Air Date: July 9, 2017
In this video I begin playing Jaws on the original Nintendo entertainment system console and complete the entire game without losing a life. This game is generally regarded as one of the easiest games and also the shortest once you master the strobe portion.
The basic strategy is to stay in the deep portions of the ocean so you have more maneuvering room and start stockpiling power ups and shells for currency. In my opinion you really don’t need any speed ups past the third or fourth crab because your character can eventually go too fast to control effectively. This gives him enough maneuverability to deal with any of the inhabitants of the ocean and swim circles around Jaws.
Once I start accumulating shells I begin the dock to dock trips where you get the tracker and then start powering up your character’s level. Even though power level three is adequate to deal with Jaws regenerative efforts, I like to get a couple extra levels to make the button mashing more productive. In this run I decided to go after the mini submarine when my score breached 30,000 points. It usually appears east of the easternmost dock and is usually easy to pick up during your travels.
A word of warning is that the ocean life will evolve as you play and seems to change as you get more and more bonus rounds. I like to go after Jaws sooner than later because of the diagonal jelly fish patterns which make under water fighting a bit tricky after the third bonus scene.
After I have the ship powered up and the submarine it was time to fight and defeat Jaws. I staked out the battleground in the middle of the deep portion of the ocean and then parked the ship, waiting for him to bump into me. From there you get a couple cheap shots by lobbing cannon balls of the ship and then have to start pelting him with your underwater projectiles. The very top of the ocean is safe when you just have your diver but he will be able to take out your sub at that elevation. This is the primary reason I had to use a little bit of strategy to evade his attacks.
Once you deplete him a little beyond the 20 bars of health you will be taken back to your boat for the final stroke scene. You have three changes, if you did not power up your character and purchase extra strokes from additional dock trips. I manage to get him on the first try. He seems to form a pattern where he likes to strife your boat but will eventually line up with the direct front. At this point you need to use the strobe to get him out of the water and then wait a little bit to plunge the boat into his underbelly. If you view the video you will see the appropriate positioning which is a little bit in front of your ship. It’s one of those things where you will be able to feel when it is time after getting the hang of the process.
I let the ending play through at the end after Jaws floats to the bottom of the Ocean. At a later date I might see if I can get a high score or max out my power.