Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode

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A somewhat crude but novel action platformer-shooter-3D maze game featuring Saito's famous manga mercenary assassin. Notable for being one of the first licensed games based on a Japanese property to actually retain its license for the western release.

Unused Areas#

Act 3, Second Basement Level#

In Act 3, there's an optional building which contains a corridor. The corridor cannot be passed, as you need four grenades to get through and the game only provides 3. However, if you use a cheating device to get through (Memory $51F = grenade count), you will reach a down ladder to the second basement level.

The second basement (location identifier $5B) consists of one-way walls. There's nothing else of note, and you can safely return to the rest of the building by returning to the start of the floor.

Additionally, using a memory editor to move outside the 4×4 area may let you stumble upon a down ladder. Taking any of these ladders brings you to the beginning of this floor (as if you entered from the second floor).

Hitler's Brain Room#

Freezing $0017:4B into RAM will allow you to visit an area that defaults as the room that carries Hitler/Smirk's brain. The area is complete with collision; perhaps Golgo-13 would destroy Hitler in the side-view mode instead of automatically killing him in sniper mode. This is somewhat notable because this is one of the few places in the game that has a higher ledge that Golgo-13 can jump to.

Level Select#

To enable this cheat you must wait until the helicopter demo ends and Duke's eyes show up. Press Start to skip to the title screen before the text appears. At the title screen press and hold Up + A + B on Controller 1 and Up + Left + A + B on Controller 2. Now press Start on Controller 1. A screen with two numbers will appear. Press Up / Down to select stage code. Codes of the levels are:

• 00 - Level 1
• 02 - Level 1a
• 08 - Level 2
• 0A - Level 3
• 0E - Level 3a
• 12 - Level 4
• 1A - Level 4a
• 1E - Level 5
• 32 - Level 7
• 38 - Level 8
• 3B - Level 9
• 40 - Level 10
• 49 - Level 13

Unused Graphics#

This missile battery icon is for the 3D shooting mode. You do encounter missile batteries on tank turrets at the Nazi Base, but they are counted as "tank" objects.

An unused car or mobile missile battery for the 3D shooting segments. The actual setup this object would have been in is unknown, but several mockups have been made anyway.

Regional Differences#

To do: More regional differences noted here.

Title Screen#

Japan	US

Rendezvous with Cherry and Eve#

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In Act 2, Golgo goes to a hotel room to rendezvous with Cherry Grace and she ends up offering herself to Golgo. In the US version, that's where it ends. But, in the Japanese version, if you don't use the B button to skip the conversation, it actually shows Cherry taking her clothes off first! (The same thing happens in between Acts 4 and 5 where you meet Eve Christy in a hotel.)

The graphics for this scene can still be found in the US ROM.

Karaoke Easter Egg#

In the Japanese version, pause the game and the song's lyrics will be displayed on the screen as Golgo's theme plays. Additionally, if you use the microphone Controller 2 to sing while music is playing, the game will count your score and will display it onscreen after the song is over. The longer you can sing, the higher your score, but if you get less than 10 points the game won't show the score. Every two shouts in the microphone counts as 1 point.

The lyrics were disabled from the US version, but you can re-enable them with Game Genie codes XTKATPAV XVUEAIAV. Unfortunately, the original Japanese font was replaced, so all you'll see are random letters and numbers.

Miscellaneous#

• The story was censored in the US version. Golgo 13 is referred to as a "sniper" instead of a hit man, the Nazi Empire become the Drek Empire, and Adolf Hitler become Smirk.
• In the Japanese version when you get the game over screen, for instance, after the "To Be Continued" screen you get a "Next Episode:" screen, with the name of the next level.