. Hikaru is stunned. He didn't know that
the girl he saved was the Idol Singer Lynn Minmei! Because the radio is out,
and there is no way to open the cargo hold doors, the two of them live for a
while there... *This is what happens in the movie* Hikaru asks if Minmei
loves the guy that she kissed in the movie that she was in. She explains that
it’s just acting. Hikaru doesn't believe it. The tabloids say that she and
the actor have a relationship. Besides, the kiss they did onscreen was too
real looking. Minmei says that she must be a good actress! Hikaru asks her to
prove that it’s just acting...
Minmei comes closer and asks if Hikaru loves her. Hikaru is shocked and
doesn't reply. Minmei turns and says that she now realises that, even though
she loves him, he won't love her back. Hikaru admits that he has been in love
with her for a long time. They kiss. (of course it is Macross signature kiss:
mouth to mouth).
Just then, the cargo hold opens, and the paparazzi snap photos of the sight.
Rumours fly out; "They could’ve escaped anytime, why didn't they?" "Did they
use the battle to cover up their steamy relationship?" "The pilot's radio was
really destroyed? Or was he just saying that to be close to Minmei?"
- 8.4 Phase 04: Asteroids Belt
Even though the invasion fails somehow, the enemies do capture some
information during the time people escape from them. Britai, the commander
of a squad of Zentraede soldiers and Exedore, his adviser look at the
"stunning" (for them. They have been at war with the Meltrandi, a woman
species, for ages now) sight of Man and WoMan ToGetHer. They must capture
samples to try to explain this...
This is another short phase after the previous one. Your Valkyrie is still
armoured as of Phase 03, with Macross floating in the background. Some two-
leg Pods will approach you, so destroy them using homing missiles and machine
gun to avoid further trouble. When you arrive the asteroids belt, you will
see many asteroids floating behind and in front of the screen. But some of
the very big ones are lighter in colour, meaning that you can destroy them.
To locate them more easily, use your homing missiles. They can be broken
down from very large piece to smaller ones to yet smaller ones before they
get diminished to safe pieces.
During the process you destroy the asteroids, those two-leg Pods (both normal
and heavily armoured one) will attack you. The skill here is to avoid the
asteroids and destroy the Pods. It is almost impossible to destroy both the
asteroids and the Pods at the same time, so get rid of the real dangerous
ones first.
A refill ship will drop off some capsules for you to refill your shield,
followed by several big Giants. The Giants at this phase are easier to fight
against, but still be cautious. Believe it or not, a few seconds later,
another refill ship will give you more capsules. Hmm... What a waste of
human resource and energy! Be prepared for the boss fight after the ship has
gone.
This boss has far more different variations in attacking, so better be
prepared to use the smart bomb(s) if you think the attacks are just too
dense. Again, it is a battleship fight, and it comes from the background on
the left side of the screen. At first it just emits some small red missiles.
You don’t even have to dodge; just circle around the ship and attack and
you’ll be fine. It will eventually move to the right side and attack with
red missiles. At the same time, it also sends out some red lasers, so watch
for the gaps and dodge.
Once done with the laser, it will go back to the background again and attack
with those small missiles. It seems it is going to repeat the pattern, but
not so fast. It will go to the right side, but this time with 6 red lasers
coming from the centre which forms a fan shape. Stay on the left and look
for the space. Then some big red laser balls will come from the ship, but
because of their slow movements, you can simply move in between.
To catch you in a surprise, the ship will suddenly dodge to the left side of
the screen. Go either up or down, as it is going to move back to the right.
A combination of red missiles and lasers will charge towards you, so simply
follow the same procedures above to avoid. It will then attack you with some
long trail bullets that look like homing missiles but they are actually not.
But since they are closely packed, use the bomb to get out of trouble.
Somehow it gets quite crazy after those attacks, and it will give out
whatever it has to confuse you. It is difficult to tell which follows which,
so try to remain some distance. When it is heavily damaged, it will try to
trace you around. Once you see it dodge towards you, move up and run
clockwise. When it is finally destroyed, you will see a huge ship in the
background. Reports of a large Zentraede Battle Cruiser reach the fighters.
The Macross recalls all of them to prepare for the "Dadaleus Manoeuvre"
After the boss fight, a CG Gallery shows that the Zentraede battleship draws
closer to the Macross. Though short, it’s astounding to see the ship in
computer graphics.
- 8.5 Phase 05: Assault Enemyship
The Valkyries are outfitted with battle armour. The Macross performs the
"Dadaleus Manoeuvre", which involves all of the PINPOINT Barriers in front of
the right "arm" of the Macross an punching a hole into the enemy ship. The
hand then opens up from inside, releasing all of the mechs directly into the
hull of the enemy ship! (This is one of the most popular moves in the anime
series!) Now it’s about time to revenge.
Once Macross hand is inside the enemy’s battleship (or enemyship as the game
calls it), robots will drop off for an assault. You will now be in full
armour, the armour that is the most powerful ever seen in Macross. You will
take minimal damages, while your arsenals have improved a little bit also.
However, during this phase, you can only use Battroid mode and not the other
two (because the armour is just built for Battroid mode only). Still, you
can float as freely as you are in other modes, so don’t worry about it.
Many brown Giants will attack you throughout this phase. They have some
simple yet confusing attacks, so don’t just think they are of the same.
Also, those enemies who used to operate the Giants will use handgun (!) to
attack you. They are fast, they come from different directions (but stay on
the ground), so stay high and use homing.
After the green plant-like tunnel, you will be under the attack of two
spaceships with sharp long nose. They move up and down, and they send out
red lasers. Indeed, they are the helpers of the boss, but they will give you
a showdown before you can see the boss. You will then see the boss with some
spikes at the front. It is actually the core of the whole enemyship. Your
mission is to destroy this core (and hopefully the two spaceships) before it
draws you in and takes you out.
One thing to take note of is that the spikes are invincible; you can’t just
use your machine gun and aim the centre of the core. When the core comes out
from time to time, it will try to suck you in, so remember to frequently pull
yourself back (i.e. left) to avoid the suction. It also has some small
missiles coming from the centre of the core, so watch the missiles and the
lasers from the spaceships. Remember, the most powerful weapon to deal with
the core is homing missiles only (and of course the bombs). Use your machine
to destroy the spaceships.
Once destroyed, Misa tells Hikaru to get the hell out of there! The ship is
going to blow! Hikaru strips out of the armour and high-tails it back to the
Macross. Meanwhile, all the ground robots from Macross will give you a
hundred missiles to destroy the ship, and this ends the level.
The Valkyries have done their job and the enemy ship blows up! It is indeed
in CG Gallery format and is quite stunning. However, nothing much special.
**Disc Change**
Okay, it’s about time to make the one and only disc change process. Before
you can change your disc, you have a chance to save your progress. Save as
usual, and a yellow screen with Hikaru’s Valkyrie in the background prompts
you the instructions to change the disc. Because I don’t understand
Japanese, I had tried several methods to make it happen. The method that
works properly is to turn off your Playstation after seeing the yellow
screen, change to disc B, start your Playstation again, and it will load the
game itself. But you still have to go to “Load” option to load the data up
because it doesn’t have the auto-load function.
- 8.6 Phase 06: Saturn
After the long fight (a disc length), Macross seems to be quite safe and
quiet now, and Minmei sneaks out to see Hikaru in disguise. They have a
date. They go to a big window overlooking Saturn's rings. Minmei would like
to go there, just once...
In a training Valkyrie, Hikaru takes Minmei to see the rings of Saturn.
Minmei sings, and they both remember their date together. This is interrupted
by the sudden appearance of Misa and Kaifun, telling them it's too dangerous
to be joyriding! Minmei apologises and Hikaru is willing to take full
responsibility. Just then, the enemy forces appear!
This is one of the most difficult level to encounter, as all your weapons on
the training use Valkyrie are locked: No machine gun, no homing missiles, no
bombs, even no Battroid mode. Whenever you see enemies, you can only use the
D-pad to avoid. Many Battle Pods will start surrounding your Valkyrie, but
they will not attack you for the time being. Still, don’t ever try to touch
the Giants as they still take damage from you. Suddenly, they fire at you,
and you have to avoid them, or you will not survive until the end of this
phase.
At the very last moment, Roy comes to assist you, and a FMV starts.
...But he's drunk! Hikaru says it’s too dangerous to be flying now, but Roy
yells back, "Stupid! You would be dead without me now! Besides, I'm still
okay..."
Back to the battlefield, Roy deals out the all Pods with his machine gun.
But because he is drunk, he can only be “the man behind you”. What a shame!
Remember to watch out those asteroids on Saturn, as they can damage your
Valkyrie and you cannot fight back. Just notice those brighter colour rocks
and you should see them. In addition, the enemies will try to attack you, so
avoid both asteroids and enemies.
Misa and Kaifun are captured along with Hikaru and Minmei because the
training Valkyrie is as weak as a baby is. Roy flies into the ship to try to
rescue them, but is captured in the process.
The humans are taken to see Britai, Exedore and Dolza, the high commander of
the Zentraede fleet. The aliens demand to know why Man and WoMan do not
Fight? Roy tells them that Man and Woman shouldn't fight; they must be
together... hug and kiss each other... "KISS? WHAT IS THIS KISS? YOU MUST
SHOW US!" No one wants to demonstrate, so Dolza grabs Minmei and will crush
her if they do not demonstrate what kissing is. Kaifun, being the cousin of
Minmei, agrees.
Kaifun tells Minmei to kiss him or else they are to die. Kaifun kisses Minmei
(YUCK! That's your cousin!) The Zentraede are shocked! But this works
perfectly. All the enemies sweat again. They are so frightened about what
Kaifun did to Minmei. Now it is the perfect time to run.
- 8.7 Phase 07: Big Escape
Minmei and Kaifun are contained separately from Hikaru, Misa and Roy. The
Meltrandi attack, accidentally releasing Hikaru's group. They make their way
to their Valkyries, but the Zentraede catch up before Hikaru and Misa can
board their ship. Roy orders them to kiss each other!
Hikaru says “sorry” first, then kisses Misa, who slaps him afterwards. The
Zentraede soldiers are shocked at the sight, giving the two time to ride the
Valkyrie.
On the way out, Roy gives his Valkyrie’s machine gun to Hikaru in order to
get out. The homing missile and bomb are still locked, so don’t bother press
these two buttons. You can still interchange between Fighter and Gerwalk,
but Gerwalk is always a better choice here.
During the scrolling, the enemies will attack you from the ground. Their
handguns are still as powerful as before, so watch closely of where they are
firing to avoid. Don’t even bother lowering your Valkyrie and shoot them;
you cannot avoid those from behind. Simply stay in the air and make your way
out. Some green and purple Giants will also attack you, so use your machine
gun to take them out.
After some killing, the camera will shift to the right very fast. The
Meltradi forces, lead my Millia Fallyna Jenius, storm the ship. One of the
Meltrandi is shot down, and Misa realises that the Male Zentraede are at war
with the Female Meltrandi. No wonder they are scared at the sight of Man and
Woman working together! The camera will then shift back to you, and you will
be taken towards her automatically. She won’t attack you (directly), but you
will still take some damage upon contacting her. She will help you shoot
down the enemies for you and act as a shield, but still try to avoid the
enemies’ missiles.
When all the enemies are being taken down, Millia will charge towards you
constantly. Although she won’t stay for long, it’s still dangerous to stay
close to her, so keep a distance. When she’s done, she will shoot the top of
the battleship and escape.
At this exact same moment, Roy arrives and kills an enemy pod, but the
Zentraede soldier inside charges at Roy. Roy groans in pain.
Roy's Valkyrie is badly damaged. The Zentraede peels off the cockpit. Roy
defiantly shoots the soldier at the back and his Valkyrie explodes.
Both Misa and Hikaru exclaim as Roy’s Valkyrie explodes. Hikaru wants to
save Roy, but Misa says it's too late! A more important issue to address is
to rescue Minmei and Kaifun, so they travel further down (right). The
background changes to purple suddenly, much like inside a human body. More
green and purple Giants will attack you, so use your machine gun to shoot
them. You will see a huge bulge, and your Valkyrie will break through the
bulge and looks inside where Misa and Hikaru sense Minmei is.
When Misa and Hikaru peep inside the bulge, they found Minmei and Kaifun
being kept inside a capsule. They both are screaming for help, but the ship
is going into a FOLD! The Valkyrie is ripped apart and is sent into a
different part of the FOLD, warping them somewhere else.
They fly to a planet and see the ocean. They fly and reach... the Prometheus
(the carrier at the beginning of the game)! Hikaru and Misa realise that the
almost destroyed planet is actually the Earth... The Zentraede have bombarded
the Earth so heavily that there is no one left alive.
Trying to find survivors, Hikaru and Misa fly all over the world, in vain.
They come up to some ruins that have never been seen before. They find a huge
control panel, but human sized. They try to reach the Macross, but instead
they open up a separate program. They computer tells them that aliens creator
the Zentraede and Meltrandi as their soldier, but realised their mistake and
went to Earth, so that they can create a race where Man and Woman can work
together and produce life. Unlike the alien, who need cloning techniques to
reproduce, the aliens have no knowledge of culture, not even singing, being
brought up for fighting only. The computer raises up the entire city,
revealing that the city was hidden so that the aliens would not be able to
find it.
Misa searches the ruins and finds a plaque with alien writings. She keeps it
for later study. Misa breaks down, fearing that there is no hope. If they can
reduce the Earth to rubble, how can they stand up to them? Hikaru comforts
them, and, for the first time, they look into each other’s eyes deeply. They
kiss finally (without slapping him again).
- 8.8 Phase 08: Ocean
Macross and the whole crew finally locate Misa and Hikaru, and they can get
back to Macross safely. They report to Captain Global what had happened to
them during this period, including the death of Roy.
Claudia finally gets the news of Roy’s death, and she asks how Roy died.
Hikaru and Misa explain that he died as a hero. She tries very hard from
crying. It proves that she is really a tough girl.
While still on planet Saturn, Captain Global sends out Hikaru, Maximillian,
and Hayao Kakizaki to investigate further. Hikaru, Maximillian and Kakizaki
fly out to meet the enemy. Max says that it should be easy, they are just
women after all. Hikaru tells him that they are as good as the Male
Zentraede. Kakizaki jokes around that he's just saying that to be good to
Misa, and is shot down. It is just too dangerous to stay close to each other,
so Hikaru and Maximillian separate.
Throughout the mission, this level is filled with green and purple Giants.
They have much more powerful arsenals and different attacks, so try to stay
calm before you shoot. If possible, avoid most of the direct fights and use
the homing instead, as you need to fly in between the missiles. Another note
is that don’t ever touch the ocean when you are in Fighter mode, or you will
suffer some damages.
Because this level is quite tough, the refill ship will come shortly
afterwards. A powerful green Giant will follow, and it even emits green
laser. To dodge, go to the lower right corner; it can’t attack you from
there. Because you cannot destroy the Giant right now, you have to follow it
into the old battleship Misa and Hikaru went earlier.
On the deck of the battleship, the green Battle Giant will attack you again.
Because this Giant has homing missiles (finally!), use your own homing
missiles to counter attack and destroy the enemy’s ones. Don’t wait until
the meter charges to full, or it will be too late to counter attack. Another
refill ship will arrive after the green Giant is destroyed, and you will
start rising to fight the boss after the ship is gone.
Ha! Guess what. You have to fight against Maximillian’s soon-to-be-wife
Millia. Don’t underestimate her, as she is as wise as the top pilot –
Maximillian - in Macross is.
Originally she will send out some green missiles to attack. Those missiles
are fast, so watch closely. She also has homing missiles (just like the
green Giant), so again use your own homing missiles to counter attack. She
is much much harder in Hard mode and she will fly around the screen, so don’t
panic or you will screw things up. If she gets just too close to you, use
the bomb to take some damage on her.
Not long after, our hero Maximillian will arrive and assist you. He will
fight back for you instead. Eventually the going-to-be husband and wife will
fight out, followed by an FMV.
This FMV shows that Maximillian and Millia fight each other in turn. Both
machines get hit, but they just won’t give up. Husband and wife should not
run into any quarrel, agree?
- 8.9 Phase 09: Ruins
After fighting Maximillian and failing to take any advantage on him, Millia
returns to the base and reports to the leader (also a female). The leader of
the Meltrandi orders to shoot at the Macross.
The Macross is hit at the main guns, causing it to land on a ruin. The
battle starts again.
Because of the unfavourable attack, all the Valkyries have to fight their way
in the ruins. As with the ocean, don’t ever try touching the ground when you
are in Fighter mode; it really hurts. You will be facing some Giants’
attack, so take them down with your homing missiles and machine gun.
Interestingly, you will see Maximillian fights against Millia in the
background (and vice versa). You cannot lock-on Millia (or her battle-suited
giant), as this is one of the husband-wife quarrels. You will eventually get
a message telling you that a refill ship will be coming shortly to give you
some shield refill. However, just before the ship approaches, there will be
two human Giants jumping very high to attack you. If you’ve taken too much
damage previously and cannot afford taking more, go to top right corner of
the screen to avoid them. They do jump really high.
When you are in front of Macross (which now sits on the background), there
will be a very powerful human Giants firing homing missiles toward you. But
this is not the end of the story. Three weaker Giants will accompany the
stronger one, so try hard to use homing and destroy the three Giants first.
You will then move up to fight in the sky.
On the way up, there will be a human Giant on either side of the screen.
They will just fire small missiles so they are quite easy to dodge. However,
because you are travelling upward, you will not notice that easily. Try to
stay in the lower middle part of the screen so you won’t go into anyone of
them. A refill ship will come shortly, so take all the capsules as you must
have been damaged heavily somehow (except in Easy mode).
This boss is the toughest boss in this game, I think. It is so unpredictable
and so damn easy to get destroyed (I mean your Valkyrie). Indeed, it is a
huge cross-like battleship in purple, with the top bar closed until after
several attacks.
The boss starts out from the right side. Its first attack is some missiles
from its head. Beware, as they are pretty fast. Remember to go in between
the missiles to avoid them. A safer method is to go to the bottom of the
ship (the bottom right) so the missiles won’t bother you.
After those missiles are more missiles. It will first move its “wing” and
release some green missiles, while its tail gives out some missiles patterned
in fan shape. This time the missiles come out pretty slow, so you can dodge
them easily. The missiles from the wing take this strategy: First points
downward, then the middle, then upward.
When it is tired of those missiles, the tail part will fall out. It will
then emit three to four beams of laser, with missiles coming down from its
body. To avoid the laser touching you when it is descending, tempt it by
moving your Valkyrie until you reach the top. When you see three (or four)
green dots concentrating on his tail, start press down on the D-pad until you
reach the bottom. You can avoid the lasers easily.
After the lasers, it will move to the background. This is the hardest part
to fight (and avoid), and if you can’t make it, well, it’s perfectly okay, as
it also took me twice to find the way to destroy it. The top bar will now be
extended, and it forms just like a cross. It will fire three laser beams
toward you, one from its left wing, one from its right wing, and one from
centre. Here’s what you should do.
When it moves to the background, immediately go to the bottom left corner.
When you see and hear the lasers coming, immediately go to the bottom right.
The lasers will miss you on the way you are moving. Next the lasers will
come out again, but this time you have to take your way back to lower left
corner. They will miss you once more. It will shoot you the third time, so
use the same strategy. For the fourth time, the lasers will be quite mixed
up, as the three won’t go to the same place again. So try to circle the
battleship to take less damage (since it’s difficult to avoid). When the
lasers are done, it will repeat the whole process, so beat the hell out of
it.
After the battleship explodes, you will see the huge main base at the
background. A song is heard. It's Minmei, humming! The Meltrandi's fighting
ability is diminished and is forced to retreat. And this is where many still
pictures and FMVs take place, so be patient if you want to understand the
whole story.
After fighting in the sky for a long time, Millia finally gets defeated by
Maximillian. She is seriously injured and landed on the ground. Max looks at
Millia for the first time, exclaiming that she is beautiful. Millia repeats
the same words... Meanwhile, Macross is in its full throttle and flies
towards the enemy’s base. Time for the last showdown.
Captain Global says that a peace treaty between the Zentraede and Humans have
been reached. In fact, the humans at the head table are actually miniaturised
Zentraede! From the information Misa and Hikaru gathered during the trip on
Saturn, the enemies seem to be distracted when the song is sang. The
Zentraede have an instrumental of a song, but need lyrics for it to be truly
effective against the Meltrandi. Minmei is released to help in the writing of
the lyrics. Minmei sees Hikaru and Misa after so long and is overjoyed...
"Why doesn't Hikaru feel the same way? ", she wonders... (NOTE: I really have
no idea of how Minmei got rescued, as it is not presented in this game.)
Misa is looking at the plaque from the ruins and is translating the words.
She then realises that these are the lyrics to the song! Minmei is in
Hikaru's quarters and hugs him from behind. "I don't care what happened
between you and that woman back there. I'm just happy we're together
again..." Misa walks in at that instant and sees the two of them together,
and she is so shocked by what she saw!
- 8.10 Phase 10: Last War
*I'll do this in script form now from the movie*
Misa: What... what is this?
Hikaru: Misa!
Misa: (shows a piece of paper) Do you know what this is? These are the
lyrics to the song! This is from the plaque we both found in the ruins. I
came here so that you can be the first to know...
Hikaru: Wait! It's not what you think! Don't misunderstand...
Minmei: "Misunderstand?" "It's not what you think?" ... You can't say that!
You can't do this to me! (runs out)
Hikaru: Minmei! (starts to run out but stops)
Misa: Go ahead! Chase after her. You've just been reunited, after all... You
need her...
Hikaru: You're wrong! After all we've been through... we've been to a
destroyed earth and back. And, now I finally realises that... it's you I
need.
While the scene takes place, the Macross crew is preparing for the fight.
However, Hikaru desperately looks for Minmei. She is the only one who the
Zentraede want to hear the song from.
Hikaru finds her by the large bay window. Minmei is happy that Hikaru came
for her, but this is not true. Hikaru hands her the lyrics for her to sing.
Minmei doesn't want to. Why should she sing the song that another woman had
found?
Hikaru says that he is disappointed in her... being too selfish and not
thinking of Roy, Kakizaki and the others who have died in the war.
The ground Hikaru and Minmei are standing changes into space, with fierce
battles fighting in the background. Minmei apologises that she had been too
selfish up to this point. She had only been singing for herself. Now, she
sings for the entire human race (what's left of it anyway).
Minmei sings the song (title: Do you remember Love?) in a stage in front of
the Macross. Britai and Exedore feel something inside that feels good. Is
this the power of culture? They side with the humans, pledging that culture
will never be stolen from them again!
This phase starts in space with Minmei’s singing in the background. Besides,
you will now control the Valkyrie with the most powerful weapons ever.
However, this means that the enemies are also tougher than before. In
addition, your smart bombs will be disabled for the time being, so all you
can use right now is machine gun and homing missiles. Try to stay alive for
a while.
During the space battle, you will encounter some green and brown Giants.
There are also some battleships attacking you in the background, so take them
down with your homing missiles. Now Claudia will equip the “RB” smart bomb
for you so that you can have even more powerful arsenal. This bomb is crazy;
the whole screen will simply be exploding, and all the enemies (except the
Boss) will die instantly.
But don’t be too happy with your new smart bomb, as there will be two Giants
from behind and at the front after you are equipped. Stay in the centre to
reduce damage, while you can look at them easily. A refill ship will drop by
pretty soon in order to fill up your shield back again. You will meet some
more enemies afterwards, but don’t worry. Another refill ship will come
shortly. Dolza has expected this turn of events (i.e. his followers turning
on him) and sends a jamming satellite to stop Minmei from singing.
Another CG graphics shows the enemy’s base. The camera zooms inside the base
very fast, and you can see the core of the base, which is actually the
satellite. Now it’s the objective in this phase.
After the first preview of the core, you will have to fight for a while more.
You will then be instructed to go inside the base with all other Valkyries.
Once inside the enemy’s base, a large brown battleship will greet you
promptly. It will not attack you immediately, but after a while it will
produce some small lasers from its mouth. Later it will emit some red trail
missiles to you. Don’t worry, they are not the homing one. Simply dodge in
between to avoid. This one can be easily defeated.
Next you will meet some more Giants. They are somewhat more powerful inside
the enemy’s base. Watch out for the missiles and you will be fine. Then
another brown battleship will arrive, but this time it is not that easy.
Before any of its attack, it will dodge towards the left, so try to move
upwards when you see it. All its other attacks are exactly the same as the
first one.
Now it’s time to fight to the core (or fight the core?). As you saw in the
CG movie, it is a spinning core that seems to be quite crazy. You will find
it to be very ridiculous afterwards also.
Right after you see the front part of the core, it will start shooting out
two small lasers in front of you. Don’t think that you can simply move up or
down to avoid them; they can trace you! They will simply drop down above you
(or below you depending on your position) if you move down (or up). You have
to lure the lasers by moving down first, and when you see them coming right
above you, move forward to dodge. However, don’t get too close to the core,
as it can still inflict damage on you. When you are done with this move,
moving backward a little bit (make sure all the lasers are gone off-screen
first!) so that you can prepare yourself for another shot. It will continue
to fire two lasers for a couple more times, then it will send out three
lasers. The third one (i.e. the last one) comes out a little bit late and
close to the core itself, so you have to position yourself so that you can
get hit by the lasers on the back, while your head is not going into the core
itself.
The core will eventually open after the laser attacks. The centre will
rotate for a while, then many small missiles will come out from the centre.
Don’t worry; although there are numerous of them, they are pretty slow and
you can see them coming. Just try to move in between them. Even this attack
in Hard mode is easy to avoid.
When the core closes again, it will shoot out some red lasers at the top of
it. The lasers are separated quite apart, so stay at the bottom of the
screen first. When you see the area right above you is clear, quickly move
up until you hit the top of the screen. The lasers will now be harmless to
you. When you pass the middle of the laser pod, it will stop firing.
Now the strange thing happens. Remember that it is the core of the
battleship? It can now move OUT of the battleship and into the background!
But don’t bother how the battleship is going to function. It is not a big
deal anymore. When it stays still in the background, it will shoot some
large blue laser balls toward you. Try to circle the ship around the screen
so the blue laser balls will just be right behind you and will never hit you.
Now the core opens up again, but this time it is shooting two red thick
lasers, one from left and one from right. Does this sound familiar to you?
Of course yes, as you have fought a similar boss in the last phase. However,
you can easily dodge the lasers pretty easily. Just circle the core again,
and the lasers will never be a danger. You don’t even have to watch closely
of where the lasers will go.
Before it goes back to its original position and repeat the whole process, it
will fire some blue laser balls at you. Just use the same strategy above to
avoid. Destroy it at your own will. Also, use bombs if you can’t get out of
those slow missiles when it is at the right.
- 8.11 Final Phase: Do You Remember Love
Think this is the end of the game? Not so fast. The main boss is still not
defeated, and of course you have to kick its butts first before you can fall
in love with the girls(!). Another FMV will be coming up also.
All the other Valkyries are being outfitted for the final assault. At the
mean time, Misa asks Minmei to start singing again. Minmei says she will, and
silently says Hikaru's name...
Now the final showdown comes, and Macross and the whole crew go towards their
final battleground. Macross simply go inside the battleship with half of its
body stick into it, and all the pilots fly into it. As in the last phase,
Minmei is still singing, and Misa tells all the pilots to destroy as much as
they can within one song duration.
This level is pretty crazy, as there are many Giants attacking you at the
same time, with some more battleships that are difficult to destroy. Some of
the Giants will shoot out 3-way missiles, some with a big laser gun that move
up and down, or a combination of the two. Remember not to stay too close to
the left border, as some Giants will jump down in a sudden. You will then
fly into the inner core of the battleship.
Two Giants are already here and wait for you. They will fire homing missiles
and normal missiles to you. Aim for a particular one first, and then take
own the other one. Just try to stay alive for a while as you can’t kill any
one of them, and Millia will come and assist you with her original red Giant
machine. She is now one of the Macross member. Maximillian will come after
the two Giants are killed, and surprisingly he is also operating the same
machine as Millia does, but this time it is blue in colour. He job is to
drop down some energy capsules for you, as you should have been damaged
severely.
You will then be surrounded by four Giants in all the four corners. They
will fire missiles toward the centre, and it is very difficult to dodge. So
be prepared to take some damages. If you are in real danger and running out
of shield, use your very powerful “RB” smart bomb. However, use only one as
you have to save some of the following battles.
To make this stage harder, there will be two flocks of three purple Giants
coming from behind, the top, and down below you. You can move to the top
right corner to avoid. Don’t just move back immediately because the second
flock will be coming very soon.
Now you have to face some final battles before you meet the boss. There will
be many drill-like battleships that release red laser balls. Amazingly,
those red laser balls are homing in nature. They can trace you very close.
Try to dodge at the very last moment, and try to stay at the left border to
give you more room. One of the characteristics of the laser balls is that if
you pass the middle of the ball, it will stop completely and won’t move
anymore. So you can use this method if you are not too close to the ships.
If you hit a battleship continually, it will be pushed back. So try hard to
aim the ships, not the laser balls.
Another variation of those ships is that some of them will send out red
lasers. They are not difficult to see and avoid, but if combined with the
laser balls, life will be difficult. If you think you really can’t dodge
those attacks, use your “RB” smart bombs. This is where it becomes most
useful. However, try your best first, or you can get through these battles
easily as there are many of those battleships there. And they also appear in
a group of two too!
Ready to fight the final boss Dolza? Now here’s the chance. As the
background changes, you will be moved up involuntarily and change forms
continuously. You can only shoot during this period, and you can’t control
your movement. When you finally see Dolza, you will be changed to Battroid
mode. Indeed, this is the most useful mode in here, as this boss is not
difficult to beat after all.
You will see the boss watching TV with Minmei singing on the screen. Go for
its head, as this is the only weak point of the boss. You should have used
up your “RB” smart bombs by now, but you won’t need the bombs anyway. Just
give him all your machine gun bullets and homing missiles. Be warned, as
there will be many laser balls coming from anywhere of the screen. They are
not from the boss body, but just from the borders. Good news is that they
travel in straight line, but the bad news is they are very fast. Another
good news is only one laser ball will appear on the screen at a time, just
before the last one disappears. Moving left or right is fair enough, as you
have to break the glass mask the boss is wearing. For some tighter
situations, simply add slight movements of up and down to avoid the laser
balls.
Remember, it is SUPER EASY to beat this boss. He will only duck sit in there
and watch at Minmei before he dies. Now sit back and enjoy the ending!
9. ENDING
WARNING: This ending section is a spoiler. It tells you how the story ends
up, though it is already quite predictable. Still, if you want to enjoy
those great FMV ending, don’t watch this section in advance.
A note of the ending is that you can’t skip it or reset your Playstation
console with the software reset method (i.e. hold “Start” and “Select” for
three seconds). But it is worth watching it, as you have invested so much
time on this game to beat it totally. Here you go! Enjoy.
Now you have defeated the main support of the enemy’s base, it starts to
explode in the space. Some lightning effects are added, but don’t expect any
fancy pixelated graphics going around this time. It does take a while to
explode totally.
After the destruction, Hikaru finishes his mission. Hikaru reports that his
mission has been accomplished and he's heading home. Misa is happy to hear
his voice. Misa looks at Minmei. Minmei smiles at Misa, obviously happy for
her. Misa smiles back. Claudia asks Misa where that song came from. Misa
explains that it was a popular song a long time ago, before the Zentraede and
Meltradi split apart and fought with each other... and, it had to be a love
song.
In order to cover up her sadness and unhappiness, Minmei continues her
singing career. She still holds a concert in New Macross City but she has to
give the paparazzi some good explanations of Hikaru dumping her. She has
nothing much to say but to remain silence. She knows one day she will find
someone who loves her deeply.
Now the credits will start rolling, with Minmei singing one of Macross songs
in the background. Nothing much special after the credits, except... (refer
to the following section: 10. Secret/Option Plus below for further details).
10. SECRET/OPTION PLUS
Of course if you have beaten a game and it does not reward you with
something, you will say that why you need to play the game so hard for
receiving nothing back except looking at the credits, right? Here’s what you
can expect to get.
- 10.1: Finished Easy Mode
If you have finished the game in Easy mode, you actually have received the
biggest reward in the game. You will get the “Phase Select”, in which you
can play a particular phase instead. You will also get the “Muteki”, which
means “Invincible” in Japanese. That should help you get through the
remaining two modes easily. But if you really use this mode to beat the
other modes, you are really cheap and cannot be declared as a real pilot.
Yes, I’m talking to YOU.
- 10.2: Finished Normal Mode
If you have finished the game in Normal mode, you will be able to watch a
particular set of movie in the phase of your choice through “Movie Select”.
You can also view the pictures of that phase through “Picture Select”. A
good way to see the movies and pictures without playing through the game.
- 10.3: Finished Hard Mode
If you have finished the game in Hard mode, congratulations! You did a
really great job, provided you didn’t use the “Muteki” mode to help you out.
So what will you get exactly? Well, you will have the “View Mode” in which
you will see the whole game’s still pictures and movies together, but you
don’t have to play the game. You will also have the “Game Only Mode” in
which you will be able to play the game only without taking such a long time
to view those still pictures and movies. But this may also make your fingers
go sore too because you can’t rest in between (but you can always pause the
game, right?).
- 10.4 Extra in Hard Mode
Actually there is one more secret in Hard mode but you may have not noticed
that if you are not cautious. When you have beaten the game in Hard mode,
and during the scrolling credits, look at the lower left corner. What do you
see? Yes! Minmei is dancing and dressed in Chinese clothes, only that she
is a deformed one! So cute ^_^ Though it doesn’t make any difference, it
still proves that you are so great to have such reward. Good job!
11. HINTS
Here is a little section that can help you get through “The Super Dimension
Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love” (and actually other shooting games)
easily. This is just my personal tip. Individual adjustments apply if
needed.
- Don’t ever stay still: Staying still in any shooting games is the deadliest
way to die easy. Move a lot and keep on shooting.
- Circle a lot: Although computer AI is becoming more intelligent compared to
those 10 years ago, they still have one big problem of chasing the player
behind. The best way to get around of this is the circle the opponents. You
can be sure you can get out of trouble 90% of the time. The missiles (and
the enemies) will almost always follow you in a circle. Just make sure to
make as large a circle on the screen with the D-pad as possible.
- Stay calm: Another great tips when playing shooting games. Stay extremely
calm, and don’t let the environment scare you to death. As long as you
remain calm, you can have a clearer mind to get out of trouble.
- Watch your Valkyrie: What? What’s the use of watching your own Valkyrie?
Well, if you think this is useless, think twice. All you have to do is to
keep a close eye on your Valkyrie, not on your opponents. If you watch your
Valkyrie, you will be able to dodge any attack when something is near you.
Don’t bother the opponents; you will shoot them during the flight.
- Machine gun: As I said before, hold your machine gun button all the time.
Don’t ever try to let go. Although it just travels in straight line, it is
still the most powerful weapon after the limited bombs.
- Use Gerwalk: Gerwalk so far is the best mode you should use. Though you
don’t have the great flying ability as in Fighter mode, nor can you actually
walk on the ground like in Battroid mode, you do get the combination of both!
Trust me, use Gerwalk to finish the game 95% of the time (except at the very
last phase).
If you have any other great shooting tips, please feel free to email me.
I’ll give you a credit for that :)
12. GAMESHARK CODES/DEXDRIVE GAME SAVE
A strategy guide cannot be said to be completed if not all details are put
inside. Therefore, I have included GameShark codes as well as DexDrive game
save address in this strategy guide to make it more complete. Thanks to Game
Shark Code Creator Club for the codes, and thanks to InterAct DexDrive
Dexchange web site for posting my game save. Of course thanks to Dickens for
saving my memory block with his DexDrive, or it will not be made possible. I
don’t have a Game Shark or Action Reply Pro so I don’t know if the codes are
working or not, but I believe they will work. So give it a try if you have
time. Cheers!
For the DexDrive game save, because I can’t post one with this FAQ, you can
instead visit DexDrive Dexchange Web site (http://www.dexdrive.com/) for it.
It includes all three save records in one memory block in all modes of
difficulties (i.e. Easy, Normal, Hard), all in the Final Phase: Do You
Remember Love. In addition, all Option Pluses are unlocked, and you can take
advantage of the Option Pluses with my game save. The exact link to download
the game save directly is:
A FAQ/strategy guide cannot be completed successfully without many people’s
contributions. Here’s a list of people I would like to take the chance to
thank them, from the bottom of my heart. You guys really help me out.
Thanks!
- First of all, I would like to thank Bandai for producing such a great game.
You guys have been with me since my childhood. And thanks for bringing all
those video games and toys to my memory. You guys are simply great!
- A huge “thank you” goes to Fiefo de la Cruz (fiefo@hotmail.com). Without
his great contribution on the whole story (including all the FMVs and still
pictures), this game will not be complete at all. If you have any question
regarding this game/movie, feel free to write an email to Fiefo.
- Thank GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com/) and Webmaster Jeff “CJayC” Veasey
for helping me post this strategy guide. Your site is awesome! Keep up the
good work.
- Thanks to http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6560/ for the names of the
main characters. Without your Spanish site, I won’t be able to find the
names myself.
- Thanks to Dickens (bubuju@hotmail.com) for saving the DexDrive save for me
before I get one myself (hopefully soon). Thanks for the trouble.
- Also thanks to Game Shark Creator Club (http://www.cmgsccc.com/) for
posting and providing GameShark codes online. Hope this can help gamers out
there.
- Thanks to InterAct DexDrive Dexchange Web site (http://www.dexdrive.com)
for posting my DexDrive save up there. You can find my game save at
http://www.dexdrive.com/dex_gme_files/jpn_gme/jpn_macross_love.gme
- Finally thanks to my previous employer who laid me off after the co-op work
term. Because of you, I have a month long holiday to enjoy this great game
and beat all three modes within a week.
- Some more thanks go to Cheat Code Central (http://www.cheatcc.com/),
Xcheater (http://www.xcheater.com/), and About.com Guide to Video Game
Strategies (http://www.vgstrategies.about.com) for posting my FAQ in your Web
sites.
- Thanks to “Superman” Tino Pascual (tino@capscorp.com.ph) for your
corrections on various names for the characters and enemies, as well as
giving me some explanations on Machine Gun.
- Thanks to Fabio J. T. Chino (chino@icmc.sc.usp.br) for your correct
relationships of Minmei and Kaifun, and the positions for Misa and Claudia.
Also thanks for some of the correct Japanese spellings of the characters’
names.
- Last but not least, thanks to Jeffrey T. Jhee (j-jhee@nwu.edu) for your
explanation on the “SDF” bar. Also thanks for giving me the Web site for
future reference.
Of course, thanks everyone who reads my FAQ. Hope I will hear from you guys
soon, giving me some great suggestions on this strategy guide. Thanks a lot!
See you in the near future.
