Talek’s Trophy Tips: Quickfire Edition - 6 Difficult Game Trophies in 6 Minutes (Part I)

     Hello, fellow readers. Today’s edition of Talek’s Trophy Tips is a step away from the normal template I use for my in-depth guides. Why you may ask? It is because this so-called “Quickfire” edition will try to elucidate how certain trophies in otherwise difficult games can be acquired in under 6 mins. I have chosen 6 games in particular where mastery walks a fine line with fortune, which means that should all cards fall right, you can end up with a new trophy midway through the month. The tips section for each game will outline the path I took to reach that coveted spot on the high score tables. The Quickfire edition will be a two-part series, featuring three games each. So, without further ado, let’s get going with Part One!

     1. Ultimate Bullseye II

     Rarity: 8%

     Avg. Reset Score: 152

     Avatar: Yes - 100+

     A long long time ago, there was a version of Ultimate Bullseye where getting a trophy relied almost 100% on your skills. However, that time is long gone, and the current version of the game is much more random and luck-dependent. The basic premise of the game is still the same, having you shoot 10 shots at the target in hopes of getting the highest score possible. The modern version features a more streamlined approach, including randomly appearing bonus balloons, additional power-ups, and difficult and random controls.

     So, what is the strategy to get it in 6? What you will want to do is put the magical world ‘catapult’ as soon as you start the game to get an additional power-up. There are five power-ups available, but you will only want to focus on three power-ups: “fire hoop”, allowing to double the score; “enlarging bullseye”, giving you an additional power-up solely for hitting the target; and “inverted bullseye”, where hitting the outskirts of the target board will count as hitting the bullseye. In theory, you will want to get either the “enlarging bullseye” or “fire hoop” first. Depending on how confident you are with your aim, you should leave the “inverted target” power-up until the last round - hitting a bullseye on the 10th shot will net you an additional 3 shots (remember: hitting the bullseye on the 3rd bonus shot (13th) will not prolong the game any further).

     The next step is understanding how balloons work. There are two balloons in game - Skarl and Hagan balloons - each of which appear sporadically as you go through the 10 shots. Hitting the target upon hitting a balloon, you get an additional 30 (Skarl balloon) and 35 points (Hagan Balloon). If you hit two balloons in one go, the score is added up. Now, knowing when they will appear is impossible. In some games you can get up to 5 balloons to appear in game, in others you will have none, so it will require some restarting.

     The crux of the game is to get lucky and use your “fire hoop” power-up at the right time when you can hit at least one or two balloons. Doing so will double your score, and you can score up to 150 points for doing so in one shot. But power-ups are tricky to use in that you never know whether a balloon will appear and you only use your power-up for the round after you pick it. To give yourself the highest chance, you should keep restarting until you get the “fire hoop” through the ‘catapult’, and try to use it on the 2nd or the 3rd round. Hitting a lucky shot itself will be enough to get you bronze on reset, and you might even be lucky to get more with more balloons, last-shot bullseyes and other power-ups.

          With some luck, getting a trophy in this game will take you considerably less than 6 mins. In my personal experience, it took a few hundred retries (largely because I missed all my double balloon chances) to have a “fire hoop” and two balloons appear at once. After that, I had 145 points and 7-8 shots to go. I subsequently got two more balloons, one of which I failed to hit the target after, and I failed at hitting the bullseye on the last shot, but it was enough to get 202 and get a bronze mid month.

     In addition to chasing the trophy, there is an avatar up for grabs if you exceed 100 points, so there is at least that consolation factor in case your trophy attempts fall foul.

     2. The Search for Princess Lunara

     Rarity: 5%

     Avg. Reset Score: 289

     Avatar: None

     The Search for Princess Lunara is one of those games which are simple enough to complete and earn quick Neopoints but difficult to master, as is evidenced by the rarity of the trophy. As one of the games that in and of itself takes under 6 minutes to complete, the game does not seem like it should be a far shout for a trophy for most. Wrong! The game has an exceptionally tricky scoring mechanism, which makes it much more complicated as to how to do it.

     But let’s start with the basics. The core principles behind the game are memorisation and quick reflexes. You are presented with 12 multiple-choice questions from the selected series of questions (three options), in groups of 3, as you progress through the titular “search”. In terms of playing the game there are two ways to answer the question: use the keyboard or use your mouse. To get a high-enough score, you will be using a blend of the two, by clicking on whatever menu option you are due to click to skip over the sections, whilst answering questions with your keyboard. Now for each correctly guessed question you are awarded 15 points (a total of 180 points), and you have up to a total of 120 bonus time points available. You can mix and match your categories at will, but sticking to one category is recommended.

     However, the way the game’s scoring works is that it factors in the amount of time spent in the question selection screen, as well as the time it takes for you to answer the questions. As such, you have a relative total time limit within which you need to complete the game for max bonus, thus you are required to skip over the midgame sections (click the arrow keys at the bottom right) and the question selection screen, not to mention clicking on the correct answer, as swiftly as possible. This mechanic makes it harder to predict the exact score you will be getting.

     In terms of tactics, there are two ways to go about playing the game: looking at the question and quickly answering or looking solely at the answers without looking at the question. The former option takes more time and I highly recommend the latter. Few questions will pose you significant troubles. However, there are some which have overlapping choices so memorising them will help you learn to differentiate it. There are plenty of SFPL-specific guides out there which will list all of the answers you need to memorise. I myself have always practised using the “All About Neopia” option (closest to the left), so my personal strategy is tailored towards it. In my case there were a few options that were problematic:

     Multiple questions have neopian worlds as answers (eg. Meridell, Brightvale, Krawk Island). Those become quite problematic as you can easily mistake one for the other. Krawk Island is an answer in two of the cases, and Haunted Woods, Terror Mountain and Meridell appear once. Terror Mountain question is the longest and most “wordy” of them all, so you can recognise it through peripheral vision. Haunted Woods will only appear as an answer in the first few questions, while Meridell normally appears in questions 4-6.

     Neopian figures appear as choices in multiple questions. One way to discern which question you are answering is from just the options presented to you. However, wrong answers like Dr. Sloth appear in multiple questions, making it a little more difficult to discern which one you are answering without reading it. Remember that Brucey B (usually appears in questions 4-6) and Simon (questions 7-12) are the correct answers in those questions, so teach yourself to look for them.

          Trophy-wise, you will be needing 290+ to guarantee yourself a reset trophy, but 300 is what you are hoping to get. This is one tricky game to get a gold score in as the high score table is normally filled up in the first 3 minutes of the day, so getting that coveted champion status might be tricky. However, 300 will be enough to bring home a trophy even mid-month, and scoring it will definitely take you considerably less than 6 minutes.

     3. Tyrannian Mini Golf

     Rarity: 4%

     Avg. Reset Score: 737

     Avatar: None

     When you read the title of the section, some of you will instantly be taken aback, thinking to yourselves “are you kidding me? This game is super hard!”. Well, that is completely true, but equally, the time it takes to get to over 1000 points (which is guaranteed bronze on reset) or even 1000 (for gold) is no more than 6 mins! A bit of a disclaimer beforehand, but this guide will not provide you the visual guide on how to score the max on each level. There are good visual guides available elsewhere. Instead, we fill focus on tactics and planning.

     So, what is TMG? TMG - one of my favorite games - takes you through a 18-hole golf course, as you try to complete each level in as few shots as possible, as fast as possible. Before starting the game, you have the choice of 3 golfers, but none of them are really the ones you need to use. Instead, there is a hidden golfer - TPOSG - hidden in the Lupe's left eye. The simplest way to select it is to press ‘TAB’ four times so a box will appear over it. Once you select him, you need to choose the middle option “wooden ball” for optimum performance.

     Now that all of that is done, what do we do now? Well, practise. To achieve a score of 800, you need to be able to score the maximum in at least 5-6 levels in one shot. In terms of point calculation (pts), one-shotting a level will bring you 75 pts + any time bonus for an average of 103-104 pts. Two-shotting levels is also a good option, particularly where the par is set at 4. In those levels (ie. level 7), getting it in two will give you 50 pts. In cases where you are just under par (e.g. 2 of 3, 3 of 4), you will get 25 pts, and 15 pts for getting on par. You always have a time bonus which gives up to 30 bonus points per level to rely on, particularly on the easier levels.

     The difficulty of this game belies in pixel-perfect precision, and some levels are considerably harder than others. The easiest levels to maximise your score are 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 11 and 12. The one deciding factor within the game is that the layout of the levels is randomised, and there are usually two layouts per level which can appear. If you want to learn the course and individual goals, the game gives you options to do the front 9 or back 9 holes, and also gives an option to skip a hole outright mid-game.

     Some individual level tips can be found below:

     Level 1 requires a simple diagonal shot. You can even shoot at random and have a chance of hitting it right. Restart so you maximise the time bonus.

     Level 2 has you aim at the opposite corner on the outer edge of the perimeter where the target hole is located.

     Level 3 also has one-shot potential, but lining it up is ridiculously difficult, requiring pixel-perfect precision. If you are going for gold, make sure you learn to get it.

     Level 4 only requires you to place the mouse pointer on the hole itself - it is the easiest hole to score max pts.

     Level 6 has two different layouts, whereby the ramp is either farther or closer to your starting position. If you get the closer layout, aim to shoot just under the top left corner of the top of the ramp as it will bounce into the hole on the right and get a speed bump after appearing to one-shot the level. If you get the more distant layout, you will be hoping to get into the top left hole, by aiming half-way at the top of the area before the ramp (I know this one sounds convoluted!).

     Level 7 is normally an easy two-shot, but sometimes you can be lucky and get it in one if the fans direct your ball the right way.

     Level 10 is one of the more static levels. If your starting position is at the bottom, place the cursor just above the right border of the “0” in level 10 and drag your cursor straight up until you can release the ball.

     Level 11 is one of the easiest levels to score max. If your position starts at the bottom, place the cursor just above the right border of the “0” in level 10 and drag your cursor straight up until you can release the ball.

     Level 12 is a tricky level. In the default layout, just hitting the hole at the top of the ramp will swerve the ball for maximum points. If there is a “chasm” on the ground, that layout is near impossible to score max in conventional way of aiming for the top hole. However, your ball can run over the chasm as though it is solid ground. You have to aim to pass over it and the ball may roll into the hole.

     Level 13 is normally a two-shot level, but if you are lucky with the layout, it is possible to get it in one go. Never aim for the hole straight in front of you - use a diagonal approach so the ball travels through the middle part. In that case, you would have to aim for the 3rd hole from the top.

     Levels 5, 8-9, 14-18 cannot be scored in one shot by default, but you can get eagle in most (two-shots).

     Trust me, it looks harder than it is, but it is all about memorising patterns. Once you know how to do at least 5 of these levels, you not only stand a good chance of getting to the trophy range, but can do it in less than 6 minutes. Champion trophy is much more difficult to reach, however, and will require more effort (took me a long time to master I have to admit!), so be prepared to put in extra effort if you are going for gold.

     End Note

     This marks the end of part I of the Quickfire edition. The second part of the edition will arrive shortly and feature other heavyweights that can be completed in 6 minutes (including avatar games like Petpet Rescue). Thanks for reading and hope it helps direct you on your way to trophy superstardom!

          ***

     Struggling to get a trophy? Want tips on a certain game? Neomail me and I will consider including the game in an upcoming article for Talek’s Trophy Tips.

     Thank you to Sabre’s TrophyTracker petpage for the average reset scores.

     Thank you to Mynci’s Tckaninny petpage for the average trophy rarities.