Controls
WASD moves the character. The arrow keys shoot. Holding two buttons at once will result in diagonal movement or firing. Diagonal shots are often the key to survival. Holding down the fire buttons will result in continuous firing. The spacebar will use the currently stored item.
Items
Items drop randomly from enemies. The first item collected (other than coins and extra lives) will be put in the item slot on the top left until you are ready to use it. You will not drop it on death. Any additional items will be used immediately.
- 1 Coin: Gives you one coin.
- 5 Coin: Gives you five coins.
- Extra Life: Increases your spare lives by one.
- Coffee: Increases your speed for a limited time. Usually not worth the risk.
- Heavy Machine Gun: Drastically increases fire rate for a limited time. Looks like an ammunition belt.
- Nuke: Kills all on screen enemies without dropping any items.
- Sheriff Badge: Combines the effects of Coffee, Heavy Machine Gun, and Shotgun. It lasts longer than most timed items.
- Shotgun: Makes you fire three shots at once at a slightly lower rate for a limited time.
- Smoke Bomb: Causes you to teleport to another location. Enemies will be confused and not move or damage you for a limited time, but will still spawn.
- Tombstone: Turns you into a zombie. You can move faster and kill enemies on contact until the music stops.
- Wheel: Makes you shoot in all eight directions at once for a limited time.
If you want use the stored item as an emergency device, it is best to use a Nuke or Wheel. Sheriff Badges, Smoke Bombs, and Tombstones are also useful.
Stage 1
Area 1 has no cover and the only enemy that spawns is the Orc. Orcs have 1 HP, move at varying speeds, and sometimes don't even follow you. They will try to swarm you. Area 2 adds Spikeballs and stockades. Spikeballs initially have 2 HP and move very quickly, but they do not follow you. Once they deploy, they will have 6 HP and block Orcs. The stockades will block bullets and movement, so you can hide behind them if necessary. Once Area 2 is complete, you will have the option to buy an upgrade from the vendor. If you have 15 or more coins, you should buy the Ammo to double the damage your bullets do. If you have 10-14 coins, you should buy the Gun to increase your firing speed. The Boots increase movement speed, but they are generally a waste of coins until you get to Hard Mode.
Area 3 adds Ogres. Ogres have 3 HP, but move slowly. They will destroy deployed Spikeballs on contact. The stockades are now directly in the firing path to the spawn areas, so you will have to move around a bit more to shoot the enemies. Area 4 makes the stockade look like a fort. You should stay inside unless you can get to an item without dying. If you do not have the first Ammo upgrade yet, now is the time to buy it. If you do have it, but you do not have the 30 coins for the next Ammo upgrade, buy the Gun.
The Cowboy
The Cowbow has two basic movement patterns that he uses in a random order. One pattern will make him stay directly below you while he fires. You should be firing continuously just to the edge of his stockade. Dodge back in after your first bullet hits him. The other pattern has him move to one side, back to the center, and possibly to the other side, still firing continuously. He will then pause. When he performs this move, shoot him diagonally from the side he is not on. If he pauses in the open, you can fire straight down without worrying about counter attack. Usually it is easier to keep shooting diagonally. If you fail to hit him for an extended period of time, he will start firing diagonally.
Stage 2
Area 1 has trees that can provide cover in the corners. Trees do not block shots. Ogres return, but the Orcs and Spikeballs have been replaced with Mushrooms and Pixies. Mushrooms have 2 HP and move very quickly, so they are tough to take down if you do not have the Ammo upgrade. Pixies have one HP and can fly over obstacles. They also spawn anywhere on the edge of the screen, so you will need to watch for them if you are hiding in a corner. After completing the area, you will get another chance to buy an upgrade. If you can afford the green Ammo, buy it to raise bullet damage to 3. Otherwise, upgrade your gun.
Area 2 has scattered trees and stumps. Stumps act like the stockades. You will effectively be focusing on three directions and sniping to the right when necessary. Area 3 has two streams with three bridges each. You will generally want to stay between the streams unless an item is beyond them. If you decided to buy the Boots, they will help you reach the item and get back quickly. After clearing the area, the vendor will come back. You are going to want the green Ammo for the next stage if you can afford it. If you already bought the green Ammo, a gun upgrade is better than the silver Ammo (which boosts bullet damage to 4). After choosing an upgrade, you will fight the Cowboy again. The fight is essentially the same as the first one.
Stage 3
Area 1 has Imps and Mummies instead of the previous stage's enemies. Mummies have 6 HP but move very slowly. Imps have 3 HP and fly very quickly. Focus on shooting the Imps. The tombstones act like trees. When the vendor arrives, buy either the green Ammo or the next gun upgrade. Ideally, you should now have bought three guns and two boxes of ammo, but the coin drops do not always permit that.
Area 2 has lava at the top and bottom edges. It will not hurt you, but it will prevent you from collecting any items that drop beyond it. The four tombstones are less helpful than Stage 1, Area 4's stockade, but they do provide some protection. Area 3 will only spawn Mummies on the left and right. This makes it hard to use the Mummies as protection against the swarms of Imps that spawn. Expect to lose quite a few lives here if you do not have the green Ammo. If you have the opportunity, replace your emergency item with a Sheriff Badge. Once the area is clear, the vendor will come back. If you have already purchased three guns, the gun slot will have a Sheriff Badge for 10 coins. If you do not have one in your item slot, use your current item and buy the Sheriff Badge. You can also get a Sheriff Badge if you have bought all three boxes of ammo. If you bought both pairs of Boots, you can get an extra life for 10 coins.
Fector
Fector can shoot in eight directions at once (from time to time), vary his firing speed, and spawn enemies to protect himself. He occasionally pauses. If you do not have the Sheriff Badge, focus on dodging while firing in his direction. If you do have the badge, wait until Fector is in the center of the area and you are in a corner. (Not the very corner, but a few squares away.) Use the badge and fire at him. Come closer if your outside shots are missing the enemies that he will try to spawn. This should destroy most of his health bar, if not all of it.
You can get similar results with a Heavy Machine Gun, but you will have to aim more. If you have a Shotgun, you can use the outside shots to hit Fector while he is doing his fire-in-eight-directions attack. If you brought a Nuke or Tombstone, it will only be useful against the extra enemies that Fector spawns. Touching Fector while in zombie mode may cause the game to become unwinnable. Coffee can help you dodge, but you should only be carrying it if you could not find a better replacement for your emergency item. Smoke Bombs may give you a short time to attack or a quick get away, but the random re-spawn location will limit your ability to get in shots. The Wheel item is virtually useless since the enemies will always be clumped in one spot.
Hard Mode
Once you beat Fector and watch the cutscene, you will be able to continue to Hard Mode with all your items and coins, but with three extra lives regardless of how many you had before. Extra lives will drop less frequently, so you may find that buying the Boots to get to the extra lives from the Vendor pays off. All enemies now have more HP. For example, Orcs will have 3 and Imps will have 5. Imps also spawn in every non-boss area. If you can survive long enough to collect 99 coins and all three gun upgrades, you will have the option to buy a Super Gun that will give you the three bullets of the Shotgun without the decrease in firing speed.