Controls
- Joystick: Use the 8-way joystick to direct Takky (or Hommy if you're player 2) through each stage. As in the original, if you stop holding the joystick up, Takky or Hommy will float back down to the ground if they're in the air. (The two spacemen are now also always facing to the right of the screen).
- Firing Button: Use this button to make Takky (or Hommy if you're player 2) fire their handheld guns at the enemies, or if they're in the new weapon, the Machine Gun Vessel, fire the guns on the front of it in turn. If they are hit while in the Machine Gun Vessel, it will explode and they will come out.
- 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.
Characters
Takky and Hommy (タッキー&ホッミー)
These biohazard-suit-wearing spacemen (who, you may remember, are caricatures of Namco employees), are the protagonists of the game; 1UP is "Takky" (who was 2UP's character in the original) and 2UP is "Hommy" ("Kissy" is nowhere to be seen here). As with the original game, the fact that they are named differently is a reminder that Baraduke may well have been intended to be the first game from Namco to allow two players to play simultaneously, but that honour would later go on to Sky Kid at the end of 1985 (and its sequel, Sky Kid Deluxe, was also the first game from Namco to use a Yamaha YM-2151 FM sound chip) - and they no longer have shields like they did in the original. If they happen to die, simply from being hit without the Machine Gun Vessel, they will be reprimanded by the Paccet Ojisan (see his section below) and sent back to the beginning of the stage to try it again; however, if they are hit by a boss character while in the Machine Gun Vessel, its presence will immediately be invalidated (and this also goes for the Turning Eye that will creep up on them if they don't heed the "HURRY").
To the left is the sprite of Takky and Hommy as they appear normally. To the right is the sprite of how they'll appear in their new weapon, the Machine Gun Vessel, when it has two and three guns on its front respectively. They will automatically start the second stage in it with two guns, and after dying.
Paccets (パケットス)
These one-eyed aliens (who are from the original game) can often be found inside yellow capsules and being towed upwards by Pinseto (see their section below); every time one emerges from a yellow capsule, he will say "I'm your friend" (their catchphrase) and fly towards your spaceman. If your spaceman manages to touch him before he flies off the bottom of the screen, he will say "Bantu!" and begin to circle around your spaceman in a anticlockwise direction - Yellow Paccets are worth 200 points if collected, and White Paccets are worth 1000. Your spaceman will always have one White Paccet circling around him at the start of every stage given that they are immortal; however, the Yellow Paccets, much like their original game, are far from immortal. In fact, if they are hit by an enemy shot while they are circling around your spaceman, they will emit a scream of death and explode - sending their eyes flying up (and dropping down) off the bottom of the screen. If your spaceman manages to catch any eye, it is worth a single point; you will have to catch ten of them in order to restore the last figure of your score to its original value of "0". The Yellow Paccets will also add on to your score at the end of a stage - 1st: 100 pts, 2nd: 200 pts, 3rd: 500 pts, 4th: 1000 pts, 5th: 2000 pts, 6th: 4000 pts, and 7th + subsequent: 7650 pts.
Paccet Ojisan (パケット爺さん)
This walking-stick-wielding, white-moustached, one-eyed alien appears at the start of some of the 36 stages to give the players advice in the two Japanese syllabic writing systems (Hiragana and Katakana), but you don't have to be able to read them, in order to play through the stages; and if your spaceman dies as a result of being hit without the Machine Gun Vessel, he will reprimand him, and send him back to the beginning of the stage to try it again. He also appears in the centre of that virtual octagon that is on the left side of the screen in the bonus game that'll be invoked after the fourth, tenth, sixteenth, twenty-second, twenty-ninth and thirty-fifth stages - there is a maximum of a 2/8 chance of it landing on an "Extra Paccet" icon (
), a maximum of a 4/8 chance of it landing on a "Shot Power Up" icon (
), a maximum of a 1/8 chance of it landing on a "Shot Power Down" icon (
), and a maximum of a 1/8 chance of it landing on a "Machine Gun Vessel" icon (
). The right side of the screen will be taken up by his "dialogue box".
Octy (オクティ)
As in the original Baraduke arcade game, there are six different types of Octy. They are all worth 200 points when killed and all fire projectiles uniquely.
Type A Octy (タイプAオクティ) - These two-eyed Octy correspond to Gilly Octy from their original game, and attack by firing projectiles at you.
Type B Octy (タイプBオクティ) - These one-eyed Octy correspond to Winky Octy from the original game and attack by firing projectiles at you.
Type C Octy (タイプCオクティ) - These one-eyed Octy correspond to Shell Octy from the original game - and attack by firing projectiles at you.
Type D Octy (タイプDオクティ) - These two-eyed Octy correspond to Dropping Octy from original game - and attack by firing projectiles at you.
Type E Octy (タイプEオクティ) - These two-eyed Octy were created by Namco specifically for this game, and attack by firing projectiles at you.
Type F Octy (タイプFオクティ) - These one-eyed Octy were created by Namco specifically for this game, and attack by firing projectiles at you.
Blanula and Skifla (ブラヌラ&スキフラ)
The Octy also still possess the ability to spawn these jellyfish-like creatures to prevent Takky and Hommy from killing them. The brown Blanula (left) can still only touch the spacemen to injure them, but the blue Skifla (right) can still also spit projectiles at them. 100 points.
Polycators (ポリケーターズ)
These jellyfish-like creatures (from the original game) will attack by randomly appearing on the ceilings and dropping down from them. 100 points.
Molamola (モラモラ)
These pufferfish-like creatures (also from the original game) will attack by flying towards Takky and Hommy from the front or behind. 200 points.
Pinseto (ピンセット)
These one-eyed squid-like creatures (who were created specifically for this game) will often appear towing Yellow Paccets upwards. 100 points.
Baganns (バガンズ)
These Puckman-like creatures now come in three different colours - red, pink, and metal. They'll all attack by bouncing towards Takky and Hommy, and are all worth 100 points. It is also worth noting that Namco's signature character, along with his mortal enemies the Ghost Gang, were themselves given the 16-bit treatment, on Namco System 1 hardware, for Pac-Mania in 1987 (it was their 5th 16-bit game; this one is their 12th or 13th).
Woru (ウォール)
These one-eyed metal squares attack either by moving up and down or left and right in a given area, but sometimes do not move at all. 100 points.
Muscle Brains (マッスルブレインズ)
These human organs of thought will attack by flying slowly towards Takky and Hommy, while firing beams at them from their red eyes. 100 points.
Donguri (どんぐり)
These acorn-like creatures will attack by flying towards Takky and Hommy by using ninety-degree turns while firing projectiles at them. 100 points.
Snipers (スナイパーズ)
These blue aliens, of which there is now only one type (and they no longer resemble the players), will attack by firing beams at them. Unlike the three types of Snipers from the original game, however, these new 16-bit versions can injure Takky and Hommy by touching them... 100 points.
Crystal Brains (クリスタルブレインズ)
These crystallized human organs of thought will attack by bouncing up and down in front of Takky and Hommy, and it is worth noting that Scylla from Phelios, which was released at the end of this game's year, but ran on Namco System 2 hardware, looks a lot like one of them. 100 points.
Zonbi (ゾンビ)
These golden insect-like creatures attack by walking slowly towards Takky and Hommy while occasionally tipping their heads back and jumping up into the air, before descending back down to the ground again, tipping their heads forwards again, and continuing their marching. 100 points.
Efila (エフィラ)
These creatures used to be found on the ceilings of some floors in the original Baraduke and would spit projectiles at your spaceman when they saw him, but these 16-bit versions will be walked towards you while they are firing spiked balls at you from their noses. 100 x 2 points.
Telepo (テレポ)
These can, for a second time, only be killed while they're materializing - after they've materialized, they'll explode into eight projectiles. 100 points.
Black Paccets (ブラックパケットス)
These evil black versions of the game's friendly one-eyed aliens will attack by circling around in an anticlockwise direction in front of Takky and Hommy; and they also can't be collected by the spacemen due to their hostile natures (for those of you who thought they could be). 100 points.
Big Octy (ビッグオクティ)
There are two different types of big Octy (both of which were created specifically for this game); the first type will attack by firing beams at Takky and Hommy from their singular eyes, and the second will attack by firing a round of projectiles at them from the holes in the side of their bodies facing out of the monitor. Both types are worth 500 points when killed.
Quelqaria (ケルカリア)
These man-of-war-like creatures will attack by flying towards Takky and Hommy while firing projectiles at them, and can again only be killed from behind - which means that they can only be killed if they're flying towards your spaceman from that latter direction on this time round. 100 points.
Amebas (アメーバズ)
These single-cell lifeforms, of which there are 2 types, will attack by flying towards Takky and Hommy while firing beams at them. 100 points.
Squids (スクイドズ)
These squid-like creatures will now attack by lowering themselves down to Takky and Hommy's altitude, before spitting a shot at them from their mouths once they have seen them and retreating off the right side of the screen. They're also never seen alone here, only in groups. 200 points.
Namazu (なまず)
These catfish-like creatures will attack by flying towards Takky and Hommy while firing projectiles at them, then retreating off the right side of the screen in a manner similar to that of the Squids once they have seen them. They are also the same point value as the Squids - 200.
Baby Namazu (なまずの子供)
These smaller catfish-like creatures will also by flying towards Takky and Hommy while firing projectiles at them, then retreating off the right side of the screen in a manner similar to that of the Squids once they have seen them, but are only worth 100 points (which is half an adult Namazu).
Tako (たこ)
These octopus-like creatures come in two different types - Horizontal and Vertical. They will attack by flying towards Takky and Hommy in the direction they are facing while firing projectiles at them, and are both worth 100 points. The Verticals also look wrongly-coloured - as you can see.
Block Brains (ブロックブレインズ)
These blocked human organs of thought first appeared as a primary member of Dr. Bakuda's army in Beraboh Man (which was released earlier in 1988, also ran on Namco's System 1 hardware, and was the first of three Japan-exclusive sixteen-bit games from the company to not feature their "legal notice" at startup), and attack by changing their colours from green to white, before firing projectiles in eight directions at Takky and Hommy. Two of Takky and Hommy's in-game firing sound effects were also first heard as the bouncing sound effects of the Ninjas and Yogandohito. 100 points.
Derota (デロータ)
You will only have the chance to see these one-eyed octagons (which look like smaller versions of the Andor Genesis Mothership from Xevious) if you manage to defeat Dark Paccet on a first try; they attack by trying to stay ahead of Takky and Hommy while firing shots at them. 100 points.
Bosses
Two-Eyed Blue Worm (2目ブルーウォーム) - These enormous two-eyed blue worm-like aliens appear on the fifth and special thirty-sixth stages, and will attack by advancing towards Takky (or Hommy if it is a two-player game on the special thirty-sixth stage), while firing beams at him from his two enormous eyes; unlike the four Blue Worms from the original Baraduke arcade game, these two will continue to advance towards Takky and Hommy after they have them trapped against the left wall (that they have blasted through to enter the stage). Once you have fired off enough shots at both of those eyes to destroy them, they will explode for 500 points.
Turning Eye (ターニングアイ) - These enormous one-eyed blue aliens will creep up on Takky and Hommy if a "HURRY" warning flies past at the top of the screen and they do not heed it; you can easily shake them off by scrolling the screen forward a little bit, but you will have to fight one as a boss upon the eleventh stage. This one will attack by flying up and down in front of Takky while firing beams at him from his singular eye - and you may remember from your encounters with the three Turning Eyes on the 12th, 24th and 36th floors of the original Baraduke (they were the boss of the second, fourth and sixth worlds), that his aforementioned eye will be his only vulnerable point. Once you have fired enough shots at his only eye to destroy it, he'll explode for 500 points...
Four-Eyed Blue Worm (4目ブルーウォーム) - These enormous four-eyed blue worm-like aliens appear on the seventeenth and twenty-third stages (the former of which has no downward gravitational force), and will attack by advancing towards Takky while firing beams at him from his four enormous eyes; and as with the first Two-Eyed Blue Worm, they will continue to advance towards him, after they have him trapped against that left wall (that he has blasted through, in order to enter the stage). And once you have fired off enough shots at all four of those eyes to destroy them, they will explode for 500 points - however, if you do not destroy at least one of them quickly enough (it's advisable to aim for the bottom one first), the beams that are being fired at you from them will become unavoidable due to Takky's size both in the Machine Gun Vessel and out of it. Therefore, if Takky has lost the use of his Machine Gun Vessel once the beams become unavoidable, it will cost him a life.
Dark Paccet (ダークパケット) - This enormous, evil version of the game's friendly one-eyed aliens appears upon the thirtieth stage, and will attack by flying up and down in front of Takky (or Hommy if it's in a two-player game) while firing off beams at him from his singular eye (which is identical to that of a Turning Eye; the song you'll be hearing from the Yamaha YM-2151 during this stage, is also identical to that of the eleventh stage). He will also be spitting Black Paccets at your spaceman from his mouth, which can be killed for extra points - and once you have fired enough shots at his eye to destroy it, he'll explode, and fall down off the bottom of the screen. Eight surprised Black Paccets will then fly up from the bottom of that screen, then disappear off the top of it as it fades out; they will then fly back down off the top as happy Yellow Paccets, as it fades back in and the game's ending sequence begins.