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| | I R C U S | | H A R L I E
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Copyright SoftPro 1986
Written By Brian P. Sulpher
E-mail: briansulpher@hotmail.com
Version 1.3
Dates Written: January 29th to January 30th, 2004
I dedicate this one to Jennifer Dixon. Her complete and utter love for this
game has convinced me to write this FAQ. I love ya babe, and I still think
back on the wild circumstances that we met through, and thE even more amazing
events that led to us getting together! I LOVE YOU.. YOU'RE BETTER THAN ICE
CREAM!
Also, for Cougar, Howler, Koonce, and Gracey. I miss you, and I hope you
are living it up in the afterlife as you did in this world. You will always
be in my memories, and you will never be forgotten.
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Version 1.0
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-Submitted FAQ on January 30th, 2004
-I always welcome contributions, so send them in!
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Version 1.1
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-Submitted FAQ on April 5th, 2004
-Altered format and corrected a few errors
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Version 1.2
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-Submitted guide on March 28th, 2005
-I added in Honestgamers as a site allowed to use my FAQs
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Version 1.3
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-Submitted guide on June 22nd, 2005
-I added in Retronintendo as a site allowed to use my FAQs
-Altered the format to make it easier on the eyes of the reader
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-----------------------------Table Of Contents------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Introduction
2) Controls
3) Lion Riding
4) Tightrope Walking
5) Ball Balancing
6) Trick Riding
7) Trapeze Swinging
8) Bonus Lives
9) Final Word
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---------------------------------Introduction-------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Charlie wanted to join the circus, and he has done so! He will move up
through the harder events by proving himself on the lesser events,
eventually reaching the Trapeze Swinging he wants to do. So, put on your
best clown make-up, bring your reflexes, and guide little Charlie to his
destiny!
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-----------------------------------Controls---------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) This section will look at all the different controls for each circus
event that Charlie will partake in.
o-------------o
| Lion Riding |
o-------------o
D-Pad : LEFT and RIGHT will move Charlie and his lion in the corresponding
direction.
SELECT : No apparent use.
START : Pauses/unpauses the game.
B Button: Charlie's lion will hop into the air when this is pressed.
A Button: Charlie's lion will hop into the air when this is pressed.
o-------------------o
| Tightrope Walking |
o-------------------o
D-Pad : LEFT and RIGHT will move Charlie across the Tightrope in
the corresponding direction.
SELECT : No apparent use.
START : Pauses/unpauses the game.
B Button: Charlie will leap high into the air.
A Button: Charlie will leap high into the air.
o----------------o
| Ball Balancing |
o----------------o
D-Pad : LEFT and RIGHT will move Charlie and his large ball in the
corresponding directions.
SELECT : No apparent use.
START : Pauses/unpauses the game.
B Button: Charlie will leap high into the air.
A Button: Charlie will leap high into the air.
o--------------o
| Trick Riding |
o--------------o
D-Pad : LEFT and RIGHT will slow down Charlie's momentum and speed it up
respectively.
SELECT : No apparent use.
START : Pauses/unpauses the game.
B Button: Charlie will leap high into the air.
A Button: Charlie will leap high into the air.
o------------------o
| Trapeze Swinging |
o------------------o
D-Pad : LEFT and RIGHT will aim Charlie's leaps through the air in the
corresponding directions.
SELECT : No apparent use.
START : Pauses/unpauses the game.
B Button: Charlie will leap high into the air.
A Button: Charlie will leap high into the air.
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---------------------------------Lion Riding--------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) This section will look into the Obstacles, Points, Bonus Points,
Strategies, and Looping Changes.
o-----------o
| Obstacles |
o-----------o
Flaming Pot : Found every 10 metres down the course, Charlie will need to
jump these anoyances.
Fire Ring : This is the main obstacle, these rings will continually be
moving down the course towards Charlie. Hop through them as
Charlie moves to the right.
Mini-Fire Ring: Although these rings can be walked right underneath, you may
wish to hop through them for the great bonus points they
offer (see the Bonus points section for details).
o--------o
| Points |
o--------o
Flaming Pot: 200
Fire Ring : 100
o--------------o
| Bonus Points |
o--------------o
i) Jump a Flaming Pot AND a Fire Ring (as well as a Mini-Fire Ring) at the
same time to recieve a total of 400 Points (meaning you gain an
additional 100 points for performing this feat).
ii) If you hop through a Mini-Fire Ring successfully, you will gain either
500 or 1000 points (it appears to be random and not related to the
number on screen, which is always 500 points) by grabbing the Money
Bag.
iii) When you get to a Fire Pot, jump back and forth over the top of it,
waiting until a small coin flies upwards for Charlie to grab (this one
is worth the effort as it smacks an extra 5000 points onto your
score!).
o------------o
| Strategies |
o------------o
i) Be aggressive and charge forward to hop both Flaming Pots and Fire
Rings in one hop. However, do not push it too far or your lion will
get burned.
ii) Do not get too tied up into trying to get the Bonus Coin or to get the
Money Bag as surviving the round will lead to more points and a longer
game than some foolish deaths.
o-----------------o
| Looping Changes |
o-----------------o
i) The amount of Fire Rings and Mini-Fire Rings will be increased.
ii) A new obstacle, a Double Fire Ring will appear. These can be grouped
fairly close together, but they can also be placed far enough apart
that only a perfect jump will allow Charlie to clear them. You can not
jump between them, even if they are extremely far apart. You will gain
500 points for jumping through one of these Double Fire Rings.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------Tightrope Walking-----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) This section will look into the Obstacles, Points, Bonus Points,
Strategies, and Looping Changes.
o-----------o
| Obstacles |
o-----------o
Blue Monkey : Every now and then, this monkey will come charging along the
Tightrope, jumping the other monkies that are ahead of him.
He is a very dangerous obstacle, so keep a sharp eye out for
him.
Brown Monkey: Walks in a straight line across the Tightrope, often
travelling in small groups with other Brown Monkies.
o--------o
| Points |
o--------o
Blue Monkey : 200
Brown Monkey: 100
o--------------o
| Bonus Points |
o--------------o
i) If you jump a Brown Monkey as a Blue Monkey is jumping the same Brown
Monkey, you should also sail over the Blue Monkey. If you land the
jump successfully, 500 points will be your reward.
o------------o
| Strategies |
o------------o
i) For this level, charging forward and jmuping everything as you go
forward at full tilt is suggested as this level is VERY easy. The only
time you should be cautious is when the Monkies are together in groups
of three or more, so jump carefully and take your time in those
situations.
o-----------------o
| Looping Changes |
o-----------------o
i) More Brown Monkies will be appearing in groups of three. They will
also be grouped into tighter groups more frequently.
ii) The Blue Monkies appear much more commonly.
iii) The Blue Monkies can now move in groups of two, one right behind the
other. Jumping the two at the same time is worth 400 points, and if
you hop both while both are hopping a Brown Monkey, 1000 Bonus Points
will be yours.
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--------------------------------Ball Balancing------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) This section will look into the Obstacles, Points, Bonus Points,
Strategies, and Looping Changes.
o-----------o
| Obstacles |
o-----------o
Balancing Balls: They are the only obstacles and the only things that
Charlie is allowed to set foot on. Falling off of them
will cause Charlie great discomfort in his groinal region
(that means he will do the splits at a ridiculous falling
speed).
o--------o
| Points |
o--------o
Jumping from one to the next (Balanaing Balls): 100
o--------------o
| Bonus Points |
o--------------o
i) If you can jump over one Balanaing Ball to land on further down the
line (in effect, skipping the next one to land on the one after), you
will recieve 500 points as a reward.
o------------o
| Strategies |
o------------o
i) Take your time to line up your jump with the next Balancing Ball,
remembering that Charlie can move left faster than the unmanned balls
can. However, be aware of the balls behind Charlie that have not gone
flying off screen yet.
ii) Only try to skip a Balancing Ball if the next one in line is VERY close
to the one you intend to skip. If you are not sure, it is best to just
jump to the next one in line, as trying to skip balls too often is a
sure way to lose a life on Charlie.
iii) When you reach the end, be sure to line your jump to the stand
accurately, or poor Charlie will look really stupid with his broken
groin on the ground!
o-----------------o
| Looping Changes |
o-----------------o
i) The Balancing Balls will be spaced with more room between the closer
ones, but the blank areas of no ballas have been filled. This means
that you will be forced to deal with a lot more jumps than the first
time through this area.
ii) The close together Balancing Balls are eseentially non-existent, so
gaining the Bonus Points for jumping a Balancing Ball will have to be
gained through jumping over large distances. Unless you are conpletely
sure you can make it, don't bother attmpeting the jumps for these Bonus
Points, as losing an extra Charlie is not worth it if you are not sure
you will make it.
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---------------------------------Trick Riding-------------------------------
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6) This section will look into the Obstacles, Points, Bonus Points,
Strategies, and Looping Changes.
o-----------o
| Obstacles |
o-----------o
Springboards: These are in sets of two, and they can be bounced on top of.
However, run into the side or bottom of one and Charlie will
lose a life.
o--------o
| Points |
o--------o
Springboards: 100
o--------------o
| Bonus Points |
o--------------o
i) For every bounce Charlie performs on a Springboard, the next point
total is double of the previous one. So, the following formulas are
how to calculate the points:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ Two Springboards ~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
100 + 200 = 300 points
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ Three Springboards ~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
100 + 200 + 400 = 700 points
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ Four Springboards ~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
100 + 200 + 400+ 800 = 1500 points
As you can see, going slow while bouncing along the Springboards is not
only safer in general, but it is also more profitbale in the points
department (more than makes up for the lost bonus points, so abuse this
feature for extra points).
o------------o
| Strategies |
o------------o
i) Slower you go, the higher you can score, and generally it the safest
way to play. However, you should remember to speed Charlie up if he
is moving slow with a springboard being taller than the first one he is
hopping on (otherwise, Charlie is likely to not make it over the two
boards).
ii) If you move along at top speed the entire way, you will not likely be
able to finish the level. This ties in nicely to the first point here,
but it bears repeating.
o-----------------o
| Looping Changes |
o-----------------o
i) The Springboards will shrink in size, making it tougher to bounce
across them, also removing the potential Bonus Points for extra
Springboard bounces.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------Trapeze Swinging-----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7) This section will look into the Obstacles, Points, Bonus Points,
Strategies, and Looping Changes.
o-----------o
| Obstacles |
o-----------o
Ropes : Charlie will be on these, but he will have to be careful as one
wrong jump will cause him to crash into the ground below.
Trampoline: These sit on the ground, waiting for Charlie to bounce off of
them, high into the air. Just be aware that they need to be
used with precision of poor Charlie will miss his next rope.
o--------o
| Points |
o--------o
Grabbing A New Rope: 500
o--------------o
| Bonus Points |
o--------------o
i) NONE!
o------------o
| Strategies |
o------------o
i) You can jump one rope to the next, but you need to do this from the
point of the rope swing that is JUST before it reaches it maximum swing
to the right. Otherwise, Charlie's jump will fall far short (looking
ridiculous as he just lets goes to fall straight down to the ground far
below).
ii) Then other option is to wait till your rope reaches the farthest to the
right spot it swings, at which point you should press A/B Button to
drop down to bounce on the trampoline. Wait for the next rope to swing
towards your position, and hold RIGHT to move towards the rope to grab
it.
o-----------------o
| Looping Changes |
o-----------------o
i) The ropes will swing at a slightly faster rate, but this will not
affect Charlie's jumping directly (only your reflexes, as the faster
ropes means the window of oppotunity for jumping has been lessened
greatly).
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---------------------------------Bonus Lives--------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8) This section will look into getting extra loves for Charlie to extend his
day on top of the circus.
Charlie will gain extra lives periodically, all of which is tied into point
totals.
i) Charlie will gain his first extra life at 20000 points.
ii) Each additional life gained will come at 40000 points added onto 20000
there after for CHarlie (ie 60000, 100000, 140000, etc.). If this
changes/stops at some point, please e-mail me about it. However, it
does appear to hold true through out the game.
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---------------------------------Final Word---------------------------------
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9) As is the usual, this walkthrough is copyright property of Brian P.
Sulpher, 2004. The only website, group, person, etc. to have access to
post it is www.gamefaqs.com, www.ign.com, www.retronintendo.com, and
www.honestgamers.com. You must ask for permission before posting this,
as doing so without consent is a violation of international copyright
law.
If you liked it, hated it, have anything to add, then please E-mail me at
briansulpher@hotmail.com. You can also contact me through MSN messenger
through the same E-mail address.
A really fun game that deserves to be experienced by everyone as it takes
classic arcade action and ties it into that quaint NES charm!
