Space Dungeon: tips, optimal strategy?

[Serious]

I have gotten hooked on this game, but it kicks my ass badly whenever I play it.

 

 

 

It seems like there are several strategies one could follow:

 

1. Try to map the whole dungeon, get every treasure, then exit.

2. Grab just a few treasures near the exit then move on to the next, so you regularly collect small bonuses.

3. Park in a corner and just shoot everything (and don't worry about treasure or advancing levels).

4. Park near the exit and wait for the thief to arrive and ambush it, grab as much as you can, then move to the next level.

 

Does anyone have an idea if one of the above strategies is effective, or has another technique that allows them to achieve high scores on this game?

 

Also, the longer you are on a level, the worse and more numerous the enemies seem to get, and they seem especially bad anytime you enter a room with lots of treasure. Does anyone know what causes this? Is it time-based, or??

 

I am not sure, but what seems to happen is enemies spawn in rooms all over the map, then track you to your location. Last night, I tried mapping the dungeon in a circular or spiral pattern, and as long as I moved quickly to the next room, and didn't double-back, I didn't seem to have as many enemies to deal with.. Am I onto something here, or is my read on this off? I am not sure it explains why so many enemies seem to enter a room when there is tons of treasure, but maybe it is just because I am spending too long in that room (fighting guards, picking up objects, etc)?

[schuwalker]

Yep, I can attest to this game being very difficult! I would safe to assume this is why this game bombed in the arcades...

 

I was told by one of the better Space Dungeon players is the key to great scores is to focus on visiting *all* the rooms and not really concentrate on getting all the treasures - which is still a difficult task! I really wish they included some smart-bombs that wiped everything from the screen and not lose all your treasures when you die...

 

I actually own all the guts for Space Dungeon; I really need to find me a cab for it!

 

BTW: If you this is tough you should also try Taito's Kram and Electric Yo Yo.

Edited July 14, 2013 by schuwalker

[ledzep]

How accurate is the Atari 5200 version to the arcade version, by the way? Maybe you could use one to train for the other.

 

When I was a kid my friend and I used to play Space Dungeon marathons where one of us would drive and the other one would shoot, like we were in an Apache helicopter. It seemed way more fun that way especially when one of us was about to shoot an enemy but the other would change direction to avoid something and the enemy would be missed. One of my favorite 5200 games. I don't remember ever seeing the game in any arcade I went into. It was very cool seeing it at California Extreme last year. Of course I died very quickly playing it.

[NE146]

Having never had the luck to see in real life, I only ever played the arcade version via Mame ( which to me, ISN'T playing the arcade version ) But I will say it's definitely harder than the 5200 version, which I was pretty adept at.

Edited July 15, 2013 by NE146

[Cynicaster]

This game came up in the HSC last season and there was a lot about it that I really liked--the concept, the aesthetic, the Williams-like graphics, the dual stick controls--but ultimately I had to walk away from it never to look back because I found it so fcuking frustrating. Even now, thinking about walking into a room and having an enemy spawn right on top of me while I have a bag full of treasures almost brings my piss to a boil, and it was a year ago.

 

For me, this game just landed on the wrong side of that fine line between challenging and criminally cheap, and getting that frustrated is not why I play video games.

[Atariboy]

This game was the entire reason why I bought Taito Legends Power-Up on the PSP. The only classic compilation Taito ever put out that had Space Dungeon on it.

 

Sadly I stink at it but I still think it's a great game.