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Hot Help: Calm Before the Storm

The story of Mega Man 3 is one of betrayal and quiet contemplation. This time, in order to complete all the bosses, Mega Man will have to actually trust his old foe, Dr. Wily, who has renounced evil for good! Mega Man’s quest finds him collecting all the special elements from the eight robot planets so that Dr. Wily and Dr. Light can build the peace robot, Gamma.
However, after triumphing over the eight robots, Mega Man finds that he must re-visit each planet– each now ruled by eight “Doc Robots” which house the robotic souls of enemies defeated in Mega Man’s previous adventure! Is Mega Man’s memory malfunctioning? Can consciousness continue if the body is destroyed? What is the nature of good in a robot that has merely been programmed to be good? What is free will, and does it really exist?
Mega Man’s circuits almost overheat as he contemplates these questions, moving down linear corridors, unable to deviate from his destructive course. Luckily, in the revisited Gemini Man stage, Mega Man is given an opportunity to contemplate such questions.
You can use the room above to consider such questions for yourself. The Pros here at SHELPSHOT recommend you slowly expunge all your weapons and items in this room, one after another (excluding Shadow Blade, which you will need to defeat Doc Robot Bubble Man in the next room!)
As you deplete each weapon, allow yourself to meditate upon the blinking colours of the robo-coral. Focus on the bubbles floating near the surface– is there a hidden message or is it simply your brain attempting to make sense of a repeating pattern?
Be sure to allow the Search Snakes to climb up the ladder. This weapon was once so useful for defeating Gemini Man, but now it is just another reminder of the robot lives that have been terminated. Free the Search Snakes so that some small part of the robotic souls you have collected may now freely use up their remaining power cells as they will.
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Hot Help: Snot a Problem

In Super Mario Brothers 3, the once wicked wizard toadstool has been priorly foiled and is still indentured to Super Mario and his younger brother Luigi. But the Super Mario Brothers haven’t forgotten about his wicked ways just yet! The Super Mario Brothers still tend to punish the wizard with harmless pranks to keep him subservient while he pays for his crimes. Here is a super-gross one:

Before requisitioning one of the wizard toadstool’s treasures from his fungal abode is the perfect time to strike! Enter the toadstool house while wielding an enchantment bestowed by a blooming flower fire. Pretend to throw a fireball inside the wizard’s highly-flammable home. When he jumps in fear, Super Mario or his younger brother Luigi will instead hurl a super-booger at their once villainous acquaintance! Very funny Super Mucus Brothers! How long is that going to take to clean up?

(Special Tip! This secret taunt only works on the gamepak for the Nintendo Entertainment System. On the Nintendo All*Stars gamepak for the Super NES, the toadstool wizard has been up to his old treacherous tricks, so Super Mario and his younger brother Luigi will simply biff the weird wizard in the face if they get close enough while powered up. Give it a try!)

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Hot Help: Secret of the Sphinx

There’s no doubt Bugs Bunny is one of the most beloved cartoon characters of all time, and what better way to celebrate his big fiftieth birthday than with the Bugs Bunny’s Birthday Blowout game pak for the NES? This wonderful game perfectly captures the incorrigible humour of the animated shorts with graphics so amazing, it’s almost like playing a cartoon!

But if you get tired of playing funny tricks on Elmer and the gang, there are still many secrets hidden throughout the game’s levels. For example, did you know about the Secret of the Sphinx in the desert level? 
Be warned! This is a great way to fool your friends or brother…
Just like the sphinxes scattered across Egypt in real life, the sphinxes in Bugs Bunny’s Birthday Blowout are mysterious and wonderful. Also, just like real sphinxes, they are easily broken with a hammer.

It’s a well known fact that sphinxes always face the same direction in this game, so if you come across two sphinxes close together, use Bugs’s magic hammer to destroy the middle portion. If you do it correctly, you can then call your brother into the room and tell him that you discovered an extra large sphinx in the game. Tell him that you had to destroy it to get the vegetables hidden below and show him the remains. Now watch as he tries to imagine the elongated statue that surely fell victim to your mighty hammer! 

Can you find all the areas in the game where this is possible? Are there more secrets you can uncover by smashing things with Bugs’s magic hammer? Write in and tell us about it, and don’t forget to include more of that amazing envelope art!
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Hot Help: Wasteland Burial


The desert world of Fallout 3 isn’t only filled with mutated baddies and irradiated raiders; some souls are kind enough to lend a hand to your quest to save the Wasteland, while others still are simply innocent denizens of an unfriendly frontier. But what can be done when these allied adventures fall to untold terror or treachery? While we are sorry for your loss, when a friendly character is overcome by the challenge of the quest, there are no extra lives for them. Nevertheless, their bodies need not be left for desecration by feral ghouls, and rummaging marauders.




While the sun-scorched earth is difficult to dig, a grave alone is practically an invitation to desecration by disinterment by less respectful Wastelanders or other uncaring creatures. A pyre is more preferable for your pal, and guarantees an peaceful rest.

Follow these obsequies to pay your last respects:

1) Around dusk, neatly lay out the body on the nearest abandoned Corvega Atomic V8, which will act as the bier.


2) Surround the body with any items or objects significant to its person, and include a bottle of scotch or whiskey for libation. Pure water may also be more acceptable given the nature of its value.

3) From a safe distance, shoot the damaged shell of the Corvega with a small caliber pistol or precision rifle until the leaking fission core or the atomic drive engine ignites.


4) Back away slowly listening to the crackling dirge for your friend in the air of the ambient wasteland, before beholding the atomic explosion that scatters your comrade’s cremains.

5) Stand stolidly, or cry for your fallen companion. After a brief moment of remembrance, exit the immediate area under cover of darkness, as the bright atomic blast will attract the attention of the surrounding Wasteland. 



Remember that death gives significance to life, and the act of dealing with our dead, either out of practical obligation or respectful remembrance, is an act of being human. If you can maintain your valiant humanity, even in the midst of defeating the most challenging baddies, then you are on your way to becoming the Champion of the Wasteland!

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Hot Help: Scary Cacti Guy

Although Super Mario Brothers 2 is one of the most popular games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, there are still a lot of secrets waiting to be uncovered! For example, did you know the Living Cactus in desert levels such as World 2-1 have a terrible secret form? Follow the screenshots and instructions below to master this new foe…

Step 1: Find a Living Cactus in one of the desert levels. Watch out for the Hissers! They pack a powerful punch. Guide Super Mario away from their projectiles.

Step 2: Jump on top of the head of the Living Cactus. Important: Note his smiling face. Super Mario wears thick plumbing boots, so the dangerous spikes on the cacti (living or otherwise) can’t hurt his feet. Use the ‘B’ key to pick up the Living Cactus’s head. Super Mario also wears thick work gloves, so the spikes also can’t hurt his hands.

Step 3: The terrifying change has already taken place! The Living Cactus’s once smiling visage has been replaced with a brooding brow and sharp, poisonous teeth. How will you challenge this new foe? Write in and tell us!