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Gremlins - Atari - Atari 2600    Manual Scan icon HTML Manual   

Gremlins Manual - Atari Age
                             GREMLINS
  
                   Based on the Spellbinding Movie!
  
  
  Video Game Cartridge for the Atari 2600 VCS
  (c) 1984 Warner Bros. Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
  
  
  Help!  It's Raining Mogwai and Gremlins!
  
  
  CAST OF CHARACTERS
  
  BILLY
  
  Billy is a nice young fellow who works in a bank. His life is fairly 
  ordinary until his dad gives him a Mogwai for Christmas. Then the 
  extraordinary happens!
  
  MOGWAI
  
  The Mogwai is a cute and cuddly animal that Billy's dad discovers in a 
  Hong Kong junk store. If not properly cared for, the Mogwai can turn 
  into something grim! Rules for the care of Mogwai:
  
  1. Keep them away from water. Don't ever get them wet. Water makes them 
  multiply.
  
  2. Keep them out of light. They hate bright light. It will kill them.
  
  3. But the most important thing, the thing you must never forget, is 
  that no matter how much they cry, no matter how much they beg, never, 
  NEVER feed them after midnight. If you do, they'll hatch into Gremlins!
  
  GREMLIN
  
  The Gremlin has an evil glint in his eyes. He causes problems wherever 
  he goes.  He's mischievous -- in fact, he's dangerous!
  
  
  SETTING THE SCENE
  
    Insert the GREMLINS cartridge into your Atari 2600 Video Computer 
  System as explained in your owner's guide and turn on the console.
  Plug a joystick controller into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack for a one-
  player game. Plug a second joystick into the RIGHT CONTROLLER jack for a 
  two-player game.
    Press GAME SELECT to choose a one- or two-player game and levels One 
  through Eight. At higher levels Mogwai come at you faster and Gremlins 
  double and triple.
    Press GAME RESET during a game to return to the title/select screen.
    To view a demonstration of the game, press GAME SELECT until it says 
  DEMO.
    Press the joystick fire button to start the game. If you stop playing 
  the game and it's not in the Demo Mode, the screen goes blank after 
  approximately nine minutes and a tone sounds. Press GAME RESET to 
  reactivate the game.
    Use your joystick to move back and forth across the bottom of the 
  screen. Pull back on the joystick to activate a flashcube in the Gremlin 
  Phase. Press the fire button to shoot at Gremlins.
  
  
  ON THE SET
  
    You start the game with four lives. The game player is Billy and the 
  game consists of two phases: The Mogwai Phase and the Gremlin Phase.
  
  MOGWAI PHASE
  
    It's after midnight; if Mogwai eat now, terrible consequences follow! 
  Billy must prevent the Mogwai from reaching the hamburgers at the bottom 
  of the screen by catching them. When the Mogwai reach the food, they eat 
  it and turn into pupas.
    If eight Mogwai turn into pupas, the Mogwai Phase ends and players 
  automatically start the Gremlin Phase. Alternatively, after four waves 
  of eight Mogwai, you receive 200 bonus points for each hamburger that is 
  not eaten. Then the Gremlin Phase starts.
  
  GREMLIN PHASE
  
    Too Late! Eight pupas have formed. The Gremlins are coming! In the 
  Gremlin Phase the incubating pupas hatch into Gremlins and attack. As 
  they charge down the screen toward Billy, he must shoot up at them to 
  stop them. If a Gremlin arrives at the bottom of the screen, it knocks 
  Billy off, and the player loses a life and returns to the Mogwai Phase. 
  In higher levels of Phase Two, the Gremlins travel through water, which 
  causes them to multiply! When Billy shoots all the Gremlins in a wave, 
  he advances to the next level of the Mogwai Phase.
  
  FLASHCUBES
  
    Use your flashcubes when things get too grim! You get two flashcubes 
  each Gremlin Phase. They appear as white squares in the lower left 
  corner of the screen. When you activate a flashcube (by pulling back on 
  your joystick), any Gremlins at the bottom of the screen run away and 
  Gremlins coming down the screen stop for a few seconds.
  
  
  SCORING
  
  
            MOGWAI PHASE                        GREMLIN PHASE
       (points per Mogwai caught)         (points per Gremlin shot)
      Level............... Points        Level............... Points
        1  ................  100           1  ................  200
        2  ................  110           2  ................  210
        3  ................  120           3  ................  220
        4  ................  130           4  ................  230
        5  ................  140           5  ................  240
        6  ................  150           6  ................  250
        7  ................  160           7  ................  260
        8  ................  170           8  ................  270
      Bonus points for each ham-
      burger that remains at the
      end of four waves      200
  
  
  STRATEGY
  
  MOGWAI PHASE
  
  * Don't stray too far from the screen center. It's the best location for
  running left and right to catch Mogwai.
  
  GREMLINS PHASE
  
  * If you shoot one Gremlin and another is directly above it, shoot the 
  second one before you move away.
  
  * At upper levels, try to destroy a Gremlin before it travels through 
  water and multiplies.
  
  * Wait until Gremlins hot the bottom of the screen before activating a 
  flashcube. Gremlins must be at Billy's level to run away -- otherwise
  they're just stunned.
  
  
  
  ATARI A Warner Communications Company
  (c) 1984 Atari, Inc.