In the Neopets game Nova Defender, your goal is to defend the Novas from Mechanova. This evil mechanical Nova unleashes many different types of evil Novas who will try to attack you. Defend the galaxy from this fiend and keep the peace!

Nova Defender Instructions and Controls

Nova Defender is a fighting game controlled with your mouse. Once you begin to play, your cursor will turn into the Nova that you are playing as. You can fire shots using either the WASD keys or your arrow keys. The direction of your fire corresponds with the key you press. Enemy Novas will begin to appear on your screen, and your goal is to defeat them with one of your shots. Once you hit an enemy, it will die and leave behind a gem. These gems are worth 80-140 points. In order to collect the gems, hover your Nova above them and they will be collected. If you collect multiple gems in succession, the score value of each one will gradually increase.

If you are touched by an enemy or they shoot your Nova, you will be damaged and your health will decrease by a third. When all of your health is diminished, you will lose a life. You have three lives throughout the duration of the game. There is a red bar at the bottom of the screen, above the shield bar, which allows you to keep an eye on your health.

To avoid losing health, you can raise a shield for a short amount of time by left-clicking when your “shield” bar is filled. Your shield bar fills up in about 25 seconds, and your shield will last for 7 seconds once toggled. After it ends, the bar will be emptied and you will need to wait for it to fill again.

Other things on your toolbar include the Gems counter, which shows how many gems you have collected from defeated enemy Novas. Next to this is your score, which keeps track of how many points you’ve accumulated. On the right is the “goal”, a counter which shows how many enemies you have defeated and how many are left in order to complete the level. Under this counter are your lives, each represented by a Nova. Once these are all gone, your game will be over. On the far left is a “quit” button, which allows you to leave the game early. Above this are options to turn off the music or sound effects.

Nova Defender Power-Ups

Nova Defender isn’t a very easy game on its own, but you can purchase power-ups with your collected gems. It is recommended that you purchase these upgrades cheapest to most expensive.

3-Way Shot (3000 gems)	Creates a small fan of 3 shots. A considerable improvement from the single shot.
Wide Shot (8000 gems)	Fires at angles, is essentially a longer range fan.
Cannon Shot (10000 gems)	Increases the power of your middle shot, allowing you to go through multiple enemies.
Back Shot (15000 gems)	Shoots one shot backwards.
Shield Bonus (9000 gems)	Extends the life of your shield by 5 seconds, which allows you to plow through enemies longer.
Ultranova (2500 gems)	Destroys every enemy on the field. Very useful, but can only be used once per level. Must be re-purchased every level.

Defender Levels and their Novas

As you finish each level, the next one will have a new, unique type of Nova that you will need to defeat. These Novas increase in difficulty, so it’s important to anticipate what is coming up.

Level 1	Light Nova	These are the first and easiest Novas you will encounter. They cannot shoot, and can only rush towards you in an attempt to hit you. It is very easy to collect gem bonuses by taking out multiple Novas at a time in this level. You only need to kill 30 to move on.
Level 2	Mechanical Nova	Fighting gets a bit more difficult with the introduction of the Mechanical Novas. These enemies are slow-moving, but can fire small red pellets in order to hit you. Defeat 40 of these enemy Novas to move on.
Level 3	Fire Nova	The next Nova to be introduced is the Fire Nova, with a considerably better aim and faster movement than the Mechanical Novas before them. When they shoot at your Nova, the shot will follow you for a short period of time. It’s important to take these out first. In order to progress, you simply need to survive for a minute and fifteen seconds.
Level 4	Friendly Nova	Rather than another enemy, this level introduces the Friendly Nova. As suggested by its name, the Friendly Nova means no harm to you… but it’s your job to protect both them and yourself! Enemies will form green arrows to shoot at the Friendly Nova, and you will need to take them out as well. Survive for a minute and fifteen seconds to progress.
Level 5	Attack Nova	The Attack Nova will not shoot or chase your Nova around, but it will leave little mine-like objects all over space. If you run over one of these, it will blow up and your Nova will be damaged. Stay alive for a minute and fifteen seconds to move on.
Level 6	Pulsar Nova	Unlike the other Novas, the Pulsar Nova  has a bit of a different strategy. It will fly around the edges of the screen and shoot into the center of the screen. Because of this, it is definitely less bothersome than the other Novas. Defeat 100 enemy Novas in order to move to the next level.
Level 7	Dark Nova	If you haven’t been infuriated enough yet, you can look forward to the Dark Nova. You will not be able to shoot at it right away– instead, you’ll have to wait until it tries to shoot. In this short window of time, successfully hit it with a shot to defeat it. To progress to the next level, you need to defeat 150 enemy Novas.
Level 8	Super Nova	Despite its silly appearance, the Super Nova is incredibly strong. It can unleash a stream of shots similar to a machine gun. They should become your top priority, as being caught in the line of their attack can lead to a fast “Game Over”. Survive for a minute and fifteen seconds to progress.
Level 9	Ultra Nova	If you thought it couldn’t get worse than the Super Nova, than look out for the Ultra Nova. This is possibly the second-strongest enemy in the game, and will fire relentlessly at you in seemingly random patterns. These should now be your priority, as they are very hard to avoid. Take out 140 enemies to move on.
Level 10	Mechanova	Finally, the Nova who has been sending his minions to attack you arrives in the flesh! Don’t be fooled, however. This is no weak mastermind. Mechanova will unleash long lines of firepower in an attempt to finish you off. The easiest way to avoid his shots is to stay at the edge of the screen. Once you defeat Mechanova, the game will be over.

Nova Defender Cheats and Tips

• Don’t forget about your gem bonus! It is very helpful and can assist you in getting a higher score than normal.
• For the early levels, fly around in small circles and allow the enemies to follow you. This way, when you defeat them, it will be much easier to collect the gem bonus.
• Use your shield all the time. It’s the most helpful feature to keep you alive.
• Occasionally, a triangular pink gem will appear on the screen. Rush towards it and mouse over it as soon as possible! It will fire a swirl of bullets at all the enemies on your screen.
• If you’re trying to get a high score, it’s very important to play on hard mode. You will accumulate a much higher score than the rest of the levels, but it will also be more of a challenge.
• Keep your sound on! This makes it easier to keep track of your gem bonus, as each progressing gem will generate a higher pitched sound than the one before it.