Friday the 13th FAQ v1.1 (5/24/97)
By Mark J. Popp
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~mjpopp/index.html
Friday the 13th (NES) LJN
*Revision History*
v1.1 - Discovered pattern to finding the cabin in the woods.
***
Background
Strategy
Starting the Game
Lighting the Fireplaces
Navigating the Cave
Fighting Jason
Contact Info
***
*Background*
You probably picked up this game because you're a fan of the movies.
Few people suspected how challenging Friday the 13th was until they
played it for a few minutes. This game is very unforgiving for the
following reasons:
- the frequent Jason attacks (even his fists will make short work of you,
and he always returns more powerful than before). As if fighting him in
the cabins wasn't enough, he stalks you on the trail, in the forest, and
even in the lake as well!
- his army of minions (all the zombies, wolves and bats) appear
nonstop. While you're battling one or two, more come out of the ground
to have a piece of you (and they usually get it).
- instead of a hardened adventurer, you play the role of a camp
counselor who has little experience battling homicidal maniacs, so that
could explain the poor physical abilities of the characters, namely their
jumping ability and stamina.
- most of the useful items (such as weapons and medicine) appear
randomly, making your search and destroy mission a bit more
complicated.
You might find the game is more enjoyable with the Game Genie, but
frustratingly difficult without it. However, it doesn't deserve some of the
lowest ratings ever given to a NES game by gaming magazines.
Nintendo Power EGM
Graphics & Sound: 3.5/5.0 Reviewer 1: 3.0/10
Play Control: 3.0/5.0 Reviewer 2: 2.0/10
Challenge: 3.0/5.0 Reviewer 3: 4.0/10
Theme & Fun: 3.0/5.0 Reviewer 4: 4.0/10
Nintendo Power avoided a formal review of the game. EGM gave it the
lowest rating any NES game has received, next to Total Recall. [To
check the rating of any NES game EGM has reviewed visit
].
Most people probably told you to avoid this one, but Friday the 13th
can actually be very rewarding if you give it a chance. It just takes a
little practice. Don't try to muscle your way through; you need finesse to
survive until the end of the day. And since this game keeps you on your
toes, you can't say you didn't get your money's worth. This FAQ will
provide some useful adventuring tips and strategy for getting through
the game, but it will still be a challenge. So if I haven't scared you away
yet, let's begin.
*Strategy - Starting the Game*
Crissy and Mark are the best runners and jumpers. This gives them the
ability to defeat enemies, avoid obstacles and acquire weapons at the
beginning of the game more easily than the other counselors. While
you keep the slower counselors near the children to ward off Jason's
attacks (especially around the lake), use Crissy or Mark to get daggers
for all the characters. When you find one (usually by jumping randomly
or killing monsters) go to the nearest (small) cabin and pass the weapon
onto a weaker counselor. Keep doing this until all the counselors have
daggers. Now everyone should be strong enough to go out on their
own and they will be able to defend themselves better when Jason
corners and attacks them. The strongest weapon that the counselors can
earn by defeating enemies on the outside is the machete. After you get
the machete, the zombies will go down with one swipe. Be careful not
to accidentally pick up a dagger that appears on the path if you have a
more powerful weapon! You can't get it back.
As you stroll around the camp, stop by every cabin to: 1) light the
fireplaces, 2) search for weapons (they appear randomly after you have
all the fireplaces blazing) and notes (also random but are repetitious,
though some contain important tips), 3) pass stronger weapons onto
weaker counselors, 4) cure sick counselors, because you may need them
to fight Jason or find an item, and you don't want to be carrying
around a body bag, and 5) switch to the closest available counselor
whenever Jason is attacking someone.
While you're on the trails (and in the cave and forest) remember that
sometimes it's easier to leap over zombies and wolves than it is to blast
your way through them. They have a tendency to multiply faster than
you can exterminate them. If you have a turbo button, use it to throw
your weapons quickly enough to destroy the hordes of zombies and to
pummel Jason. By jumping you'll also be able to find jars of medicine,
keys and lighters.
If you find your energy getting low, choose a healthy counselor to
venture into the woods and find some medicine. It's more plentiful there
than on the regular trails. Keep jumping around and killing creatures
until you have an adequate supply. Then go to the injured counselor and
cure him/her. To find the hidden cabin (which houses a nice supply of
powerful weapons after you have the fireplaces going) follow these
directions:
- Entering the woods from above (going down into the forest): Go right
and down the first path. Keep going right and go up the next path. The
door to the cabin is here (you'll need a key to get in).
- Entering the woods from below (going up into the forest): Go right
and down the first path. Go left and down the next path, then go down
again immediately. Go right and up the next path. The door is here
(don't forget the key).
If you find a more convenient path, please let me know.
An alarm will sound when a counselor or the children are being
attacked by Jason. A timer will also start to count down from 60 beside
the counselor or kid icons (depending on who Jason is attacking). You
don't want to wait too long because some of the children will be dead by
the time you reach them OR Jason will have beaten a counselor to a
bloody pulp. When you hear the signal, go immediately to a small cabin
(you can't switch counselors in the big cabins), and switch to the
counselor that is in the same cabin as Jason. Or if Jason is in the middle
of the lake, change over to the closest counselor to row there and save
the kids. If you're busy exploring the cave or forest and it's too
inconvenient to leave and rescue the kids, just leave them to the maniac.
You'll only lose 5 or so, and you can continue the game. However, don't
leave a counselor to be killed by Jason: they may have important items
or weapons that you won't be able to get back if they're killed! Don't
forget once you lose kids or counselors, you can't get them back ever,
so don't leave anyone to be butchered if you can help it. And beware of
losing ALL your counselors or kids; the game will end then.
Get as much done in the daylight as possible. When night descends,
more monsters will be around, and you won't see the sun again until you
have killed Jason.
*Strategy - Lighting the Fireplaces*
The six largest cabins in the camp have fireplaces. If all these fireplaces
are lit by the counselors, you will receive the flashlight. Also, when the
fireplaces are lit, the machete and axe can be found in the cabins that
are in the woods, and the torch will be in one of the cabins that is close
to the lake. First get a lighter by defeating enough zombies (sometimes
you can retrieve this item merely by leaping at the right spot on the
screen), then go to all the big cabins to light the fireplaces. These are
the directions to navigate a large cabin, light the fireplace and depart:
Up, Up, Right (a note is sometimes left here), Up, Left (here's the
fireplace), Left, Up, Left (you can see the door from here), Up, Up, Up
(out the door). It may take a few searches through the camp, but
eventually you can recover a flashlight in one of the large cabins. When
you do find it, go immediately to the cave to see once-hidden
passageways. This item makes it easier to find Jason's mother. When
she has been defeated, you will receive a powerful weapon or item.
*Strategy - Navigating the Cave*
Don't go in here without Mark or Crissy. There are some jumps (to high
ledges) that you won't be able to make without these characters. Don't
forget that you need a key to get into the secret areas of both the cave
and forest. So if you're looking for these areas and don't yet have a key,
don't waste your time. Defeat enough zombies and jump around until
you find one. Although most people will tell you to avoid the cave
until you have the flashlight, there is an easy way to discover the secret
entrance to Jason's mother without it. If you look carefully, the stones
below a secret passageway are shaped slightly differently. So you won't
need the flashlight at all. Make your way into the cave early in the game
and go left. Jump over the two pits and stop. Press up while you are on
the second or third rock from the left edge of the platform you are
currently standing on, just before you would normally make a third
jump. The entrance is there. If you can't find it, just keep pressing up on
the platform until you do. Actually, if you use this little trick, you can
get by without using Mark or Crissy. Just be VERY careful and don't
attempt any difficult jumps. Simply exit the cave the same way you
came and you won't.
Jason's mother isn't really that difficult; but it's important to avoid her
attacks. Just like her son, she moves in a predictable pattern. Follow her
as she moves left and right, hurling daggers at her (it has to be daggers
or better, I don't think stones will reach her). When she swoops down,
move left or right to get out of the way (don't duck!). Repeat. She'll
finally expire (for now) and relinquish the machete, the sweater, or the
pitchfork (depending on how many times you have killed Jason).
*Strategy - Fighting Jason*
There doesn't seem to be any pattern (geographically) of Jason attacks.
Although, you risk the chance of running into him on the trails if he has
recently occupied a nearby cabin. And NEVER follow him after an
encounter on the trails or you might end up fighting him again.
If you meet him on a path, go to the opposite side from where he entered,
wait until he comes to that side, leap over him, run to the opposite side
and start shooting. Don't jump over him too soon or you won't have as much
time to shoot him. Just make sure you jump over him and avoid his
weapons, or it'll be a really short battle. He'll soon grow tired of you
and escape.
When fighting him in the cabins, duck to avoid his hits. NEVER stand there
and toss your weapon at him. He'll beat you senseless and send you to the
morgue after 3 or 4 hits. After your first encounter, he'll return with the
machete. When you beat him again, he'll come at you with an axe. After that
he may decide to use his fists again just for kicks. About halfway through
the game, Jason will attack the children in the cabins on the lake more
often (making your job more difficult) and towards the end he'll forget
about the kids entirely and attack only counselors. After you kill him,
he'll be rejuvenated (but so will all your counselors, at least the ones
that survived) and stronger than before. Keep hunting him. At this point,
if you defeat Jason's mother, you will receive the sweater. This disguise
will lessen the impact of Jason's blows and he'll avoid attacking you on the
trail. After you kill him again, return to the cave to win the pitchfork
from Jason's mother. This hefty weapon will give you the power to go after
Jason for a fight to the finish.
*Contact Info*
Friday the 13th FAQ by Mark J. Popp. My E-mail address is
. If you have anything to add to this FAQ, or
find any errors, please let me know, and I will update the FAQ. You
may freely distribute this FAQ as is, but if you change anything, get my
permission before distributing it.
This FAQ and others are available at http://www.gamefaqs.com
