Pilotwings by Nintendo Author: DJ Tigresa and MC Pantera Email: djtigresa@classicgaming.com, mcpantera@classicgaming.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's Note ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This quickshot guide is copyright of Chiguresa "Tigresa" Steel and Pansela "Pantera" Steel circa 1990. This is based on the Super Famicom version of the game. Stuff is likely to change once the Super NES and the game is released in the USA. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Nintendo released the Super Famicom and soon to be released in USA, Super NES, they needed soft ware to show off the capabilities of their new game machine. Pilotwings fit the bill perfectly, using the Super Famicom/NES Mode 7 scaling and rotation to awesome effect. It is even (briefly) rumored that Pilotwings will be the Super NES “pack-in” game, not Super Mario World. Many players may be scared away, however, by Pilotwings being labeled as a flight simulator. “Flying simulator” would have been more appropriate, because Pilotwings is much more than just taking the controls of an airplane. The five modes of flight include Skydiving, Rocket Belt, Hang Glider, Light Plane, and Helicopter. The controls are much simpler than most flight sims, yet the challenge is prefect for players of all skill levels. After training with each of the events, you’ll meet the ultimate challenge of a hostage rescue mission. The Pilotwings Expert mode awaits those who rescue the hostages. A password system lets you continue on the last lesson you’ve reached. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Tips ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HANG GLIDER: The columns of clouds are the thermal drafts that take you to higher altitudes. Fly directly into a draft and you’ll soar upward roughly 300 feet. When you’re landing, use the flare to stall the glider, or you’ll land on your butt and lose points. LIGHT PLANE: You always start a Light Plane test going too slowly, so crank up the throttle with the A button. When you’re landing, come in smooth and on the center line. You can still steer the Light Plane once you’ve touched down until your speed hits zero. ROCKETBELT: Don’t even bother with the wimpy Slow Jets. They don’t burn much fuel, but they just don’t have enough power. When you’re landing on the bullseye, use the top-down view; when you’re landing on the moving target, use the forward view. (The moving target is too small and too hard to hit with the top-down view.) SKYDIVING: Use small steering adjustments as you fall through the rings. If you oversteer, you’ll fly away from the rings and lose big points. Once you yank the rip cord, use the flare to fall at the bulls eye. Don’t flare as you land if you want to stay on your feet and off your rear end. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight Area 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lessons: Light Plane, Skydiving Points Needed: 120 LIGHT PLANE: Accelerate to maximum throttle and dive until you’re lined up with the green sphere. There are ten spheres in line with the runway; touch them all for all ten Beam points. You don’t need to steer left or right; just touch down and you’ll be in the center of the runway. SKYDIVING: Fall straight down through the first two rings, then tilt forward just slightly to pass through the third one. Pull the cord once you’re under 1,000 feet and flare toward the bullseye. Don’t flare as you’re landing or you lose 10 Speed points. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight Area 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lessons: Light Plane, Rocketbelt, Skydiving Points Needed: 220 LIGHT PLANE: After you pass through the first ring, you’ll be told the proper altitude to fly through the next ring. You don’t have to be at the exact altitude, but the closer you are, the better. Land the plane after you pass through the third ring. ROCKETBELT: Use the Fast Jets to take off and tilt forward to fly through the first ring. The ring turns brown when you pass through it. The other two rings are actually the green spheres; fly toward the spheres and they turn into rings. Remember to use the top-down view to land. (If you’re going for the moving target, use the forward view.) SKYDIViNG: There are five rings in this lesson; the fourth ring is off to the side. Steer right and tilt forward to fly through the fourth ring, then readjust for the fifth and final ring. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight Area 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lessons: Hang Glider, Light Plane, Rocketbelt Points Needed: 220 HANG GLIDER: When the plane releases you, fly toward the thermal draft and soar up to 500 feet. Now maneuver to give yourself a long approach to the landing pad. This gives you plen ty of space to gradually descend. Remember to flare when you’re about to land. LIGHT PLANE: Acceler ate to maximum throttle and push Down on the controller until you take off. Fly through the rings for 50 points, and dive quickly after the last ring to get low enotigh for landing. ROCKETBELT: Use the Fast Jets to stay at roughly 50 feet above the ground. The highest altitude you can touch the green bars is at 75 feet. The bars turn brown when you touch them successfully. There are two bullseye landing pads, with the smaller one naturally being worth more points. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight Area 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lessons: Hang Glider, Light Plane, Rocketbelt, Skydiving Points Needed: 300 HANG GLIDER: Fly through the blue ring and hit a thermal updraft to gain altitude. Turn around and pass through the ring again. The land ing pad is almost directly below the ring, so fly far enough away from the ring to give yourself a good approach. LIGHT PLANE: Take off, fly straight for a while, then turn around and fly underneath the arch at 30 feet or less. Sounds easy, but it ain’t. Use the brown spheres to guide your landing. ROCKETBELT: Two of the rings in this lesson are moving. The spinning ring is easy to get through; the shrinking and expanding one is not. Hover in place until the ring starts to expand, then pass through it. SKYDiVING: Tilt forward to pass through the first four rings, turn and fall through the fifth, then turn back to fall through the final three rings. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Secret Command ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crank up the throttle to maximum and soar to the maximum height of 630 meters. It’s hardest for the enemy cannons to hit you at this altitude. Keep moving back and forth to avoid the cannon fire. Use the radar in the upper-left corner of the screen to locate the heli port where the hostages are located. On the way there, you’ll be shot at by cannons. Aim at the cannons with the crosshair in front of the helicopter. When you hear a lock-on sound and see a red box on the crosshair, fire your missiles to destroy the cannon. The heliport is guarded ( a large group of can nons, some of which are hidden in the foliage sur rounding the heliport. Use the crosshair to locate the hidden cannons and fire when you get a lock-on. Keep searching for the hidden cannons until you’ve destroyed them all. You can’t land safely until they’re all toasted. Drop the throttle to around 83 to descend. Aim for the heliport (the large H). When you land, your instructors will storm into the helicopter and you’ll complete the mission. Now you’re ready for Pilotwings Expert! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight Area 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lessons: Light Plane, Skydiving Points Needed: 140 LIGHT PLANE: The only difficult part of this lesson is landing safely on the snow-covered runway. If you hit one of the snow piles, you’ll only score points for having passed through the rings. SKYDIVING: Don’t move at all and you’ll go straight through all of the rings. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight Area 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lessons: Light Plane, Rocketbelt, Skydiving Points Needed: 240 LIGHT PLANE: Fly at about 20 feet to fly through the arches, then gain a bit of altitude before you reach the runway ROCKETBELT: Use the forward view to find the rings, then use the top- down view to fly through them. SKYDiVING: There’s a slight breeze blowing from the northwest, so you’ll be pushed southeast unless you adjust your fall to counteract the wind. Don’t adjust too much or you’ll be worse off than before. The rings are only worth 20 points, so don’t get bummed out if you miss a few. Just make sure to land on the 70-point landing pad! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight Area 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lessons: Hang Glider, Light Plane, Rocketbelt Points Needed: 240 HANG GLIDER: Keep using the thermal drafts until you reach 700 feet, then land the glider. Doesn’t get much simpler than that! LIGHT PLANE: The strong wind makes this lesson a real toughie. Keep the throttle at or around 90 to give yourself extra turning ability. ROCKETBELT: You have to fly at a ridiculously low 110 feet or less to touch the green beams. Use the Fast Jets to stay off the ground (and for a better Time score). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight Area 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lessons: Hang Glider, Light Plane, Rocketbelt, Skydiving Points Needed: 320 HANG GLIDER: No big tricks here, just take two passes through the ring and set yourself down on the ground. LIGHT PLANE: If you stay extremely low, you should hit the rotating arches even if you don’t actually fly through them. Once you get both arches, use the brown spheres to come in for a landing. Adjust for the heavy winds! ROCKETBELT: Use the forward view to find the bouncing targets, then switch to the top-down view to fly into their bounce paths. You can easily score 100 points in this lesson. SKYDIVING: Only a lucky dog or an ace player will get through all eight rings without being blown off course. Make up for missed rings with a bullseye landing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Secret Command 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This mission takes place in complete darkness, which makes the cannons harder to spot. Speaking of cannons, there are a lot more of them guarding the heliport, and more of them hidden away in the foliage. Stay at maximum altitude and bombard the cannons, turning hard to the left and right to throw off their aim. Keep turning, bombing, and dodging until you destroy all the cannons. Land at the heliport to complete the game and get a fairly decent ending sequence. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Secrets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BONUS STAGES: See those moving targets? Land on them and you’ll get to play hidden bonus stages for extra points. (You automatically get 100 points for landing on a moving target, even if you screw up in the bonus stage.) The bonus stage you play depends on the lesson you’re taking. If you’re in a Sky diving lesson and land on the moving target, you get the “penguin” bonus stage. Jump off the diving board and aim for the center of the pooi (worth 50 points). If you’re in a Rocketbelt lesson and land on the moving target, you get the “birdman” bonus stage. Bounce off the P blocks for points and keep jumping forward. Switch between top-down and forward views with the L and R but tons. If you bounce through all the P blocks, jump into the middle of the square bullseye for 50 points. DOMES: All of the Flight Areas have metallic domes on the ground. When you’re using the Rocketbelt, you can land on these domes and crush them. You normally lose two points for hitting the ground while in the Rocketbelt, but you don’t lose any for bouncing off a dome. PASSWORDS: Flight Area 2: 985206 Flight Area 3: 394391 Flight Area 4: 520771 Secret Command One: 108048 Flight Area 5: 400718 Flight Area 6: 773224 Flight Area 7: 165411 Flight Area 8: 760357 Secret Command Two: 882943