------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ii. Secret Cottage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION
West of Ulie's House. South from Negi.

TREASURE
World Map: [SMGウージー] - SMG Uzi gun (hidden by tree)

SPECIAL
Free Healing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are two routes to this hidden cottage. You can drive south west from
Negi keeping close to the western mountains and cross some small bushes
heading south east. Get out of your tanks to cross the slightly bigger trees
and reach the cottage on foot. Alternatively, drive west from Ulie's house and
then get out of your tanks and walk through the trees and up into the area
between the mountains, going north. There is a single cottage, though in fact
this is a small community with a house, barn and graveyard.

Talk to the person wandering outside and answer YES [はい] and you'll wake up
inside a small room having rested and restored HP for free. You can talk to
the old couple at the graveyard but that's it. However, there is a very good
weapon hidden near here and it's worth finding.

Leave the settlement and walk east and up the narrow tree-filled path, heading
to the north east. Stop at the first large tree where there's a group of three
of them. Turn to face east and use the EXAMINE [調べる] command and you'll find
the [SMGウージー] - SMG UZI gun. This is a great weapon for this stage of the
game because it has attack power of +48 AND it targets groups of enemies.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
iii. ヨシダ生命科学研究所 : Yoshida Institute for Life Sciences (Exterior)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION
Northeast from Pobre Obre half surrounded with water.

ENEMIES
Gunbird, Pickaxe Bird, Drill Worm, Trader Killer, Meteor Snail (red)

TREASURE
None.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drive east from Pobre Obre as far as you can go and head north. Eventually
you'll hit the shoreline and can go no further. Drive east, crossing some low
green shrubs until you reach more water. Then, drive south and you'll arrive
at a small grey building that tanks cannot enter. Although you can walk all
the way around the fence you cannot get inside as the gates are locked.
However, you can see that there is a Vending Machine inside and some stairs
down. You'll find another way inside here later in the game. Watch out for the
flying bird enemies as they can do quite a bit of damage and some of them will
call up Hippoguns if you let them live!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
iv. 海岸の工場 : Shoreside Factory ] [Tank 2, Wanted 2]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION
East from Pobre Obre, over the bridge.

ENEMIES
World Map: Octopus Tank, Empty Tank, Patrol Punishment, Hippogun,
Pickaxe Bird, Sniper Dog, Meteor Snail, Drill Worm, Smoke Flower
Factory: Surveillance Camera, Bat System, Cannon Hopper

TREASURE
None

SPECIAL
WANTED 2 : [ドス・ピラニアス] - DOS PIRANHAS
TANK 2 : [ ワイルド バギー ] - WILD BUGGY
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Pobre Obre drive due east and you'll see a broken railway bridge leading
over the water. Drive across and be ready for some much harder battles. You
might not run into the Wanted outlaw on your first crossing but keep driving
up and down the bridge and eventually he'll turn up, usually in the middle of
the bridge. The other issue is that he might run away close to the start of
the battle, which is frustrating if you've come here all tanked up for a
fight!

This is a tough fight as Dos Piranhas is accompanied by FIVE (yes, five)
frogmen allies. Try this battle with both at Level 10 or so and with the
better equipment on the Mosquito. Alternatively you can escape if you meet the
enemies and wait until you've found a second tank from the Shoreside Factory.

o--------------------------------------------------------------o
| W A N T E D 2 : D O S P I R A N H A S Reward: 3,000G |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Attacks | No special attacks, just fires a gun. |
| | Heals |
o--------------------------------------------------------------o
| Experience | 280 |
| Drops | 164G |
o--------------------------------------------------------------o

The allies are protecting their boss and they are in a group of three and a
group of two. Attack the smaller group first using the Main gun interspersed
with the Autogun because you'll need a fair number of shells to destroy the
boss. Keep plugging away at the five frogmen because they will heal the boss
if you don't kill them all! He will also heal himself when he's the last one
left standing, and he'll heal twice on his turn if he's badly damaged so you
really need both allies to be functional at this point. The boss's attacks do
around 35-40 SP damage and the cohorts a lot less, maybe around 5 SP each, but
when all of them are firing at you that's still quite a lot! The main problem
is to prevent the rental tank from getting destroyed and using up all your
shells before defeating the boss. If that happens then retreat and try again
when you have found a tank for the Mechanic. (Retreating might not work the
first time, but try again until it does.)

One very effective strategy is to throw Blaze Bottles at both groups with the
mechanic whilst protecting him with your tank. Then, put him back inside his
tank for the remainder of the battle. The Blaze bottle will continually damage
the enemies causing 18 HP hurt for each round, and this can be a good way to
save on ammunition. Try and kill off the Frogmen quickly so they cannot heal
the boss or each other! It's probably best to use the Dog System to return to
Pobre Obre and heal up and re-stock your tanks before setting out again for
the Shoreside Factory.

You'll find the factory at the right side of the tarmac pier area and can
drive directly inside. You'll be met with new enemies that often don't do much
as they are surveillance cameras. You'll also lose the rented tank when you
enter, but keep the Mosquito. Kill the first set of four enemies and move
forwards. The man waiting in the room turns on a switch and climbs some
steps onto a moving conveyor belt. Leave the room at the left and drive up to
two vending machines if you need some replenishment.

-----------------------------------------------
-- VENDING MACHINE 1 --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE NO. (G)
Travelling Tiles SP recovery 10 10
そうこうタイル
Travelling Tiles SP recovery 20 20
そうこうタイル
Travelling Tiles SP recovery 50 50
そうこうタイル
Travelling Tiles SP recovery 10 10
そうこうタイル
Travelling Tiles SP recovery 20 20
そうこうタイル
Travelling Tiles SP recovery 50 50
そうこうタイル
-----------------------------------------------
PRIZE: かいふくカプセル - Healing Capsule
-----------------------------------------------
-- VENDING MACHINE 1 --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE NO. (G)
Conventional Shell One 1 5
つうじょうだん
High Explosive Group 1 25
りゅうだん SOLD OUT
High Explosive Group 8 200
りゅうだん SOLD OUT
Conventional Shell One 8 40
つうじょうだん
Sleep Shell Group 1 30
さいみんガスだん SOLD OUT
Smokescreen Shell Group 1 10
えんまくだん SOLD OUT
-----------------------------------------------
PRIZE: しゅうりキット - Repair Kit
-----------------------------------------------

If you stay inside the tank and attempt to go through the other openings on
this floor you'll run into more security. One of the cameras is red and it can
cause paralysis Exit your tank and climb up to the moving belt. It drops you
off onto some land at the right side of the building. Walk up and through the
flower beds and up the stairs. On the next floor take the stairs again to the
top floor where you'll find a room carpeted in pink with more pots of flowers.
You'll also see something more interesting than flowers! Yes, there's a tank
just sitting there. (If you walked down the lower floor you could climb the
stairs to approach the tank but you'll be blocked by two men so don't bother.)

Walk up to speak to the man on the balcony with red flowers and answer YES
[はい]. Seriously, that's all there is to it! Go back down stairs and take the
stairs at the south up to the tank room. Now the men will stand aside allowing
you to claim the tank. Name it as you wish although it's default chassis name
is the [ ワイルド バギー ] - WILD BUGGY. At the moment it has 40 Armour Tiles
and one Autogun equipped. Although it can take an SE gun it cannot equip a
Main Gun until you find somewhere to open the slot for this gun, which won't
be for a while.

o---------o----------------o
| | |
| T A N K | WILD BUGGY |
| | |
o---------o----------------o

Drive down the room and through the gap in the south wall so you fall down to
the lower floor. Drive left and up the side of the building to reach a large
black hole in the floor. Drop down here and you're back at the Vending
Machines! Walk and drive back inside the building to pick up your other tank
where you left it next to the conveyor belt, and exit the building. Give this
new tank to the Mechanic so Hunter keeps the one that has the Main gun.
You'll make money faster now you don't have to use a rented tank.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
v. ビックキャノン : Big Cannon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION
North east from Negi, and then west past the explosions.

ENEMIES
There are no other enemies on the peninsula.

TREASURE
None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drive north east from Negi (or directly north from Pobre Obre) and follow the
broken road over a narrow bridge, and then drive west. As soon as you enter
the sandy ground there will be explosions although there are no enemies in
this area. It's very hard to avoid getting hit and the explosions will take
off all SP. When you reach the small bridge leading to the cannon, stop! Check
SP, using Armour Tiles to repair the damage, and make sure that Hunter is
driving the Mosquito and Mechanic the Buggy. DON'T use your main gun or the
shells on the way there. Run away from any battles that might need more
powerful weapons than the autoguns.

You have to defeat these two Big Cannon in order to progress. Be very careful
on the approach as the explosions can remove ALL SP, and you need to carry
some armour plates for repairs before facing the Cannons. If you elect to use
a Rental Tank it is likely to lose its SP early on in the battle and then it
will simply remove itself and your mechanic will be left without a tank. You
need the Buggy instead, although it cannot be equipped with a Main Gun and
there is no SE gun to buy at this stage, and you cannot modify anything, so
your options are a bit limited.

There's a way around this problem of being shelled on the way to the battle.
Rent a tank and have one person drive that tank so it's the one in the lead
and gets damaged if you cannot avoid the mines. When you reach the cannon,
transfer out of this tank and use your two best tanks, the Buggy and the
Mosquito. DO NOT use a rented tank for the actual battle as it will soon be
destroyed and your driver left exposed. You can also load up the rental with
spare packs of Armour tiles and use these to repair your other two tanks. If
you need extra cash for all this then fight around the northeast area of the
world map where you'll find those golden ants that give 210 Gold. I found them
most easily between the lake surrounded with dead trees and the green shrubs
to the east leading to the Life Sciences place.

Make sure Hunter is in the Mosquito as he has the better attack power and
driving skill. Equip that tank with the Chonov Engine and the 55mm Main Gun.
Give the Mechanic the best Autogun, which at this stage is the Gatling Gun.
Improve the Buggy's engine as well and that allows you to pile on more Armour
Tiles giving it better protection. Buy the Boomerang Wrench in Pobre Obre and
give this to the Mechanic. Stock up the Mosquito with Armour Piercing shells
bought in Pobre Obre. Make sure you have lots of spare Armour Tiles to repair
damage before the battle starts. I bought 8 sets of 40 Tiles and could have
done with more than that!

This can be a tricky battle, simply because of the restrictions on what
equipment you can buy and equip. You need both characters to be at least Level
10 to have any chance of success and higher would be better. I did it at Level
11 and they both levelled up to 12 after the battle.

o----------------------------------------------o
| Big Cannon x2 [ビックキャノン] North of Negi |
|----------------------------------------------|
| Drops | 2 gold |
| Experience | 2000 |
| Attacks | (Just uses a gun to attack) |
o----------------------------------------------o

Try and attack the cannon with the mechanic out of his tank wielding the
Boomerang Wrench and that might disable the enemy. After he's had a couple of
turns (being protected by Hunter) put him back in the tank and start using the
Armour Piercing shells with Hunter. Hopefully they will disable the cannon.
for a turn or two. Then attack with the main gun and autogun with mechanic.
Each attack by the cannon will hurt for 50 SP of damage and they get two turns
each so that's a LOT of damage. However they malfunction from time to time and
with your armour piercing shells you'll prevent some of their more damaging
attacks. Just keep going interspersing shells and the main gun and ignore the
damage to your tanks.

After the battle use the Dog System to go back to Leorad for free repairs to
any damaged tank parts, (talk to Dad and select the first option) and
replenish your SP which will be at minus nothing by now! Then, use the Dog
System to return to Negi and this time you can carry on over the Big Cannon
place to the west. Sadly, there are no new tank parts to find but there is a
secret place nearby.

Stop just before the place where the Big Cannons stood, and use the Examine
command on the sandy square of ground that is bordered with three trees.
Answer [はい] - YES and a hole opens. You can drive down a ramp in your tanks
to find a conveyor belt and a platform bordered with two computers. You can't
do anything here and there are no enemies, but it's nice to know there are
secret underground places. You will find more of them soon enough, and come
back here a lot later on...

==============================================================================
04. オードリー : Audrey Town ............................................ *MM04
==============================================================================

LOCATION
West from the Big Cannon area, north, and then east a long way. Then north
from Isaac's Spring, following the road.

AREA ENEMIES
85 Mobile Artillery, Crabgun, Acid Ant, Burner Hopper, Gunboat, Patrol
Punishment (calls Hippogun)

SERVICES
Equipment Shop [+] Tank Rental [+] Inn (10/-/- [+]
Tools Shop [+] Mod Shop [+] Massage [10) [+]
Tank Parts Shop [+] Interiors Shop [-] Bar (Drinks x3) [+]
Tank Tools Shop [+] Memory Centre [+] Juke Box [+]
Shells Shop [+] Hunter's Office [+] Flog Race [-]
Refill Station [+] Transfer Centre [+] Level Check [-]
Auto Repair [+] Vending Machines [2] Tank Wash [-]

WANTED POSTER
1. [サルモネラいっか] - SALMONELLA CLAN (1,000G)
2. [ドス・ピラニアス] - DOS PIRANHAS (3,000G)

TREASURE
Garage 2F : [マヒノン] - Para-Non
[しょうかき] - Fire Extinguisher

SPECIAL
Find your Soldier!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next destination is another town, but there are a couple of other places
on the way, although there is nothing to find or buy. Drive northeast from the
Big Cannon area following the only route available, bordered by mountains and
water, until you spot a grey house. You can enter and chat to an old couple
but there's nothing to find. Carry on heading south now and then east again.
You'll see a small hut but if you enter the compound you are met by three
silent figures who block access. There's nothing else to do but carry on
driving north until you reach Audrey. You're also likely to run into Acid Ants
who will damage your tanks making progress jerky and slow. You need Alkali Wax
[アルカリワックス], bought at the tank tools shop in Pobre Obre or Audrey, to
heal this bad status effect.

You'll see a right-angled corner of an old road just north from the hut.
Follow the road going north and you'll discover a broken down looking town,
comprising three separate grey buildings. The west building is not accessible
for tanks and contains the town boss (not in the battle sense!). The east one
has the garage with all the services you'll need for your tanks. The north
building has no tank access either, but contains an Inn, and a bar.

------------------
1. Garage Building
------------------
Vending Machines x2, Refill Station, Auto Repair, Engine Modification,
Shell Shop, Tank Rental, Memory Centre, Hunter Office, Tank Parts, Tank Tools
Shop.

The first counter with a blue clothed person is the Tank Tools shop. Stock up
on a couple of Alkali Wax items and the expensive tools when you can afford
them. The first person in red behind the wooden box sells tank parts and you
could buy the ATM Missile SE gun for the Buggy. If you haven't yet claimed the
bounty for killing a Wanted enemy you can claim it at the next counter, which
is the Hunter's Office. You'll also find the girl who saves your game on this
floor. Drive down to the basement and the first man at the right will repair
your tanks. The top left man in blue will add shells to your main gun if you
select the first option and sells special shells if you choose the second
option. The top right man in red runs the refill station replenishing SP
tiles. There are also two Vending Machines at the left.

Continue down the next ramp where you'll find a modification mechanic at the
right of the floor. Talk to the man at the back of garage at the left of the
broken machine and he'll boost the load of your engine. Cost 490G to increase
the Chonov to the next grade and boost the load by 3 tons. Pay another 390 to
increase the load again and that changes the engine name to the [チヨノフTS] -
Chonov TS. This is a good idea as you'll gain capacity for heavier weapons and
more Armour Tiles. Talk to the girl at the right behind the counter and she
rents out tanks. There's a choice of two, but if you put the soldier inside a
tank and keep the Mechanic on foot you could manage without a third tank for a
while.

Back on the ground floor, leave your tanks at the stairs and ascend to the
upper floor. Here, you'll find two wooden boxes in the right side room.
Examine them both and the left one contains [マヒノン] - PARA-NON, and the other
has a [しょうかき] - FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

---------------------
2. Town Boss Building
---------------------
Equipment Store, Tools Store

Enter the left building and say Yes to the man guarding the right hallway. Go
upstairs and you'll find a man called Caesar (the boss of the town), flanked
by two girls. The girl at the right will buy things from you, but the prices
are less as this is the black market. I think you have to talk to these people
to make sure that an item appears in Port Slum. You can climb the second set
of stairs to the the third floor and fall off any of the edges of the floor
but that just deposits you back on the second floor, so there's not much
point. Jump off the edge of the floor on the second floor and it's a short cut
back to the ground floor next to where you left your tanks.

Back on the ground floor, walk up and left to access the two shops at the left
counter. Buy the better headgear and armour for them both and for the first
time you get the chance to buy a protector. This increases defence by 30
points but it can be broken. When that happens replace it with a spare one.
(In MMR you could exchange a number of scrapped protectors for better ones,
but that service doens't exist in Metal Max.) Buy the SMG Uzi if you didn't
find the free one. You should also buy the Mine Detector but I'll explain how
that works when you're ready to leave Audrey. For now, equip everything new
and it's time to enter the third building.

-----------------------
3. Bar and Inn Building
-----------------------
Inn (10G), Bar (Juke Box), Transfer Centre

Save your game before entering this building as there's a battle to fight!
Talk to the man at the counter to stay at the Inn and then head down to the
bar. You can talk to the people sitting at the tables but you'll notice
someone with red hair sitting at the bar flanked by 6 identical blue haired
guys. The lower door leads to a transport machine. Check your health and
equipment before talking to the red haired person. Answer Yes both times and a
battle will start with SEVEN enemies! But you have red hair on your side!
You must have more HP than her or she won't talk to you. At level 12 you'll be
fine.

o-------------------------------------o
| Delinquents x7 Bar, Audrey |
|-------------------------------------|
| Drops | 3 gold |
| Experience | 3 |
| Attacks | Weak attack |
o-------------------------------------o-

Use the items that your new ally carries as these are fire bottles, and attack
with the SMG to spray them all with bullets. Have the mechanic use attack
items and heal up damage, or just fire with another SMG if you bought an extra
one or use the Shotgun if not. (Remember that you can change equipment during
battles if you wish.) After beating them you'll be thrown out of the bar by a
familiar figure, but you'll find yourself back there. After a short scene the
girl is left slammed against the wall. Talk to her and say YES and she'll join
the team! (マッミコ - Machoko).is at Level 5 but if you check her stats you'll
see she already has attack power to rival your mechanic and her HP will
increase by much more than your other two team members. Time to find her a
tank! You'll need to level her up quite a bit and obtain better equipment
before going after the next tank near Rocco, as it requires beating a Wanted
enemy on foot.

Buy the Gas mask item for at least two of the team and you can use this item
when facing enemies that use sleep attacks. Buy the Mine Detector so you can
search for hidden things on the world map. Use it directly from the Tools menu
of any character and you'll see a blue square circle your party as the device
scans the area for anything hidden! If it find something it will flash red and
make a small beeping sound. You can use it as often as you like and inside
dungeons as well as on the world map.

-----------------------------------------------
-- TOOLS STORE --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE COST (G)
Healing Capsule HP recovery 10
かいふくカプセル
Pencil Missile Throw 20
ペンシルミサイル
Hand Grenade Throw 20
てりゅうだん
Neutralising Cream Heal acid 20
ちゅうわざい
Gas Mask Protect 110
ガスマスク
Mine Detector Finds things 150
じらいたんちき
Repair Kit Tank repair 80
しゅうりキット
-----------------------------------------------
-- EQUIPMENT STORE --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE COST (G)
Boomerang Wrench Weapon (M) 420
ブーメランスパナ
Red Peony's Dagger Weapon (HS) 480
ひぼたんのドス
SMG Uzi Weapon 720
SMGウージー
Camouflage hat Head Armour 60
めいさいぼうし
Goggle Cap Head Armour 200
ゴーグルキャップ
Leather Gloves Arm Armour 50
かわのてぶくろ
Jumpsuit Body Armour 340
かわのツナギ
Barrier Seal Protector 160
バリアシール
-----------------------------------------------
-- TANK PARTS STORE --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE COST (G)
75mm Gun Main Gun 860
75ミリほう
80mm Spark Main Gun 1780
80ミリスパルク
95mm Gun Main Gun 2600
95ミリほう
Gatling Autogun 550
ガトリングほう
ATM Missile SE Gun 800
ATMミサイル
Beetle TI Engine 520
ビートルT1
Chonov Engine 720
チヨノフ
-----------------------------------------------
-- TANK TOOLS STORE --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE COST (G)
40-Plate Pack SP recovery 60
タイルパック40
Dog System Move location 350
ドッグシステム
Alkali Wax Remove acid 60
アルカリワックス
Magnetic Barrier Tool 4000
でんじバリア
Ventilator Tool 1075
かんきそうち
-----------------------------------------------
-- SHELLS STORE --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE COST (G)
High Explosive Group 25
りゅうだん
Sleep Shell Group 30
さいみんガスだん
Poison Gas Shell Group 30
どくガスだん
Armour Piercing One 30
てっこうだん
-----------------------------------------------
-- VENDING MACHINE 1 --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE NO. (G)
Healing Capsule HP recovery 1 10
かいふくカプセル
Healing Capsule HP recovery 2 20
かいふくカプセル
Healing Capsule HP recovery 4 40
かいふくカプセル
Repair Kit Tank repair 1 80
しゅうりキット
Hand Grenade Battle Tool 1 20
てりゅうだん
Smokescreen Battle Tool 1 50
えんまくはなび
-----------------------------------------------
PRIZE: てりゅうだん - Hand Grenade
-----------------------------------------------
-- VENDING MACHINE 2 --
-----------------------------------------------
NAME TYPE NO. (G)
Conventional Shell One 1 5
つうじょうだん
High Explosive Group 1 25
りゅうだん
High Explosive Group 4 100
りゅうだん
Conventional Shell One 8 40
つうじょうだん
Sleep Shell Group 1 30
さいみんガスだん
Poison Gas Shell Group 1 30
どくガスだん
-----------------------------------------------
PRIZE: しんぐんラッパ - Bugle
-----------------------------------------------