=======================
TOP GUN: COMBAT ZONES
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This is a Walkthrough/FAQ for the game Top Gun: Combat
Zones
Written by: Zac James, a. k. a. aragornkingofgondor
Email address: zdjzman@yahoo.com.
Copyright 2003 Zac James
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Table of Contents
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0.    Table of Contents
1.    Version History
2.    Introduction
3.    Email Instructions/Posting This Guide On Your Website
4.    Controls
5.    The HUD
6.    Fighters
a.    Tomcat
7.    Bonuses
8.    Tips
9.    Mission Walkthroughs
a.    Era 1- Academy Missions
b.    Era 1- Warzone Missions
10.    Quick Start Missions
11.    Codes + Secrets
12.    FAQ
13.    What's Coming
14.    Recognition
15.    Contributions
16.    Outroduction
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Chapter 1- Version History
---------------------------------
December 10, 2003 - Version 0.1 - The first version with a
couple missions, a fighter, the bonuses, the introductory
stuff and the FAQ.
December 11, 2003 - Version 0.11- A minor update with
details about using my guide on your website and other
little things.
December 13, 2003 - Version 0.12- I got another Academy
mission up, added stuff to the "Codes and Secrets" section,
and finished the bonuses section.
December 16, 2003 - Version 0.2- This is a slightly larger
update. It includes the final Era 1- Academy Missions and a
new tips section.
December 17, 2003 - Version 0.2- Right before I sent this
in, I received an email with a typo on the websites- it's
cheatcc.com, not cheatscc.com. Sorry about that.
December 30, 2003 - Version 0.21- I have been a little sick
over the holidays, so I haven't done much updating. There
are additions to the Era 1- Warzone missions and
recognition section.
December 31, 2003 - Version 0.22- I keep adding missions
one by one. I added a mission to Era 1- Warzone.
February 12, 2004 - FINAL- Sorry to everyone who kept
emailing, but my copy of the game is broken and I will be
unable to continue the FAQ. Sorry for the inconvience
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Chapter 2- Introduction
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Well hello! My name is Zac James, otherwise known as
aragornkingofgondor. I wrote this guide because I noticed
that this game doesn't seem to have any FAQs for it (I can
hardly say I'm surprised- not many people seem to own this
game.). Since I happened to own Top Gun: Combat Zones, and
it would be a good first guide to try, I decided to do it.
The structure of the campaign in Top Gun: Combat Zones
is that there are three eras. You start in Era 1. There are
5-6 Academy missions, or training missions, that you must
complete, and then you go to the Warzone missions. These
are decidedly more difficult and you must use all the
skills you learned in the Academy missions to beat them.
Once you complete all the missions in Era 1- Warzone, then
you go to Era 2- Academy, and so on and so forth until you
beat Era 3- Warzone. You will have then completed the game.
One final note- since this is my first guide, please
bear with me.
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Chapter 3- Email Instructions/Using This Guide on Your
Website
------------------------------------
Now if you want to email me about this guide or
contribute something, my email address is
zdjzman@yahoo.com. BUT- there are rules:
1.    You will have a much better chance of me seeing
your email if you include in the subject "TOP
GUN: COMBAT ZONES". If you don't do that, I
might see it, I might not.
2.    Please, for goodness sake, be civil. Absolutely
no swearing or four- letter words. You will
notice that this guide has none of that. I you
even put **** or something like that, I will
quickly delete the email and block your email
address forever.
3.    Only stuff about this strategy guide, please.
4.    NO SPAMMING ME! If you spam me I will block
your email address forever.
5.    NO ADS! If you ad me I will block your email
address forever.
6.    One final thing- no hate mail. Anyone who
blasts this guide without a reason will be
blocked- HOWEVER, if you explain civilly why
you don't like the guide, I probably will
answer. If you don't like it and you have to
tell me, PLEASE BE CIVIL.
If you follow those rules, I will almost undoubtedly
reply ASAP (I have a wacky schedule). If you don't, you
won't get an answer, that's for sure.
If you happen to want to use this guide on your
website, follow the email rules above and send me an email
asking politely about using this guide on your website.
Websites currently allowed to post this guide on their
websites:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheatcc.com
www.faqs.ign.com
www.neoseeker.com
If any other websites are posting this guide that are not
on the list, please email me ASAP and I will contact the
website about this. Thanks.
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Chapter 4- Controls
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The controls in Top Gun: Combat Zones are fairly easy
to grasp, although they take about 15 minutes to really get
used to them:
Basic Controls
Control Stick: Move your fighter. Pressing up pitches you
down, and vice versa. Left and right are the same though.
A button: Your cannon, a. k. a. your machine gun. Every
fighter carries this weapon, although the rate of fire
depends largely on the firepower rating of the fighter.
B button: Your secondary weapon. You carry up to four
different secondary weapons depending on the mission. They
are the Air-2-Air Fire and Forget missiles, the Air-2-
Ground Fire and Forget missiles, the dumb-fired rockets,
and the Area-of-Effect bombs.
Y button: Switch targets. This is very useful when you want
to destroy a particular target with a missile or view the
target's current health.
X button: Switch secondary weapons. You will go from A2A-
A2G-RKTS-BMBS- A2A. Each time, you press it, it moves to
the next secondary weapon.
L button: Brake. Use this a lot- for making bombing easier
and to have more time to a group of targets. Also use this
to turn extremely sharp in a dogfight.
R button: Afterburner. Different fighters have different
afterburner capacities (how long you can boost). Also use
this a lot.
Z button: Special maneuvers:
Z + Control Stick left or right- Half Roll
Z + Control Stick tap left; hold right,
or vice versa- Barrel Roll
Z - Jink
Z + Control Stick tap up, hold down- Airbrake Maneuver
C Stick: Camera control. Use the C Stick to look in all
directions around you.
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Chapter 5- The HUD
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Understanding the HUD (Heads-Up Display) is crucial to
learning how to play Top Gun. From the top left corner
clockwise around the screen- at the top left corner, you
will see a timer- that is your mission time left to
complete it. Above that is the number of mission objectives
you must destroy. Next to that is the number of bonus
objectives.
On the top right corner, you will see the damage
meter- that's how much damage you have taken. At 100% you
die. Below that is the In-Mission Score, and below that is
the bonus scores- for a short time when you get a bonus, it
will show it there.
At the bottom right corner is the readout for your
secondary weapons, your A2A, A2G, RKTs, and BMBs. At the
bottom is the direction you are facing, with the red dots
meaning in what direction the enemies are- VERY useful.
At the bottom left is your radar. Red dots are ground
targets, red arrows are air targets. Blue dots are your
allies, which means you usually need to protect them
(grrr...). Yellow dots are neutral buildings. If you destroy
these, you usually fail the mission.
In the middle of the screen are your speed, thrust,
altitude, and afterburner meters.
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Chapter 6- Fighters
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There are 7 fighters in the game. Each era you unlock
another plane. Once you beat all missions, you get another
fighter. As you get all bronze, silver, and gold ratings on
the missions, each plateau unlocks another craft.
Meanings of stats:
Firepower- How fast this plane can fire cannon rounds.
Weight- Affects the handling and inertia of the plane you
will have. A high thrust rating will usually offset this.
Thrust- Affects handling and responsiveness of plane.
Top Speed- Fastest achievable speed at full throttle.
Pitch Rate- How fast you pitch up and down.
Roll Rate- How fast you roll left and right.
My rating system is as follows:
1-2 = Awful
2-3 = Below Average
4-6 = Average
7-8 = Nice
9-10 = Excellent
Fighters:
Tomcat
How to Unlock: Unlocked at beginning of game
Firepower: Average (6)
Weight: Average (4)
Thrust: Average (5)
Top Speed: Nice (8)
Pitch Rate: Average (6)
Roll Rate: Average (6)
My Description: An only average fighter in almost all
respects. As your first ship, it does what it's supposed to
do, but once you hit the Hornet you'll never turn back. The
Firepower seems nice until you climb into the Hornet, as
the Hornet has better ratings in all respects. The only
really good thing about this fighter is the top speed, but
with an only average thrust rating and a slightly heavy
craft, it isn't that useful.
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Chapter 7- Bonuses
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Every mission has a rating that it gives you after you
complete the mission, which determines your mission rating-
red, bronze, silver, or gold. There are two types of
bonuses- In-Mission Bonuses and Post-Mission Bonuses.
In-Mission Bonuses
1.    Flying. As long as you keep flying, you'll gain
points. The faster you go, the quicker you get them.
2.    Flying low. If you fly below a certain altitude, you
will gain a small bonus. The longer you remain below
that altitude, the bigger the bonus.
3.    Doing special maneuvers. Doing these will give you a
small bonus.
4.    Hitting an enemy several times in a row with the
cannon. If you do this you gain a decent bonus along
with a better score than you would have gotten if you
used a homing missile.
5.    Using rockets. If you get a bullseye with a rocket,
you will get a slight bonus and get more points than
you would have if you had used a homing missile, but
not quite as much as if you had used the cannon.
6.    The NO MERCY bonus. If you shoot down an airplane with
your cannon, you will see the plane spiral out until
it hits the ground...or you give it a little help.
Shoot a spiraling craft to get a slight bonus.
Post-Mission Bonuses
1.    The First- Blood Bonus. While it sounds ominous, this
simply means you destroyed an enemy first without
being hit. This is always a 5000 point bonus.
2.    The Cannon Accuracy Bonus. The more rounds you fired
the more points you score. If you have a high
percentage of accurate shots, this can be a hefty
bonus.
3.    The Time Bonus. The quicker you completed the level,
the more points you get. This is a very crucial bonus
for medals.
4.    The Damage Avoidance Bonus. There is a maximum at
which you can't get a higher bonus- however this set
total will decrease depending on what percent of
damage you finished with. For example, a 100 beginning
bonus with 10% damage would mean a 90 bonus.
Your score will be tallied by combining your In-Mission
Score and your Post-Mission bonuses. This will be compared
against the requirements for certain medals.
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Chapter 8- Tips
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*    For points, always use the cannon. For completing a
difficult mission, use missiles. There are exceptions
to this though.
*    To evade missiles, turn sharply to the right or left
and don't slow down and hope you get lucky.
*    From the right angle (about 45°), you can't get hit by
an anti aircraft gun.
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Chapter 9a- Mission Walkthroughs- Era 1 Academy
-----------------------------------------------------------
Now, we finally get to the mission walkthroughs. When
I do these, I will post the walkthrough for each fighter I
unlock and then once I get gold, I will post how to get a
gold. I will also post my best score for that particular
mission
My example for my rating for missions:
Mission 1
Type of Mission: (includes these- A2A, A2G or both)
Terrain Type: (canyon, flat, mountainous, etc.)
Completion Difficulty-    1-2 = Very Easy
2-3 = Easy
4-6 = Average
7-8 = Hard
9-10 = Very Hard
Gold Difficulty- see above
OK, here we go.
Era 1- Academy Mission 1
Type of Mission: A2A
Terrain Type: Canyon
Difficulty: 1
Gold Difficulty: 10
Objective: Destroy 20 target balloons
Types of Secondary Weapons: None
All right, here we go. You cannot leave the canyon
you start in because you will not be able to hit the
balloons. You only have your cannon for this mission. Use
your radar to fly around the canyon and shoot down 20
balloons- they only take one shot, so to get a better
score, fire single shots. There are more than 20 balloons,
so you shouldn't have any problems. Inexperienced pilots
might have trouble negotiating the canyon, but this
shouldn't take you long.
Era 1- Academy Mission 2
Type of Mission: A2G
Terrain Type: Flat area with oil rigs and cranes
Difficulty: 3
Gold Difficulty: 5
Objective: Destroy all 20 tanks.
Types of Secondary Weapons: A2G, RKT
This is very different from the last mission because
now you're destroying tanks in A2G combat. Be careful- the
tanks have a little bite. Now, immediately switch to A2G
and use them with cannon rounds. Experienced pilots should
use RKT to get more points. Be very careful when flying
low- cranes and bridges abound. Around 5000 feet, there is
a cloud bank, so go to 4500 feet and then go strafing and
pulling up around 800-1000 ft. Inexperienced pilots will go
too low and panic when they see a bridge and blow up- I did
twice. All in all, you shouldn't have too much trouble.
Era 1- Academy Mission 3
Type of Mission: A2A
Terrain Type: Relatively flat with a few mountains
Difficulty: 2
Gold Difficulty: 6
Objective: Destroy all 5 planes.
Types of Secondary Weapons: A2A
One of your simplest yet and your first A2A mission,
this mission calls on you to destroy 5 planes. These planes
only carry missiles, and rarely fire on you. If so, the
missiles are easily dodged. Definitely use cannons to get a
higher score. There is no need to use A2A. Also, if you
shoot an enemy down with the cannon, go for the NO MERCY
bonus as well.
Era 1- Academy Mission 4
Type of Mission: A2G
Terrain Type: Flat with few landforms
Difficulty: 5
Gold Difficulty: 6
Objective: Destroy all 10 dummy biological sites.
Types of Secondary Weapons: A2G, RKT, BMB
This can prove to be a very annoying mission for
some. You are supposed to destroy approximately 10 dummy
biological plant sites. Each one consists of a building
surrounded by 4 chemical tanks. Destroying all four of
these tanks destroys the building. Attacking the building
with the cannon, while it gives points, is useless in terms
of the mission objectives- the buildings cannot be harmed
by cannons, but they can by missiles.
When you start out, destroy all the anti aircraft
guns. After this, start on the sites. Beginners should
definitely use missiles, while experienced players should
use RKT and the cannon. But move quickly- the clock is most
definitely an issue if you use the cannon. By destroying
everything with the cannon, I had 30 seconds left at best.
If you need points, attack the buildings with the cannon.
Time is your biggest issue on this one.
Era 1- Academy Mission 5
Type of Mission: A2A
Terrain Type: Flat with few mountains
Difficulty: 2
Gold Difficulty: 4
Objective: Destroy both instructors.
Secondary Weapons: None
This sounds a lot difficult than it is- all you have
to do is shoot down 2 better fighters who have a huge load
of missiles. No really, it's a piece of cake. Just get
behind them and shoot them to death. The only slightly
difficult part is getting to where you can fire on them.
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Chapter 9b- Era 1- Warzone (Based on Vietnam)
---------------------------------------------
Era 1- Warzone Mission 1
Type of Mission: A2A, A2G
Terrain Type: Base of a mountain range
Difficulty: 2
Gold Difficulty: 10
Objective: Destroy all enemy choppers and bombers, and then
take out the base.
Secondary Weapons: A2A, A2G, RKT, BMB
All right, this mission starts with twelve choppers
pinning down the allied base that they are trying to
evacuate from. Once you destroy 10 of the choppers, twelve
bombers appear on radar. Finish off the choppers and head
for the bombers. To avoid damage from the bombers, attack
them from the front or sides, but not directly behind. You
should use your cannon on everything because you get more
points- there's no reason to use missiles. A good player
will finish with 0% damage.
Era 1- Warzone Mission 2
Type of Mission: A2A, A2G
Terrain Type: Flat plain with river running through it.
Difficulty: 3
Gold Difficulty: 10
Objective: Destroy all the choppers, then destroy the
bases.
Secondary Weapons: A2A, A2G, RKT, BMB
This mission starts you rocketing down the river. This
river has teeth, namely six gunboats. Destroy them quickly
and move to the choppers pinning down the bases. There are
allied choppers moving in so don't go too slow. After all
the choppers are cleared out, more come. After a set period
of time, the "minor" base needs to be destroyed. Shortly
after the "major" base will show on your radar as red. Be
careful! If you haven't gotten much sleep, you might
accidentally destroy parts of the wrong base. Only destroy
objects on your radar that are red. Once the bases are
gone, you complete the mission.
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Chapter 10- Quick Start Missions
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Chapter 11- Codes and Secrets
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To unlock fighters:
The Tomcat you start out with in Era 1
To get the Hornet, complete all missions in Era 1
To unlock types of quick start missions:
To get A2A, create a new game file.
To get A2G, finish all Era 1 Academy missions.
To get A2A + A2G, complete all Era 1 missions.
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Chapter 12- FAQ
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Q: How do you unlock the Hornet?
A: Complete all Era 1 missions, Academy and Warzone.
Q: What weapons should I use to complete levels?
A: Beginners should use homing missiles
Q: What about getting golds?
A: Definitely use the cannon- some rockets, but the cannon
gives the most.
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Chapter 13- What's Coming
-----------------------------------
Coming next:
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Chapter 14- Recognition
------------------------------
Thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Thanks to CJayC for posting this on GameFAQs.
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Chapter 15- Contributions
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If you want to contribute something to this guide,
email me at the aforementioned email address. If you send
something that I post, I will give you full recognition in
this guide. If you sent something and it didn't get posted,
I'm sorry. If you follow the above email rules and ask me
why, I will email you back with the answer. If something
got posted and I didn't recognize you in the Recognition
chapter, tell me and I'll quickly correct that ASAP.
Thanks.
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Chapter 16- Outroduction
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Well, thanks for reading this. I hope that you have
enjoyed this guide. Keep looking to see if it is updated.
Thanks. Bye!
Copyright Zac James 2003