Archer MacLean's Super Dropzone (1994) - SNES Manual
Archer MacLean's Super Dropzone
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Topics SNES Manual, Game Manual, SNES, Super Nintendo
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Collection manuals_contributions; manuals; additional_collections
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Language English
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https://archive.org/details/archer-macleans-super-drop-zone-pal
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Full text:

1. TH€ SUPER DROPZONE

MISSION BRIEFING 2

2. GETTING STRRTED 3

3. OPTIONS RND PRSSCODES 3

4. CONTROLLING THE GRME 4

5. STRUCTURE OF TH€ GRMC 5

6. UUCRPONRV RND POUU6R-UPS 6

7. THCRLICNS 7

8. SCORING 10

9. CREDITS 10

1. SUPER DRDPZDNE
MISSION BRIEFING

uuqs 10 years ago
■liBiBHithat; the devastating
robot wars of 2084 caused
mankind to seek out new sources
of minerals ond fuel on other
planets in the solar system. The
first source located wos on
Jupiters moon IO, because way
bock in the 1980's we discovered
active volcanoes throwing up vast
quantities of enriched ore from
deep within the moons core. Thus
o handful of brove men were
despatched to IO to mine the
planet ond send the valuable
minerals bock to earth. But
shortly after their arrival, a
previously unknown alien
intelligence on Jupiter, decided
to rid the human invaders
plundering their moon. So they
despatched wave upon wave of
there most hostile fighting
machines imaginable to wipe us
out.

Meanwhile the men had built a
single survival colony with a large
Dropzone landing pad alongside,
and installed a planet stabiliser
to prevent the volcanoes from
erupting, fill the men would roam
around the hostile volcanic
surface of IO in protective
Envirpods searching for its
valuable mineral deposits. Vour
original mission was to protect
them, as well as pick them up
one by one and return to the
Dropzone. Vou were equipped
with a jet powered back pack
with an awesome pulse laser
gun.

[However, its now 2095
land we have survived
10 years. We have
managed to establish a base on
3 more of Jupiters moons, known
as Callisto, Ganymede and the
ice moon Europa. We are slowly
winning the battle in the hope
that we will one day defeat the
aliens command center on Jupiter
and return to our home planet
Earth as heroic space warriors
with our valuable cargo.

Vou now have a heavily uprated
Back Pack with a range of
massively powerful weapons and
a limited duration indestructible
cloaking device, for use when
dealing with difficult situations.
The aliens have got nastier too.
They have multiplied
considerably and have evolved
into many forms, each more
relentless and hostile than ever
before.

VOUR MISSION starts on IO. Vou
must protect and rescue the ten

for over

UUPRNiNG.-Never try to insert or
remove o Gome Pali uuhen the
pouier is ON.

Once the intro sequence has
finished you will be given the
choice of two options:-

• Press the start button to
begin the gome at (JUave One.

• Press the select button to
go into the options menu.

On the Options menu use the
joypod to move up and down
through the available choices.

START NEW GAME

If you highlight this option,
pressing Start will begin the
game.

PASSCODE

This allows you to begin playing
the game at a certain level -
provided you tap in the correct
code. If you enter an incorrect
code, any previously set functions
will be disabled. To enter a code
use the joypad to move the cursor
left and right. Then use the X
(blue) button to select a higher
number and the 6 (yellow) button
to select a lower number. UUhen
you have entered all the digits
for your code, highlight the START
N€UU GAM€ option and press the
start button. If the code is a valid
one, it will remain active until the
machine is switched off, or
another overriding code is
entered. Passcodes will be given
out after every 5th level of the
game that you manage to get to.

3- OPTIONS AND
PASSCODES

men assigned to each moon, and
destroy all aliens you encounter.
The level ends when all aliens are
destroyed and all the remaining
men have been safely taken back
to the Dropzone. failure to keep
at least one man alive on the
surface or in the Dropzone base,
will result in the volcano stabiliser
becoming disfunctional causing
massive eruptions all over the
moonscape, making your survival
onto the next moon much more
difficult. On each level you must
collect the Bonuses and Powerups
to get the special weapons, vital
to your survival. There are ten
levels of action per moon
followed by a final planet
guardian. If you get past that you
will warp on to the next moon. If
you defeat all the aliens on all
four moons you will end up on
Jupiter itself, where you will face
one almighty final onslaught and
the mother of all planet
guardians. If you survive past all
of this you will have earned your
reward of being trans-warped
back home to our beautifull blue
earth, 500 million miles away.

aEEEEESL

• Make sure your Super N6S is
switched off.

• Make sure a control pad is
plugged into pot labelled T on
the control deck.

• Insert the Super Dropzone
game pak into your Super N€S.
Press firmly to lock the Game Pak
in place.

• Turn the power switch to
ON. An intro sequence will begin
automatically.

■4. CONTROLLING
THE GAME

SELECT

Press this to access the options
screen between gomes

START

This begins the gome, or if a
game is already in progress,
pressing this freezes the game.
To continue the game press start
again.

NUMBERS OF PLAYERS

Use the X (blue) and 6 (yellouu)
buttons to select between 1 to 4
players.

NUMBER OF CONTROL
PADS

Use the X (blue) and 6 (yellow)
buttons to select the number of
control pads to be used.

DISPLAY HALL OF
FAME

Select this and press start to
view the Hall of Fame, which
records the days best scores.
Press start again to return to the
options screen.

X [BLUE! BUTTON

for use with special weapons. If
you have selected homing
missiles, pressing this will
release one missile at a time. If
you have selected the rotamace,
then this will turn it on or off.

JOYPAD

Use the joypad to
move yourself
left,right,up and
down. This also
controls the
direction of fire.

B [YELLOW) BUTTON

This is for releasing a planet
shaking Strata Bomb to wipe out
most enemies in your immediate
vicinity.

THE MAIN SCREEN
DISPLAY

the main character with his back pack

space suit on.

the Dropzone itself

a Man in his dnviropod on the moons

surface

planter with Android spider egg
lowering onto moons surface
the main information panel and
Scanner.

A [RED] BUTTON

Fires the Pulse laser cannon. If the
automatic multiple fire laser
cannon is being used, just hold
the button down continuously.

Y [GREEN) BUTTON

Switches the cloaking device on
or off (if there is enough cloak
energy left)

THE L AND R BUTTONS DN
TOP EDGE DF CONTROLLER

Press these during the game to
select which special weapon that
you want to use, if available. The
information panel shows which
weapon has been selected.

1. score display / pause display

2. remaining lives

3. remaining Strata Bombs

4. remaining (invirpods that need
rescuing and transported back to
the Dropzone

5. special uueapon selector showing
currently chosen uueapon

6. remaining energy level of
activated special uueapon

7. remaining cloak energy level
8 direction indicator of nearest

Planter uuith Android egg
attacking a Man in his €nviropod.
9. scanner of uuhole of moonscape to
your left and right

SCANNER

The scanner is the most important
information area you hove. It
shouus o constantly updated
picture of uuhot is happening
elsewhere on the moonscape to
your left and right. Vou ore
oluuoys shouun in the middle of
the scanner, uuith everything
relative to your position.

5- STR UCTURE

of" game:

The gome is spread over the four
main moons of Jupiter, storting
uuith IO, then Callisto, Ganymede,
and €uropo, uuith o final level on
Jupiter itself. Vou uuill start of uuith
4 lives, 3 strata bombs, full cloak
energy, the normal pulse loser
cannon, ond no special weapons.
Vou must earn special weapons
and bonuses, although you will
get a bonus life ond strata bomb

for each 10
points scored.
Bonus points ore
awarded too

skillful players,
based on how many men you
rescue per wove, ond how many
survive each new level, ond your
clook energy will be replenished
ot the end of each level os well.
€very 3 waves you will hove o
special level which features
predominantly one type of alien,
which will allow you to leorn that
aliens characteristics, fit the end
of the 10th level on each moon
you will hove o planet guardian
to fight. These ore destroyed by
multiple shots to the glowing
green nerve centre that will be
momentarily exposed os they
move about. Once this is
destroyed you will go through o
worp stage that will take you
across space to the next moon,
where a similar level plan awaits
you. However things will become
more and more furious throughout
the game, and you will need the
use of your cloak and special
weapons more and more.

AT THE START DF
EACH LEVEL

fit the start of each wave all the
remaining humans in the
Dropzone moonbase, will be
seized by a tractor beam and
beamed up into a Leader enemy
hovering high above the moons
surface. This will then lower into
view and before the game can
proceed you must destroy this
Leader to release all the men in
their €nviropods. Leaders have to
be destroyed stage by stage,

and may even take a few strata
bombs to destroy. Rs you shoot
them, they will occasionally
release bonus or special
weapons discs. Vou must quickly
collect these within o few
seconds before they vanish. Rny
special weapons earned will
remain with you for the rest of
the level, or until you use them
up. Once a Leader is destroyed,
oil the captured men in the
€nviropods will be thrown out
onto the surface of the moon, ond
the main attack sequence of the
marauding aliens begins in
earnest. Some aliens will drift
harmlessly along, just getting in
your way, others will seek you
out ond try to collide with you or
shoot bock at you. The Planters in
particular will lower on Android
spider egg onto the moons
surface, which o few seconds
later hatches into on Android
spider. These spiders chose after
the men rooming around the
moons surface, and the planter
mutates into o red Nemesite
which simply homes in on you
where ever you ore. UUhen o
planter starts this sequence you
will hear o whistle for help from
the mon being targeted. Vou
must then use the attack
direction arrow in the information
panel to go ond rescue the
helpless mon before he is
destroyed. Vou will earn bonus
points for shooting on Android
spider egg os it is being planted
on the moons surface, os well os
additional points for each man
that survives the whole attack
wove. The men should ideally be
rescued one by one ond dropped
off on the Dropzone for relative

safety, although if oil the men
hove been rescued the planters
con still cause trouble by
invading the moonbase instead.
If oil the men perish, the volcanic
stabiliser system stops working
ond the moons surface becomes
o very dangerous place to be, os
oil the volcanoes erupt red hot
magma lumps and oil the
remaining planters turn into
bouncing anti matter orbs.

6. WEAPONRY

AND POWERUPS

Vou have at your disposal
enough firepower to knockout half
the solar system and with correct
use it should enable you to reach
the final stages of the game and
conquer all aliens. Vou start off
with a standard issue manually
operated pulse laser cannon, a
full energy pack for the cloak and
3 strata bombs. All other
weapons can only be obtained
by collecting bonuses and
powerups released by certain
aliens upon destruction.

BONUSES AND
POWERUPS

Throughout the game there will
be enemies that on destruction
will release bonus and powerup
discs onto the moons surface.
€ach has a letter on it to indicate
the type of bonus it is. C is for
extra cloak energy, 6 is for
increased jet pack boost, R is for
a rotamace weapon, M Is for
multiple fire heavy duty laser
cannon, H is for a homing missile
pack (really called Hitiles
because they will always destroy
something), S is for extra strata
bombs.

PLANTERS AND
ANDROID SPIDERS

Planters drift along through the
space rising up and douun over
volcanoes and the Dropzone
moonbose. Occasionally they
stop over a man wondering
around the moonscape below ond
decide to attack him. Fit this point
o whistle for help signols the
attack beginning. Check the

STRATA BOMBS

These emergency use weapons
when released disrupt the
molecules of just about
everything in sight. Vou ond the
men in their envirpods, or anyone
you ore carrying, will survive.
Occasionally a few aliens will
survive, such as the smaller aliens
that spring out when a bigger
one is attacked, and also the
trailers from spores.

MULTIPLE FIRE LASER
CANNON

This is a fully automatic self
reloading wide band laser cannon
capable of knocking out the most
irritating aliens, just keep your
finger on the trigger.

RDTAMACE

This is a twin axis rotating space
mace which constantly rotates
around you pulverising anything
stupid enough to get in its way.
Vou can even fire your pulse laser
at the same time, making you
one mean machine. But watch out
it only last so long, as shown by
the decreasing meter display in
the information panel.

HOMING MISSILES

If you have selected these, you
are in for a treat and any aliens

within sight are history. They are
small dense orbs of fusion plasma
which circle around you waiting
for an unsuspecting alien to loom
into view, once they have locked
onto their target nothing will stop
them. But you only get so many,
so keep an eye on the
decreasing count meter in the
information panel.

BOOSTER PACK

This gives your back pack rocket
thruster a supercharged boost so
powerful, that it automatically
engages the cloak when in use to
stop you smashing head first into
oncoming trouble. Vou can use it
to get out of trouble or to quickly
get to the other side of the moon
to protect a man being attacked.

AUTOMATIC WARNING
SYSTEM

This is a back pack computer
function which verbally warns you
of approaching aliens that you
might not have seen. It will shout
'INCOMING' when a fast moving
Nemesite enters the screen, or
'PULSC BOMB PRIMCD 1 when a
pulse bomb has been triggered
off elsewhere around the moon.

THE CLOAK

Vou can use your cloaking device
to make you momentarily
indestructible, although this only
lasts a short while as indicated in
the information panel. Vou cannot
pick up bonuses or the men when
it is in use. But you can replenish
the cloak energy by collecting the
bonus powerup with a 'C on it.

7 . the; aliens

NEME5ITES

These are the mutations of
Planters after they have dropped
off an Android spider egg. They
move fast ond get harder to hit
os the gome progresses. Its
better to get them before they
drop the egg. UUhen a nemesite
has moved into view you will
hear your Automatic UUarning
System shout out 'INCOMING' just
to moke sure you know that
trouble has arrived.

SPORES

These ore fairly harmless until
they ore triggered by one of your
weapons. They then split into 4
trailers.

TRALERS

These are released from Spores,
and generally wriggle around all
over the place causing a
nuisance.

NMEYES

[ PRONOUNCED N-M-l)

Nmeyes are very fast hunter killer
missiles sent in to interrupt your

game play if you have taken too
long to complete each attack
wave. They move erratically and
can out accelerate you. They also
spit bombs out at you. Vou are
better off being more efficient
and not letting them arrive in the
first place.

If you have rescued all men out
on the surface in their enviropods
and all other enemies have been
destroyed, the wave will end,
even if there is an Nmeye still
active and in hot pursuit.

BLUNDERSTORMS

Blunderstorms are an

enviromental hazard on all of
Jupiters moons. They either rain
down molecular acid beneath
them which you can't pass
through without being dissolved,
or they drift along, occasionally
rumbling different colors then
release an intense bolt of proton
lightning.

ANTI-MATTER ORBS

If you haven't done a very good
job protecting the men and they
all get destroyed, the volcanic
stabilisation system becomes
unstable. All planters mutate into
anti-matter orbs bouncing
erratically, and all the volcanoes
erupt.

VOLCANIC MAGMA
LUMPS

If the moon has become unstable,
the volcanoes spit out red hot
lumps of magma rock and larva
which will cause you to overheat
and blow up on contact. So its
best to not let the moon become
unstable in the first place.

scanner and the attack direction
arrow for where the attack is. The
Planter then lowers an Android
Spider €gg onto the surface. If
you manage to destroy the
planter as it is lowering the €gg
and then shoot the €gg as it falls
to the surface, you get a 500
point bonus. If you don't then the
planter deposits the egg and
transforms into a crazy red
Nemesite intent on charging at
you, whilst the egg hatches out
into an Android spider which then
scrambles along towards the
targeted man.

CLUSTERS

These are rotating metallic mine
laying aliens. They manufacture
and release a curtain of mines
which slowly fall to the surface
blocking your path.

SPIKES

Spikes are old fashioned and
fairly harmless alien weapons.
They just drift along spinning
around as they go. But if you
destroy one with a couple of
blasts from your laser cannon, it
releases a Dart bomb, which is
quite slow moving but will
deliberately home in on you.

WEAVERS

UUeavers are a complex mass of
elliptically rotating shells orbiting
a central bonus disc. They must
be destroyed by taking out every
shell, before the bonus can be
collected.

PULSE BOMBS

Pulse bombs simply trigger
themselves off when you are
nearby. They count down to zero
as shown in their middle. When
they blow, they radiate fire balls
in all directions taking everything
with them. If you destroy them
first they release a special
weapon disc. When they start
their count down sequence your
Automatic Warning System will
verbally announce 'PUIS6: BOMB
PRIM6D'.

DARTS

These are released upon
destruction of a Spike. They will
slowly but surely home in on you
where ever you are, and

generally be a pest. Its best to
zap them whilst they are nearby,
as they aren't that hard to hit.

PODS, RINGERS, AND
PLASMODS

Leader enemies are present at
the start of each wave. They use
a tractor beam to capture all the
surviving men. You must destroy
the leader to get the men back.
They don't explode without a
considerable amount of firepower
and even two or three strata
bombs might not finish them off
completely. They spit out clouds
of bombs and fireballs and a few
bonuses and powerups, which
you must collect because you
might not survive the rest of the
level without them.

TERRDRDACTYL, LOCUST,
MECHANICAL SPIDER,
INSECTIPEDE, PHOENIX.

After the tenth attack wave on
each moon, the only alien left to
fight is the Planet Guardian. They
each have a certain method of
moving and various anti social
habits for attacking you, but the
one thing you must remember is
that they all have one weak spot
which needs repeated strikes by
your remaining weapons in order
to finish them off for good. If you
triumph over them you will enter
the warp stage through space to
the next moon on your way to
Jupiter for the final battle.

PLANET GUARDIANS

THE LEADER ENEMIES

SN€S version copyright Curocom
Developments Ltd. S Archer Maclean
(1993/4)

Licensed by Psygnosis Ltd.

All rights reserved.

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purchaser of this Sony Electronic Publishing product,
for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of
purchase, that this Game Pak is free from defects in
material and workmanship and agrees, within such
period and at its option, to either repair or replace it
free of charge. Send product postage paid, together
with dated proof of purchase, to the address shown
below. This warranty shall not be applicable and shall
be void if the defect in this Sony Electronic Publishing
product has arisen through abuse, unreasonable use,
mistreatment or neglect.

THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER
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SOFTWARE PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED TO THE
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DAMAGES RESULTING FROM POSSESSION, USE OR
MALFUNCTION OF THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

Some countries do not allow limitations as to how long
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Columbia Tristar Home Video UK
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Horatio House
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Columbia Tristar Home Video
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* 25c buys 21.4 secs.Get parents
OK to call.

Men dropped off
on the Dropzone
during a wave
Men surviving the
whole level
Android shot whilst
being lowered by
planter

Android shot whilst

falling to surface

Planters

Nemesites

Anti-matter orbs

Both Blunder storms type

Spores

Trailers

Nmeyes

Clusters

Spikes

Darts

UUeaver elements
Pulse Bombs
All Leader enemies
struck per hit
All Planet guardians
struck per hit
Posthumous Loss of
life award

100-500
100-500

50

500

100

200

100

150

150

100

100

200

50

10

10

250

5

5

50

Original game concept
Archer Maclean

Super N€S version Design

Archer Maclean, Jon UUilliams, Hugh Binns,

Tim Rogers

Programming

Jon UUilliams, Tim Rogers

Graphics, Animation and Backdrops
Pete Lyon, Richard Browne, Steve Bedser,
Colin Garratt, Adrian Mannion, Hugh Binns

Sound Fx and Music
Neil Baldwin

Game testing for Psygnosis
Gary Nichols, Paul Cverson

Producers

Richard Browne, Tony Parkes

DROPZONC copyright Archer Maclean (1984)

DROPZON6 is a Trademark of Archer Maclean

Distributed by Sony Electronic Publishing
13 GT. MARLBOROUGH‘STREET
LONDON W1V2LP

j

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