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[mrklaw]

I bought this as I had store credit burning a hole in my wallet and I was curious.

I'm enjoying the whole 'shockwave' type gameplay on the DS, I think it works very well with the format. But I can't get anywhere near enough points to even break onto the top 10.

Am I missing something obvious? I can't see how you can plan combos - occasionally its possible, but its more luck than judgement.

So is there a particular trick to it?

Its not a big deal, I'm just curious. I'm reasonably happy just to tootle around in the main and totokon mode.

 

[Unison]

You don't have to wait for one set of animals to clear before you start moving the other set.

Maybe that's it? That's the main reason it's superior to the flash game.

I am pretty awesome at this game, I must say.

 

[Kiriku]

I almost only play timed mode. The other modes are way too long-winded and slow, timed mode is at least intense. Quest mode is OK, but it's really frustrating how some levels are luck-based, more or less.

Since you're awesome Unison, let's see your scores so others know what to aim for.

 

[Unison]

My DS is at home, but I'll see what I have... I am well over #1 in every mode though...

I dont think the game's long-winded at all... Even the main mode ends after like 25 stages.

 

[Kiriku]

My DS is at home, but I'll see what I have... I am well over #1 in every mode though...

I dont think the game's long-winded at all... Even the main mode ends after like 25 stages.

What I meant was, a play session in the normal modes lasts for such a long time before it actually gets challenging. In timed mode, you have to be alert and quick from the beginning to end.

 

[Unison]

True that... Timed mode is awesome, no doubt. Every match you make matters, and you really need to pay attention to the indicators on the top screen.

 

[Bristow]

My wife has broken a million in timed attack, but the highest I've gotten is 890k. =/

Quest mode is hard.

 

[ge-man]

I bought this as I had store credit burning a hole in my wallet and I was curious.

I'm enjoying the whole 'shockwave' type gameplay on the DS, I think it works very well with the format. But I can't get anywhere near enough points to even break onto the top 10.

Am I missing something obvious? I can't see how you can plan combos - occasionally its possible, but its more luck than judgement.

So is there a particular trick to it?

Its not a big deal, I'm just curious. I'm reasonably happy just to tootle around in the main and totokon mode.

The nature of the game makes it really difficult to see combos ahead of time. It wasn't until I spent a whole lot of time in Time Attack that I realized the key to scoring big in ZK is to just concentrate on finding the basic patterns with as much speed as you can muster. The combos will usually come to you if you're working fast.

 

[Sh0k]

I found that playing time attack mode on hard, you get higher points for your combos; the problem is that in the higher levels, you don't get much of the same animals together compare to playing on normal mode, specially on levels 9 and 10 with those damn bunnies.

My high score in time attack mode so far is 1,118,000

 

[Unison]

Another big Zoo Keeper hint is to try to make your matches as close to the bottom & middle of your play field as possible. That will give you the best chance of triggering an accidental combo!

 

[Unison]

I found that playing time attack mode on hard, you get higher points for your combos; the problem is that in the higher levels, you don't get much of the same animals together compare to playing on normal mode, specially on levels 9 and 10 with those damn bunnies.

My high score in time attack mode so far is 1,118,000

Oh yeah, Hard is definitely the way to go to hit high scores. That's absolutely imperative. I forgot about that.

 

[Akia]

Thanks for all the nice tips, the game should be at my porch in a hour.

 

[jgkspsx]

When I first started playing Zoo Keeper, I figured that combos had to be matches that fell into place naturally; it took a few days to realize that subsequent manual matches soon after the initial one counted as well. To echo what the others have said: Hard mode + manual/accidental combos should get you reliably onto the high score tables. You do get something fairly useful for hitting #1 in all modes.

I'm at 2M give or take a few thousand points in both normal mode and Tokoton, 2.5M in Time Attack. I don't remember my Quest score, but it was totally luck -- I've never managed to approach it since.

Minor spoiler (unlockable):

Spoiler

Once you unlock it, make sure to use Very Hard mode. Not only do your scores increase drastically, it makes all the "normal" modes much more exciting.

 

[Unison]

I'm at 2M give or take a few thousand points in both normal mode and Tokoton, 2.5M in Time Attack. I don't remember my Quest score, but it was totally luck -- I've never managed to approach it since.

Yeah, that's about where my scores fall, give or take.

 

[ZeMMiK]

my wife has 1037250 in Timeattack.
Are you sure you really have 2.5 m in timeattack?? We also play on hard.

(I only reach 490K)

 

[jgkspsx]

I don't play on hard
You'll see when you get first place on all modes...

My approximate scores to date:
Normal: 1998000
Tokoton: 5520000 (last night! not a typo!)
Quest: 29200 (exact score; my second best is around 6000, sadly)
Time Attack: 2550000

 

[ZeMMiK]

If you have a score of Time Attack: 2550000 then you must play on hard.
Can you confirm that you played on hard or normal with Timeattack?

 

[Kiriku]

If you have a score of Time Attack: 2550000 then you must play on hard.
Can you confirm that you played on hard or normal with Timeattack?

Or perhaps his high-score is somehow related to his spoiler-tagged post earlier?

 

[ZeMMiK]

spoiler mmmm...We have to unlock the very hard mode.....

 

[monkeyrun]

I bought this as I had store credit burning a hole in my wallet and I was curious.

I'm enjoying the whole 'shockwave' type gameplay on the DS, I think it works very well with the format. But I can't get anywhere near enough points to even break onto the top 10.

Am I missing something obvious? I can't see how you can plan combos - occasionally its possible, but its more luck than judgement.

So is there a particular trick to it?

Its not a big deal, I'm just curious. I'm reasonably happy just to tootle around in the main and totokon mode.

if you are not fast enough try a 2nd player to assist you, it's mad fun to have co-op 2 play sections with ZK

 

[john tv]

My best Quest score is 55,036 -- and I actually got a batsu on the last one. If I aced it, my score might've broken 100,000. Crazy!

My other scores suck compared to you guys though. Been spending too much time with Meteos, I guess...

 

[Sh0k]

spoiler mmmm...We have to unlock the very hard mode.....

How do you unlock the very hard mode ?

 

[Fifty]

Get first place in all modes.

 

[ZeMMiK]

thX!!!