Mr. Do's Wild Ride(Arcade) FAQ
version 1.0.0
copyright 2003
by Andrew Schultz schultza@earthlink.net
Please do not reprint this for profit. I wrote this document largely to
help preserve good old memories and interest in classic(and especially
'retro') games--both for myself and for others. If you really would like
to post this on your website, please send me a polite e-mail addressing
me by name and referring to this game specifically. If I don't know you
I generally give away one FAQ at a time at first.
** AD SPACE **
My web page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS/STRATEGY
2-1. MOVING MR. DO
2-2. GETTING E-X-T-R-A
2-3. WHEN TO SPEED UP
2-4. WHEN TO WAIT AROUND
2-5. THE UBIQUITOUS 'OTHER'
3. POINTS
4. LEVELS (4-1 to 4-6)
5. SECOND GO ROUND (5-1 to 5-6)
6. VERSIONS
7. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS/STRATEGY
2.1. MOVING MR. DO
The controls for Mr. Do are not too tough to figure, but you may
forget some details in the heat of the moment. Let's say you're running
right and the track curves down. You'll continue to run along it until
it's facing fully down. Then you will need to push down. While you can
push the joystick diagonally it doesn't do any good as Mr. Do runs
annoyingly in place. You will just run in place on the straight part.
This can also be a hassle on ladders. So the rule of thumb is: the
computer understands horizontal movements, but diagonal movements only
work on curvey bits. Mr. Do can also step almost halfway off any
platform.
The acceleration button is great for when you're in a jam. Mr. Do will
go extra fast but you'll lose bonus points more quickly.
Enemy cars behave according to gravity and the direction they're going
in. If they go down, they speed up. If they climb, they're slow. On a
level with Mr. Do the velocity depends on the height. That's because
they still have some residual energy left over after they've dropped
from the top.
Now Mr. Do obviously loses if he runs into a car or an obstacle. But
he can also lose out if he falls off a moving part of the track(level 3)
or if he climbs up and a car comes zooming by above him. The latter
scenario is the most common, and in later levels there may be no way out
of this without being able to see a good deal in advance. I think if you
can get through one loop of this game, you're doing fine and can
concentrate on others.
2.2. GETTING E-X-T-R-A
Most of this is pretty hard coded. There are dip switches you can set
to make this relatively easy, and in general you should be able to
finagle things so you have at least three of the letters after two
levels. Possibly four letters. But the problem may be the second extra
guy; the game gets a bit stingy after first giving you what you want.
The big trick you can use to get an extra life is when you are near the
end. Frequently there's one cherry you may or may not want to grab
depending on if you have the letters you want near the goal. It's often
pretty easy to move back from the last ladder to the second-last, or to
run under from the second-last and pass the final one. This allows you
the option to play the lottery once more.
The choice of which items appear near the goal depends on when you
grab the cherry. It happens every split second, which I can't quite pin
down. Maybe four times a second. Which makes for sufficiently random
item generation.
2-3. WHEN TO SPEED UP
On the first three levels you probably shouldn't have to use your
speed unless you want to get ahead to the next ladder a bit quickly, or
you need to retreat fast--with one clear exception where you need to
make a long run fast. Later on there will be major obstacles you'll want
to get around. You also get outrun by cars on flat ground so that may be
a reason to speed up. But the usual save-till-you-need-it applies.
Given how much speed takes away from your bonus, it doesn't seem like
much fun to wait around, but you may have to.
2-4. WHEN TO WAIT AROUND
Often it seems like waiting around may not be doing anything, but
often it subtly adjusts the timing. It may actually be best to climb up
and down, ducking cars that come above and below you. For instance, on
the second level you have to wait for a time when a car passes just
before a pirate ship gets to its apex so you can run right under. On the
later levels you may have no choice but to wait, after which the timing
adjusts and you may run into a trap. If you can run back to the previous
ladder and come back, then that may work well, but it is tough to judge.
Waiting around may freak you out a bit especially in the upper left.
Because cars coming above and below you seem to be synchronized, but
often on the turn the lower one will go a bit faster. Climb up and
quickly go down. If the cars come together too close for comfort it is
time to move.
2-5. THE UBIQUITOUS 'OTHER'
There are so many negative strategies (i.e. don't do this) that you
will probably figure out. But I will mention them here to try to help
you avoid a painful learning curve.
--First of all you need to watch cars on the comeback. They can run to
the side of the screen and back. The art of climbing/descending quickly
is important, and often you need to judge in advance when to be on the
top of the ladder and when to be on the bottom.
--Second, waiting is a virtue. Be prepared to do so quite a bit.
--Also, you may take good time to figure out which loops are the most
devious.
--Cars can come from the other side of the screen as your
transport(elevators, etc.) just goes a bit. So there's a paradox: the
closer a car is to where you want to be, the safer you are.
--The game warns you when an obstacle is near with sounds. These are
good peripheral hints if you are focused on other parts of the game a
bit too much.
--Spinners go clockwise and are safer to pass by staying behind
them(which saves bonus points,) unless a car is coming at you, in which
case you'd better run for it.
3. POINTS
--10 points for each piece of track you get to. If you retreat and come
back, no bonus points. For each level this varies. Level 2 gives ~3200,
level 2 gives ~3150, 3 gives 1800, and 6 gives 600. 4 and 5 give about
3000 points too.
--100 points for grabbing a cherry at the top of a ladder. No bonus for
getting them all, although the cherries change the rewards at the end of
the level. The cherries also pop up randomly at the start of each level.
Should you die the award will remain the same, and the cherries will not
regenerate.
--100 points for letting one car go under you
--300 points for letting two cars together go under you
--500 points for letting three cars together go under you
(sometimes you just get 100 + 300 if they're split a bit)
--4500 points for finishing a level, minus
{ ~35 points per second Mr. Do walks slowly
{ ~350 points per second Mr. Do walks fast
--for the bonus I tend to get 3000 points on level 1 down to 1800 for
level 5, with ~2500 for level 6. You also don't get points for how far
you may move at first.
Points for items at the end of a level(sum of any two of below:)
--600 for trophy
--500 for letters
--400 for sword
--300 for umbrella
--200 for drink
--100 for sundae
--10000 + free game for a diamond
Extra lives are not based on points but rather on getting the E-X-T-R-
A. Even getting the diamond(which you probably don't need) can get in
the way a bit of this, but in general once you get one extra life the
game is not nearly as generous with the right letters as before, so if
you are playing for points and good enough to get an extra life the vast
majority of the time, a diamond will help you pile 'em up. I find that
without abusing speed you get about 7000 for a successful run through,
with 2000-3000 for each aborted attempt i.e. life lost.
There are some dip switches, too.
Difficulty: easy, medium, hard, hardest
Extra man: easy, hard(switches to hard after 1st, which never has more
than one letter)
Specials: given, not given(i.e. the diamond)
Credits/coin: 1/1 2/3 1/2 1/3 1/4 free play 3/2 2/1 3/1 4/1 5/1
4. LEVELS (4-1 to 4-6)
I've tried to make these maps as accurate as possible. The screen is
240x192 divided into 8x8 pixel large icons. The map size reflects this.
I may label critical positions 1, 2 and 3 but the basic ledger is:
& = balls bouncing back and forth
. = restricted to cars
-/= where you can walk
\|
H = ladder
* = cherry
! = end
@ = spinner(always in the direction you travel which seems to be
clockwise too)
4-1. LEVEL 1
.........................
.. .
.. H H H . !!
. //-------\\ //---------
. // \\ //
. // \ /
. | | |&&&&&&&&&
. |&&&&&&&&&&&&| |
. | | \\
. | | \\ H
. |&&&&&&&&&&&&| \------\\
. \\ \\ \\
. \\ H H \\ H \
. \\-------\ \---------\ |
. \\ X
. \\ H H / \
. \\---------/ |
.. //
. H H //
..-----------------------/
With only one loop this level is not too tricky. The main problem is
to watch out for roller coaster cars above. Just keep in mond where one
is--you really only just have to look above. Also note that the balls
bouncing back and forth can't really hit Mr. Do, so that is one less
thing to worry about.
You shouldn't have to run very fast here, unless you want to get to
the goal and there are two letters by there and you don't want to get
the last cherry. In fact you may want to climb the ladder before the
back and forth bouncing balls and wait to make a nice long run. The cars
aren't particularly rampant here. Don't worry about climbing into the
silver balls and getting hit(well, not until level seven,) although if
you only have one letter by the goal you may wish to climb the ladder
below the bouncing balls to the right. You can wait there as long as you
want. Then you can run by the balls and the next ladder if you have
letters you like, or you can go slowly and just duck cars and climb as
they run under. Then it's a free ride to the goal.
4-2. LEVEL 2
..............
.. .
.......... .
.. * * /------
. H H // *
. /-----\ /--/ H
. // \\ // * /---\
. | \-------/ H // \\
. \\----\ * /--/ \
. * \\ H // * |
. H \---------/ H /
. /---\ /------/
. // \\ H // *
. / \-----------/ H
. | * /-----\
. \ H H // \\
. \----------\ /---/ \
. \/ * |
. /\ H /
..----------- -----------/
This is another level that is not too bad. The main problem is with
the pirate ship. What's the best way to deal with it? Unfortunately
there may be a timing issues with racecars coming by and undercutting
you. You'll probably need to run straight through to get to the goal
from the upper left cherry, and you'll need to do a lot of ducking and
climbing on that ladder. Note that the cars come by a bit later after
each time you duck and climb. Eventually the car will go by just as the
ship is about to get to the top. Then you can run past. Use the
accelerator button. If the car just went by then you can run quickly and
grab the cherry to the right(if it's there) and keep going. Don't scrimp
on the speed as another car will be coming down the pike.
Also note here that although the level seems quite linear, this can be
an annoyance as a racecar you just ducked above may come back around and
get you unless you climbed the ladder in the meantime. You can be
knocked off pretty much every ladder if you are not careful, and any car
that comes rushing by above will soon undercut you from below. You'll
also want to go slowly--running for that next ladder will eat up more
bonus than it's worth, and the cars are not terribly hard to avoid.
4-3. LEVEL 3
** **
** .**
..
..
.
.......vv.......--\
.. \
. | !!
. /----..-----vv---+--------
. / * * * | ...
. / H H H / ** .
. | /---vv-----..--/ ** .
. | / * * * .
. | \ H H H .
. | \---..-----vv-----^^.. .
. \ * * . .
. \ H H . .
. \----vv.........---^^.. .
. * * .
.. H H ..
..-----vv-----vv-----^^...
This is probably the best designed out of all the levels. Mr. Do has
multiple ways he can get to the finish--a short way and a long way--due
to the elevators, although they do leave him vulnerable. A car can run
the length of the screen in the time it takes Mr. Do to move down.
The short way is far right, up two, far left, down one, and around the
orange track to the goal.
You can however take a scenic route by going far right, up two, and
around the yellowish track. At the top, you can go down the center
escalator one and you can even go left to pick up another cherry to get
the combination you want. It shouldn't be hard to duck everything. But
you may have to wait a few iterations of cars going under you.
Eventually you'll be able to catch the escalator down on a fast run.
4-4. LEVEL 4
........................
.. * * .
. H H . !!
. ...-------\ /----------
. .. * \\ // V * V
. . H \\ // v H
. . /--------+-/ /-----...
. . // | //v v .
. . // @ |H // v v .
. . | /+--/ v v .
. . \\ * //| * v v .
. . \\ H // \\H v v .
. . \--\ | \-\ v v .
. . * \ | \\ v v .
. . H / | | v v .
. ...---- | | v v .
. // | * * .
. // \\H H .
..------/ \-----...
Here you'll probably have to use the speed-up to be safe on a few long
runs. Timing becomes more critical here, and there are a few nasty
ambushes. You also won't be able to get all the cherries, which may be a
blow to your perfectionist streak, but they aren't really that important
anyway.
Push right until the first challenge, which will be the lead balls on
the springs. You just have to wait a bit to get by the first one. You'll
probably have to use the ladder to wait for a time to get onto the
platform to the right, which takes you to the bottom. There will be cars
coming from the top and bottom. When the coast is clear, get on. Don't
leave too early as the game is a bit nasty about killing you off and
bouncing you around if you do. Now look at the left side. If a car
starts making its way up the wire, not just released from the red white
and blue thing, RUN past the bouncing weights(you may need to anyway) to
get to the stairs in the middle. Climb and let the car go past.
Here there may be another car coming at you. There probably isn't a
hurry but you can afford to run to get to the next ladder to the upper
left. Just be sure to get the movement right: left, up, left, up.
As long as there's no car coming down by the goal you can take the
second moving platform down. Now you have a big timing task ahead.
You'll need to climb quickly up when a car goes past--after it passes
above and before it comes back down. In fact if there are three at once
you may need to backtrack on the platform.
Now you can only advance if no car is by the goal swooping down--
otherwise let it pass, wait and try again. There's nothing wrong with
running by the spinning ball here. Just don't relax once you're past and
climb the stairs oblivious to a car coming in above from the left.
You now have an ideal situation--check the letters you have, and if
they're not so hot, you can wait for cars to go under, get the final
cherry, and run right or just duck cars above and climb quickly. Then
run right.
There aren't a whole lot of cars to duck here, but you have to duck
them RIGHT.
4-5. LEVEL 5
.........................
.. * * .
. H H .!!
. /-------\ /-\ /-\ /----
. // * \/ \/ * \/ *
. // H /\ H /\ H /\ H
. | /-/ \-/ \-/ \-\
. | // \
. \\ // \
. \\ // |
. \--/ |
. pony-->> * * //
. H H //
. /-----------------------/
. / * * * <<--pony
. \ H H H
. \------------------------\
. * \
. H /
..------------------------/
You'll have to loop around a whole lot near the end, and the beginning
isn't exactly easy either with the horses in the way. There will be a
few places where a quick dash is a relative must so you want to save up
your bonus for them. There will also be some close calls, and the
weaving in and out near the end will wreak havoc on your eyes and
instincts, so be very careful. Remember: if a car is heading for the
loop two over from you, it's going to hit you, but if it's heading for
one over, it'll nail you if you climb a ladder.
The first part is easy to describe how to get through even if the
timing is tough. Note how the horses bounce--from the left, one will
move between the second and third levels of the track, and from the
right, the other will move between the first and second. They then leave
the field and repeat, and you need to beware that it's impossible to
sneak past them in the transition on the second track level. You'll need
to run past/under them on the second track, or run above them/climb the
far right ladder on the third. This isn't hard as they aren't exactly in
touching range for a while, and you can stay behind the pony at the top
instead of running past it. The pony below can also briefly touch you
from below, but this will only be a problem once as you cross.
The long walk right at the start is pretty easy(speed won't help, as
you will still have the same roadblock to clear) but to get past the car
coming down first, climb up the ladder on the right and when it passes,
immediately go down and left. Time the horse to the left to duck under
it and circle back around. No real need to pick up cherries although
you'll probably need to duck another car at the left of the third track
level. The next part will require you to get to the ladder on the right.
Stopping in the middle for a cherry is a temptatio you should know
better than now. Once the car passes under, RUN up the right side of the
track and get on the ladder.
Here's where you need to develop an awareness of what parts of the
loop are right next to you. You may have to quickly climb and drop to
avoid cars coming from the left and right. The old 'look both ways'
adage works well here. Basically as you go left, cars will come under
from the left and over from the right. The two ladders in the upper left
will provide a haven if you get past, though, and don't panic if cars
seem synchronized going up the track and the part you can't reach. The
car to the left will go faster with the turn ahead.
Once it does you may want to run around past the swinging ball, as
that car that went a bit slower will pick up speed going right across
the top. It'll be a close call running to get to the next ladder and
climb it, after which you'll have to duck down to avoid the menacing
car's return visit.
4-6. LEVEL 6
.................
....... ..
.. ## ## ## ## ..
. # ## ## ## # . !!
. /---.# ##<>##<>## #. ---
.// .# ##<>##<>## #.
.| . # ## ## ## # .
|... . ## ## ## ## .
| . . .
| . . .
.|... ................
.| * *
. \\ H H
. \--........---.....----...
. * * .
. H H .
. /--......---...
. //
. //
..--------/
There's a nice formula to get through this level that should usually
work. If it doesn't, or if you delay getting started, you may just have
to cut things off by getting on the conveyor belt and taking the first
exit to the left, letting a car duck under, and then going back up.
Here's my solution:
Go right immediately. Get on the circular conveyor. Take the second
left as it goes up. Climb to get the cherry. One car passes underneath.
Go left and get on the conveyor and get the next cherry. Another car
should pass underneath shortly but in any case get on the next conveyor
quickly. You'll duck under the next car rushing by. Get the cherry and
then walk around. You'll be able to drop onto the conveyor and the car
won't hit you from below. You should be able to go forward. A rule of
thumb here is: if there's a car right behind you, you can afford to take
one of the conveyors that is about to circle up, as the car's faster
than the conveyor. Now all you have to do is circle around a few times
wait for the cars until one is pretty close to behind you. As you're
going down, walk left onto the final conveyor and then right when it's
going down.
This level goes against immediate prejudices and can be tricky at
first, but if you are patient it actually takes the least time. Just
remember that for your next ride on the conveyor belt, if a car is far
away it may mean trouble, except for the one in the bottom right where
you duck under. The car should be ready to come down when you get on the
conveyor.
You also probably need to be aware of the surprising leeway you have
here(not in touch with the Mr. Do series in general) where Mr. Do's cap
can touch the cars and he won't die, Mr. Do can jump onto the conveyor
and not get hit from below, and Mr. Do can fall a bit to reach the next
conveyor(in fact it's better to risk too early than too late.) For the
jumps near the end it's best to move between conveyors when you feel a
little uncomfortable about how close the next car will be to knocking
you off at the top. Otherwise if a car is just about to pass by where
your conveyor will go, take it. The conveyor is slow.
A final resort may be to shuffle around on the conveyor itself. You
might save just enough time for a car to just miss you if you nudge
forward or backwards to the edge, although once Mr. Do is a bit over,
you will fall.
Generally as a rule of thumb having two platforms pass by counts as
one cycle of the cars rushing around.
5. SECOND GO ROUND (5-1 to 5-6)
The levels seem to get more random here and I believe I've been stuck
with no way to get out, so don't feel silly if you can't get past any of
them here. I'll outline the differences with some maps as well.
LEVEL 7:
.........................
.. .
.. H H H . !!
. //-------\\ //---------
. // \\ //
. // \ /
. | | |
. |&&&&&&&&&&&&| |&&&&&&&&&
. | | \\
. | | \\ H
. |&&&&&&&&&&&&| \****--\\
. \\ \\ \\
. \\ H H \\ H \
. \\-------\ \---------\ |
. \\ X
. \\ H H / \
. \\---****--/ |
.. //
. H H //
..-----------------------/
Here you have more frequent cars, silver balls to avoid after the loop
in the upper left(nasty quick timing, and you often need to judge where
you can go up/down quickly while the silver balls have clicked apart)
and then make sure that you can get by the spinning batons. The batons
will take you out if you're above OR below them, which is tricky.
Running past them is hardly imprudent. It's a good safe use especially
if they are moving away from you. Just beware that you'll have to pass
each twice.
Also watch out near the end--it's not safe any more to avoid the
silver balls near the end. Just run to the end when possible and get on
with it.
LEVEL 8:
..............
.. .
.......... .
.. * * /------
. H H // *
. /-----\ /--/ H
. // \\ // * /---\
. | \-------/ H // \\
. \\----\ * /--/ @ \
. * \\ H // * |
. H \---------/ H /
. /---\ /------/
. // \\ H // *
. / @ \-----------/ H
. | * /-----\
. \ H H // \\
. \----------\ /---/ @ \
. \/ * |
. /\ H /
..----------- -----------/
The three spinners here aren't too bad although you may want to run
past them and not just walk. Proceeding one ladder at a time should not
be bad and again you'll have to contend with waiting for the pirate ship
and the cars to synchronize so you can run past everything at once. Note
that you can save a bit of a bonus following the spinners instead of
running past them(they're faster than you.)
LEVEL 9:
** **
** .**
VV VV..
VV VV..
.
.......vv.......--\
.. * * * \
. H H H | !!
. /----..-----vv---+--------
. / * * * | ...
. / H H H / ** .
. | /---vv-----..--/ ** .
. | / * * * .
. | \ H H H .
. | \---..-----vv-----^^.. .
. \ * * . .
. \ H H . .
. \----vv.........---^^.. .
. * * .
.. H H ..
..-----vv-----vv-----^^...
Here you just need to worry about the yellow banners being dropped.
They get in the way of climbing on some ladders, and it's probably best
to run past them. You also can't wait on the second-last ladder to try
to get a better letter combo, and it's risky even to time when the next
banner will drop there. The short way pointed out is also risky as the
banners will cut you down unless you are willing to run by the far left.
The long way pointed out in level 3 works more smoothly.
Levels 10 through 12 just have a whole ton of cars more than the
previous level. They'll probably nail you by volume--you will have to
wait around a lot, then you'll get trapped, and it will be quite
annoying. Level 13 is a reprise of level 7, and so forth.
End of FAQ proper
================================
6. VERSIONS
1.0.0 sent first version to GameFAQs 09/14/2003. Should be mostly
complete.
7. CREDITS
The usual GameFAQs gang. They know who they are, and you should, too,
because they get some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer,
daremo, falsehead, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon, and others I forgot.
CJayC for creating GameFAQs.com so that I could post cute little time
wasting guides like this.
The mame.net crew for putting in all those doo dads that allow me to
analyze such a tough game.
