Zen: Intergalactic Ninja
Typed out by tsrken@voicenet.com
Zen: Intergalactic Ninja
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How it got to be Zen's job to take out the trash
Zen would have been nothing more than a speck of space dust if he had stayed
on his birth planet. But lucky for him, and for intergalactic ecology, he was
rescued by the Masters. It was on their planet OM that the young Zen learned
a futuristic form of ninja and meditation for superior mental ability. As he
got older, these skills earned him the reputation of being the most sought
after soldier-of-fortune in the cosmos.
Zen even captured the attention of the Gordons, an ancient alien race of high
intelligence. They observed the brash blue vigilante on routine missions as he
brought swarms of interstellar outlaws to their knees with his Photon-Stick.
Just the Intergalactic Warrior for the job. The Gordons, being the environ-
mental watchdogs of the entire galaxy, hired our hero to be their enforcer.
Zen thought it sounded like an easy job on the third planet from a sun in the
Milky Way galaxy. Little did he know he was about to face his ultimate neme-
sis.
The trouble starts on Planet Earth, one of the Gordons' most amusing favorites,
at the brink of serious disaster. Just when Earthlings have started to become
more careful about how they treat their planet, they're plagued by the crazy
plans of the putrid Lord Contaminous. The treacherous Contaminous emerged from
a festering toxic waste dump and he and his army of foul followers are out to
trash the biosphere. To make things more complicated, an Earthboy named Jeremy
has accidentally discovered the Geocrystal, a gem with the power to save the
world, and the forces of Contaminous will stop at nothing to snag that rock.
So Zen must save Jeremy the Starchilde, pocket the Geocrystal and defeat the
supreme forces of filth if Planet Earth is to ever see another Earth Day! Read
on to see how you can help.
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How to start putting litter in its place
The pollution-powered pests are already making a mess of things. So the first
thing you've got to do is insert the Game Pak into the NES and turn it on.
Watch the introduction or press the Start button and you will be at the title
screen. At the Title screen you can select Start or Option by pressing the
Control Pad up or down to highlight your selection. Press the Start button to
lock in your choice and move to the next screen.
In the Option mode, you can adjust the settings for Rest (number of life re-
store units), Difficulty (difficulty level), BGM (background music) and Sound
(sound effects). To make an adjustment, move to the specific item by pressing
the Control Pad down or up. Press the Control Pad left or right to review your
options. Press the A or B button to lock in your choice. Select End and press
the A or B button to return to the Title screen.
Once you return to the Title Screen, press the Start button and you will move
to the Stage Select screen.
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Staging the Pollution Solution Revolution
Once at the Stage Select screen, you can pick the stage you'd like to tackle
first by pressing the Control pad right or left until the catastrophe of your
choice appears in the selection window on the screen. Lord Contaminous has
taken control of every environmental disaster known to civilization and has
placed his Generals of Junk in command of their individual area of expertise.
Each of the 4 stages has a unique objective to accomplish to earn a fight with
these grungy Generals. Once you have completed your mission you move on to the
Bonus Stages and the Boss Stages.
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Getting mean to keep the Earth green
Once you've selected a stage, you will receive instructions from your employ-
ers, the Gordons. Pay attention so you'll know how to smash the trash and beat
the Boss. Some stages are side-view and some are diagonal-view, so be ready
for anything. Earn points along the way for defeating enemies and keep an eye
out for Bonus Items and Life Items to earn extra lives and gain special powers.
You've got some Zen-sational ninja moves, but if the enemies wear down your
life gauge, you're wrecked. Once you've used up all your life units you can
choose to continue when the Continue screen appears. Choosing Continue allows
you to go back to the Stage Select screen or continue from the beginning of
the stage you were just in. Press the Control Pad up or down to select Con-
tinue and press the Start button to carry on.
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Zen and the art of intergalactic martial arts
All Stages
Jump: Press the A button.
Attack: Press the B button.
Use Life Item: Press the Select button.
Side-View Stages
Crouch: Press the Control Pad down.
Hang from a branch or pipe: Press the Control Pad up and press the A button to
move and the B button to kick.
Drop to a floor below: Press the Control Pad down together with the A button.
Rebound Jump: When you hit a wall, press the Control Pad in the direction of
the wall and at the same time press the A button. By doing this consecutively,
you can climb to a high place.
Jab: Press the Control button in the direction of the enemy and at the same
time press the B button to jab attack. While jabbing, if you make contact with
the enemy, hold the B button down and press the Control Pad in the opposite
direction for a powerful blow.
Diagonal-view stages
Crouch: Hold the B button to crouch after an attack.
Mid-air Attack: During a jump, press the B button to attack, or tap the B
button rapidly to extend your jumping distance.
Jab: Press the Control Pad in the direction of the enemy and press the B but-
ton to jab attack. After the jab attack, you can hold the B button down and
press the Control Pad in the opposite direction for a powerful blow.
Jab and Toss: During the jab attack, once you make contact, you can hold down
the B button and rotate the Control Pad to swing the enemy in a circle.
Release the B button and the garbage goon will go flying to that great dump
in the sky.
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All the world is a stage, and you must clean up its act
Acid Rain Forest
The beautiful botanical gardens have been poisoned by s-s-s-sneaky Sulfura's
acid rain clouds. You must tap each flower with your Photon-Stick to revive
every one. Then you must spring up high on a bouncy patch of grass to reach
Sulfura's lofty perch. Press the A button and use careful timing to make the
jump. Stop that vixen from bullying the blossoms once and for all.
Note: A Flower Moisture Gauge will tell you when the flowers become dried out.
If they all dry out, your life decreases.
Slixxon Oil Rig
Rescue people trapped in an off-shore oil rig that has been set ablaze by the
crude Oil Slick. You will find a fire extinguisher to help you after you've
defeated about ten of Oil Slick's cronies. To use the fire extinguisher, press
the Control Pad up and press the B button. An indicator will tell you how many
people you have left to save. Don't let Oil Slick slip away!
Biggs Toxic Factory
The Biggs Toxic Factory has been coughing out noxious fumes that are making it
awfully hard to breath easy. Now a time bomb is ticking away inside, so you
must defeat Smogger, the CEO of bad air himself and escape the factory before
it explodes.
Runaway Railway Car
A high-speed chase down the tracks is a maze to really put Zen's mental powers
to the test. Once you find the way out you must face Garbageman, the guru of
rubbish. You'll have to hit the junction switch with your Photon-Stick to
change the maze paths.
Rescue Mission
You'll be climbing the walls. Not because you're bored, but because that
conniving Lord Contaminous had captured the Starchilde Jeremy! Use your Re-
bound Jump to scale the nearby walls so you can battle the creep and save
Jeremy. If that cold-hearted kidnapper escapes, you can be sure you'll meet
again.
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It pays to recycle in the bonus stage
The Recycled Heroes were cleverly created by Zen with the Gordon device, the
Recyclotron. In the Bonus Stage, you can receive powerful Bonus Items by re-
creating your allies. Recyclable materials will fall from above and you must
toss them into the Recyclotron. Each time you get six in, you will create
another homespun hero.
Lawn Ranger: (made from leaves)
Earn 10,000 bonus points.
Pulp (made from magazines)
Earn a life item, powered by ultra-intensive meditation.
Bottle Bandit (made from glass bottles)
Earn a shield item to block enemy hits.
Can-it (made from aluminum cans)
Earn an extra player.
Lights-out (made from batteries)
Earn maximum life value.
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The places of the most unclean
If you have survived so far, you are one spiffy recycler. But don't get too
full of yourself. You have yet to face the Houses of the most Hideous where
the nastiest Boss enemies live. Very few brave environmentalists have survived
to tell about these terrible beasts. But we can tell you one thing. They fight
dirty.
The Cavern of Crud
You're plunging through a deep cavern of gunk that's so treacherous and
smelly, even the Boss character has split! While you're falling, you must go
through the ledges by moving left or right.
Move fast, because the ceiling is also inching downward to squash you into a
blue pancake.
The Cesspool
Meet the "charming" slimeball spewing creature of the Cesspool. Too bad no one
ever told him it's not polite to spit rabid fighter soldiers.
Scrap Heap's Heaven
It all comes together in the trash when a heap of rusted out junk forms to-
gether to make the meanest heavy metal foe you'd ever want to face.
The Impostor's Hideout
Zen discovers an evil twin who's trying to thwart his noble efforts. The
nerve! Help the real Zen clobber his misguided (but good looking) clone.
Lord Contaminous' Shrine
You're about to come face to fang with the Prince of Pollution himself in his
own digs. But hold on to your granola because this fiasco is only a preview of
the ultimate showdown to come.
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Good junk to collect
Life item
Through ultra-intensive meditation, all player life units can be restored.
Once you've stocked the Life Items, you can use them by pressing the Select
Button. (Cannot be used during a jump, while falling, or while hanging.)
Shield
Will protect you from enemy hits.
1-up
Gives you one extra player.
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Friends of the earth
Zen - Intergalactic Ninja
Jeremy the Starchilde
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Oh rotten ones
Sulfura
Oil Slick
Smogger
Garbageman
Lord Contaminous