Moon Cresta/Gameplay

Controls

• Joystick: Use the 2-way joystick to direct the current stage(s) of Moon Cresta across the bottom of the screen, or as it/they descend (while docking).
• Firing Button: Use this button to make the current stage(s) of Moon Cresta fire shots at the enemies (or to slow it/their descent as they are docking).
• 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.

Characters

Moon Cresta

This three-stage fighting rocket is the protagonist of the game; the player starts it with Stage I (which only has one cannon), and has to make it through the first four waves using it. If Stage I is destroyed, Stage II (which has two cannons) will attempt to get through - but if Stage II gets destroyed as well Stage III (which also has two cannons) will attempt to get through. If Stage III is destroyed in any of the first four waves the game will be over; however, if none of the stages have been destroyed after the second "Super Fly" wave, the text "----MISSION AIM---- DOCKING OF ROCKETS USING LEVER AND BUTTON" will appear on the screen, as the current stage moves up to the centre of the screen (unless, of course, it is Stage III). You will then have thirty seconds to direct the current stage down onto the next one - and if you succeed, the text "RIGHT ON!" shall appear on the screen as you receive 100 bonus points for every second you have remaining (but if you run out of time or crash, the stage attempting to dock shall be lost). This will also happen after the second "Meteor" wave (unless, again, you are down to Stage III); when two or three stages of Moon Cresta are docked, only one that is hit by an alien will be destroyed (which results in an amusing sight if all three stages are docked and Stage II's destroyed). After the second "Atomic Pile" wave the text "FAR OUT" will appear on the screen as Moon Cresta (or any remaining stages of it) flies/fly up off the top of it - and the game will then start again at a higher level of difficulty. If you manage to reach 60000 points, the text "ENJOY ANOTHER GAME" will appear on the screen after the last remaining stage of Moon Cresta gets destroyed and you get to continue from that point with a new Moon Cresta rocket; however, the game difficulty will have increased significantly by then.

Enemies

There are five types of enemies in this game: Cold Eyes (Waves 1 and 2, which will split into two when hit and are worth 50 points for each hit), Super Flies (Waves 3 and 4, 30 points), Four-Ds (Waves 5 and 6, 60 points), Meteors (Waves 7 and 8, 200 points) and Atomic Piles (Waves 9 and 10, 100 points); although they don't fire, they can still kill on contact, and the Four-Ds can also become invisible but continue to move while you can't see them. The Atomic Piles also start out resembling skulls, but once they have seen Moon Cresta, they transform themselves into arrows and fly down towards their target - and on later cycles, they'll transform immediately (the Cold Eyes will also split into two immediately, meaning twice as many aliens to kill).

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  Cold Eye (50 points)

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  Super Fly (30 points)

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  Four-D (60 points)

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  Meteor (200 points)

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  Atomic Pile (100 points)