Road Runner (1985)/Walkthrough

Strategy Elements

Basically if you memorize the level layouts in the early levels, you can do the same patterns. However, truck movement seems to be random, so you cannot repeat that part.

Seeds appear in the same spots, as do most mines. There is onscreen display at the top middle of the screen that shows how many seeds (up to 5) you have missed. Once you miss the fifth you lose a life.

There are safe pathways and obstacles that appear in the same spot, so remember which way to go each time, and execute the same paths.

If you stay too long in one area, the screen will automatically scroll to the right, and push you offscreen. However, if you pick up a seed, you do have more time to stay on that area. If you execute this properly, you can get many tongue bonuses to increase your score.

Basic Strategy

Road Runner has you run from the left side of the screen to the right down a long, multi-screen road. Along the way you must pick up the piles of birdseed that you see on the road. Doing so increases your speed meter at the top of the screen, while missing a pile decreases it. Your meter starts at five, so if you miss five seed piles in a row you'll pass out and Wily E. Coyote will grab you. Likewise, if you miss three, get one, then miss three you'll lose as your total loss will be five piles. As you manuever through the winding roads, Wily E. Coyote is not your only hazard however. Trcuks, boulders, and other environment hazards dot the roads of the desert.

Wily E. Coyote chases the Road Runner in a number of ways. His initial plan of attack is to simply rush after you. This is easy enough to avoid, but do not get too much of a lead on Wily E. Coyote. In the tradition of cheap video gaming, if you get about ¾ of the screen in front of him, he'll gain a second wind and rush straight at you, easily passing through any hazards or walls in the way. Instead keep him about ½ a screen behind you.

His second mode of attack (appearing in the second stage) is to ride a rocket. This is the easiest of his strategies to avoid. Wily will fly off the screen in a straight line. He will then appear, flying the opposite way, horizontally in line with the Road Runner. He will fly across the screen in a straight line and disappear off the other end, repeating the process anew. To avoid him, simply move up or down out of his way as he flies towards you. In some turns in the road this can be tough, so always look ahead and take precautions (i.e. wait in one spot a bit) so that you can make the narrow straight spots in a single flyby of Wile's.

His third attack style is to ride a pogo stick. This allows him to bounce over the sections of desert that function as walls for the Road Runner. This form is hard to avoid, but it can be done. On the wider roads, move in large circles and he'll generally land away from you (he'll try to land wherever you were when he bounces off the ground). In the tighter roads, move back and forth as you go, pausing if necessary to avoid running right into him. If the road is a long horizontal stretch, move right-to-left as you progress forward. If it is a long vertical stretch, an up-and-down movement is prefered.

Wile will also, in the later stages, acquire what the manual calls "invisible paint." This paint makes him faster, but you can stop him from collecting it by picking up the item yourself before he does.

Stage Warps

There is only one warp at the beginning of the game if you used a continue. Maneuver into the cave, and you will start at the last level you completed.

Stage breakdown

Here are the main stages. The will continually repeat with more and more obstacles and traffic added through each cycle.