RetroX85

Progress update: I finally beat stage 8! Its definitely the most difficult because of how many stars you have to collect in both waves. 208 stars is a lot and it didn't take long before enemies (flying dragons, sorcerers, and gargoyles) effortlessly tried to wreck my day. The only way I could pass stage 8 was to rack up a decent amount of "1UP's". In my case, I gathered roughly 10 or so lives. They are scarce and only come about every so often. There is an area just to the left of Guardian One house right before the first pillar ( Thanks to "Red" on the forum here for mentioning it). Hovering in this area seems to only spawn Dark Masters and gargoyles if done correctly. Its a very small area to play around in, so you have to be patient and keep a steady hand with the propulsion button. The gargoyles will fly in sets of 4 or 5 at the top of the screen. Its best to attack them head-on at their level so you can get power ups, hearts and the occasional 1UP. Using this method was a bit frustrating and it also took time to gather 1UPs but it worked for me. Once I had enough lives stacked up I went ahead collecting and dropping stars. I always kept moving and only stopping when I had to drop the stars in the house. The "Last Wave" is right after stage 8. It is the moon boss. I am currently trying to beat him and it may take a quite a few attempts to do so. Here are a couple of screenshots wrapping up stage 8 and the "Last Wave".

Yeah I've been getting power-ups at random intervals. I wish the power-ups were more abundant. I have gotten past wave 1 quite a few times today. It seems like once I'm in Wave 2, I only have 1 (maybe 2 ) lives left. If I die, then its back to wave 1 again. I need a string of luck and I feel like 208 stars is a bit much just gotta power through this somehow. I am going to keep practicing and trying. I won't stop until my system freezes or I have a power failure. I wanna take on the Moon boss already!

Update final stage 8: 208 stars This is a difficult stage based on just the enemies alone. The positive side is that the layout of the stars makes them fairly easy to gather. I haven't had much luck with gargoyles giving power-ups. The dark-masters have been giving me good power-ups occasionally. The dragons hardly give any power-ups. I guess its all random? I have gotten past the 1st wave. On the 1st wave I kept moving in one direction and collected the lower stars first and then when I looped back around I collected the higher stars (vice versa). The hardest part is dropping the stars into the Guardian One house while multiple enemies are attacking. I'm really starting to think I may have to farm more '1UP's but I don't have any clue on where I could potentially gather more lives without being bombarded by dragons, dark masters and gargoyles. Having more lives will allow me to gain a solid run-thru without having a game-over and starting back to wave 1 again. I feel pretty confident in getting past the 1st wave. Its the 2nd wave I'm struggling with. The 2nd wave has another different dark master and the occasional fire blasts rain down from the sky. This is proving to be very tricky.

Appreciate it. Thanks for the help!

Update: Just wrapped up Stage 7. Now I'm moving onto the final stage. I really don't see how anyone can beat stages 6 & 7 without farming a decent amount of 1UP's. Unless you're incredibly coordinated and gifted lol There is such a high failure rate considering you are only given 3 lives beginning at each stage or after every game-over. I'm happy I've made this far and I'm so close to the end. There is a total of 208 stars in this stage (104 in each wave). Are there any helpful hints anyone can give me to completing this last stage?

Hey everyone, I made it to Level 7. I have to say that stage 6 was probably the worse stage thus far for me. The placement of stars, blue smiley blocks, and floating spike mines really hinders your ability to move freely away from your enemies. The 2nd wave of level 6 is pretty crazy. I had to farm enough "1 UPs" to effectively get through the 2nd wave. In the end, I finally manage to pull through. The purple background picture is the last few seconds of me wrapping up stage 6 (a real PITA). The other two screenshots are the beginning stage 7. I hope to finish this game soon. Its very challenging and rewarding as some of you all already know. Right now I am just hopeing I don't get a power failure or a system freeze. Wish me luck.

Wooooo!

I suppose it wouldn't matter. In fact, they should just get rid of eBays claims and Resolution center all together, no one needs it..

Yeah most likey a refund would be received from PayPal thru eBays dispute and resolution center. So, if a claim was never filed Thru eBay, then PayPal would have no indication that a buyer sought out a refund. They "both" put the effort in to ensure security and made sure refunds were possible in various situations.

I wouldnt go as far to say " eBay will do nothing for you". Considering I don't remember the last time I paid someone with an actual check or cash on eBay. It has either been a debit or credit purchase. I made several purchases on eBay in which I could not reach the seller and I never received the Item I paid for. I had to open a claim with eBay and eBay then help me get my money back because the seller did not communicate with me at all.

Not sure if PayPal and eBay are a partnership anymore. But I could be wrong. Recently I noticed that eBay fees and payments are done without PayPal.

Beat level 4,That was brutal. On to level 5

Unlimited continues. If you lose all your lives (starting with 3 lives each time) you will get a "Game Over" screen. You can either choose "Continue" which will keep you on the current stage to keep trying OR you can choose "End" which will take you back to the title screen and start from stage 1. I really like this homebrew but a password level option would have been a huge help.

I am playing it right now and I am currently on stage 4 wave 2. I am really trying to beat this game. Wish me luck because I may have to keep my NES powered on for days so I don't lose any progress lol

Yeah, I agree with you. I wish I could figure out that damn extra lives code thats hidden in the games manual.... Then maybe I would have a good chance at beating it I suppose scarcity and a few other important factors can drive up the value significantly.

It is possible they corrected it.(Not sure why)

I know, it is a very difficult game. Its good you decided to sell it and get her other things that she would enjoy.

It probably wasn't on eBay for very long. If I had to guess maybe a day or less. But really I have no clue. It is one of the custom text editions. (Not the LE numbered) Wish I knew what it sold for..assuming someone didn't just "Buy it Now"

Deadeye, my bad. I do have this link https://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Keeper-NES-Nintendo-Homebrew-CIB-Complete/303943506295#vi__app-cvip-panel

Hey, no link. I took a screen-shot picure on my phone the other day. And now I cant find it either which has me confused. I don't know why eBay isnt showing it.

Interesting news...I seen one listed on eBay for $1,350 with "Buy-It-Now" & "Make an offer" options. The listing has ended. I am kind of curious if an offer was made or someone paid the asking price Very cool though!!

Thats a cool custom title screen. I wish mine was a custom one.

So, its either 103 or 122 in total.

How many copies of Star Keeper were made?