The sun of Alpha Ro is fading fast! Soon it will flicker out. The Cosmic Ark races to save creatures from doomed planets in that solar system. Meteor showers bombard the Ark, threatening its Atlantean crew - and planetary defense systems make this mission of mercy doubly treacherous! Time and energy slip away - work fast or these defenseless little beasties will disappear for all time.

Nothing about this mission is easy. Heavy meteor activity throughout the system makes travel hazardous. And each planet has an automatic defense system that cannot be knocked out. Can the Ark succeed in saving the many helpless creatures of Alpha Ro? Can the Cosmic Ark survive? How many planets can you reach?

Pilot the Cosmic Ark through dangerous territory. Destroy meteors that come too close. You score each time you eliminate a meteor. If you survive the meteor shower, launch a shuttleship to the surface of each planet. Try to capture 2 skittish beasties in your tractor beam in order to gain fuel and points. Be quick about it! Return to the Ark before it undergoes another meteor barrage. But be careful - automatic planetary defense systems attempt to disable the shuttleship, releasing your precious cargo before you can safely transport them to the Ark. Reach as many planets as your fuel reserves allow. Game ends when you've exhausted your store of fuel.

• Insert cartridge in console, label up. Turn power switch to on.
• Flip Game Select Lever to choose one of the six Cosmic Ark games.
• Game number appears at the bottom centre of the screen.
• Hit Game Reset Lever to begin action. Game begins again whenever Reset Lever is tapped.
• Red button on left joystick will reset game when current game ends.

Cosmic Ark moves through 2 distinct sections:

• Meteor shower
• Shuttleship rescue

Meteor Shower:

• The Cosmic Ark battles its way through a meteor shower.
• You control Cosmic Ark weapon fire with your joystick.
• To fire: lean joystick in the direction you wish to fire. Note: red button does not fire weapon.
  • To fire up: push joystick away from you.
  • To fire down: pull joystick toward you.
  • To fire left: move joystick left.
  • To fire right: move joystick right.
  • Joystick must be returned to centre upright position between each shot.

Shuttleship Rescue:

• If you survived the meteor shower, the Cosmic Ark proceeds to the nearest planet.
• Once the Ark is in position, use your joystick to launch the shuttleship to the planet surface.
• To launch shuttleship from Cosmic Ark: pull joystick toward you.

The shuttleship maneuvers easily.

• To approach the planet surface: pull joystick toward you.
• To move back toward Ark: push joystick away from you.
• To move left: move joystick left.
• To move right: move joystick right.
• To move at an angle, tip joystick in the direction desired.

Line up the shuttleship over the little creatures. To capture them, use tractor beam.

• To operate tractor beam: press red button.
• When you capture a creature, keep it in the tractor beam until it arrives onboard the shuttleship, or it will slip from the beam and return to the planet surface.
• A blip sounds when the creature is safely aboard.

Try to catch both beasties and return to the Ark before a warning blast alerts you to renewed meteor activity.

• If both beasties are caught, the Ark moves to the next planet. The pace picks up.
• If the warning sounds before you've captured both beasties, get back to the Ark and defend it against bombardment.
  • If the Ark survives the assault, it will return to the same planet surface in order to complete rescue operations.

Note: You cannot fire at meteors while the shuttleship is away from the Ark. To do so would endanger any creature already captured and on the shuttleship.

Beware! Automatic planetary defense systems will fire at the shuttleship.

• Located on either side of the planet surface, they move up and down and fire at intervals.
• If hit, you lose valuable energy, and the shuttleship releases one creature you have captured on that planet.
• The shuttleship will have returned to the Ark. You must maneuver it back toward the planet surface.

• The game ends when Cosmic Ark runs out of fuel.
• The red bar in the box at the lower centre of screen represents fuel supply. It only appears during meteor showers.
• You begin with the equivalent of 40 fuel units.
  • Cosmic Ark destroys a meteor: gain 1 fuel unit.
  • Capture a beastie: gain 10 fuel units.
  • Capture both beasties and return to the Cosmic Ark before the warning sounds: regain all fuel units.
  • Meteor hits Cosmic Ark: lose 10 fuel units.
  • Cosmic Ark fires at meteors: burn 1 fuel unit.

Note: When struck my a meteor, Cosmic Ark disappears momentarily. It will reappear as long as you still have energy.

1-Player Games
Game 1: Regular Cosmic Ark Mission
Game 2: Meteor Shower
Game 4: Advanced Cosmic Ark Mission
Game 5: Advanced Meteor Shower

2-Player Games
Game 3: Regular Ark Mission
Game 6: Advanced Ark Mission
In 2-player games, one player battles meteor showers while the other controls the shuttleship.

• The Right Difficulty Lever controls joystick options:
  • Position A:
    Right joystick battles meteor shower
    Left joystick controls shuttleship
  • Position B:
    Left joystick: shuttleship
    Right joystick: meteor shower
• The Left Difficulty Lever controls the width of the Ark:
  • In position A, the Cosmic Ark is wider, and so, more difficult to defend.
  • In position B, the Cosmic Ark is narrower and more easily defended.