Bionic Commando (NES)/Area 3


 * Required items: Communicator β (green)

Part 1
When you land, you will be see a tree trunk before a white sandy field. This white sandy stuff is quicksand. You can run through it, but as you do, you will slowly sink. If you don't find a means to pull yourself out in time, you will die. Before you run on to it, connect your grapple to the tree limb above location A and swing out a bit. Then keep running until you get close enough to a tree to grapple on to and swing yourself out of the quicksand.

Before you swing out over the second bit of quicksand, an item box will parachute down. Wait a moment before hitting it so that you can be sure to collect the contents off the ground. Then swing out as far across the quicksand as you can, and run to the next tree before pulling yourself back out.

Back on solid ground, run to the right, but make a note of location B. Just as you arrive at the platforms that you must begin climbing, you may notice the grass shifting back and forth. Stay away from these areas, as a giant man-eating plant will pop out of the ground. You are only safe to walk across such sections of grass when the plant sinks back down, and only very briefly as it will pop back up again.

Throughout this section, you must also beware of insects that dot the cliffside. They go down very easy, but they will hover above you just to make progressing up the cliff more difficult. By the time you get closer to the top, the wall-clinging insects will be replaced by moths. These moths move less predictably, but they are far weaker than the other insects. Just one hit with your grappling hook will send them floating to the ground.

Keep climbing up until you reach location C. From here until you reach the door at location D, there are a number of man-eating plants hidden in the ground. Be very careful when walking through this area. Either trigger them and stand back until they sink back down, or find alternate routes that don't involve crossing over their locations. Head immediately through the door once you reach it.

Part 2
Inside this base, you will find the layout more dangerous to your survival than the occupants. To start, there is an elevator at location E. It can be a bit difficult to get to, and it's not entirely necessary to take, but if you wish to reach it, you must start grapple swinging from the wall to the right of your entrance. Any more to the left, and you will miss the elevator entirely.

Whether you take the elevator down, or simply fall down, your goal is to reach the elevator at location F. However, this elevator is a trap; as soon as you set foot on it, it will plummet to a bed of spikes below. You must save yourself by grappling over to a ledge on the left as you fall. (It's also possible to simply walk from the elevator to the ledge if you approach the elevator from the left side.) Once you are safe, climb up and investigate the communication room behind door G.
 * Communicate: Your allies will agree to unlock the door to the boss, though the door is already open even if you don't visit here.
 * Wiretapping: Some soldiers discuss moving Super Joe to a disposal area.

It's time to reach the boss door. First, grapple over to the right to location H. From here, you must grapple swing across the bed of spikes, and down into the next section. If you manage to swing all the way across the ceiling, you will find an elevator against the right wall, but like the previous elevator, this one is also broken and rigged to fall as soon as you set foot on it.

Whether you fall down the elevator, or simply drop down the hole, when you reach location I, you must face left and grab onto the platform as you fall past it. If you miss it, you will fall down a pit and lose a life. Steady yourself on top of the platform, don't try to swing off of it. Then fall down to the ground below and prepare for the final challenge.

First, start by swinging over the bed of spikes. As you approach location J, you will not really be able to land on the platform below like you may have planned. You will overshoot the platform, and you will land in the spikes if you don't react quickly enough. As you reach J, quickly fire your grappling hook at the column above the spikes and continue swinging. You'll have to execute that manuever one more time to safely reach the door at location K. Once you make it, step inside.

Boss
This boss is identical to the one you encountered in, and it containts the same blind spot directly behind it. However, if you brought the rocket launcher with you, you don't even need to worry about getting behind it. Exactly one hit with the rocket launcher will be enough to destroy this boss. Then simply climb up to the platform, and fire three rockets at the core to complete the stage. The only thing you have to watch out for is the turret above the core which fires a spread of three bullets at you.

Reward: You will earn ten bullets and the Rapid Fire Device. This item turns your normal gun into a machine gun, effectively granting you an extra weapon. The problem is, it takes up a spot that could otherwise be filled with the more useful Energy Recovery potion.