Extra Difficulty Setting -- Plug in the 2nd controller. Go to
the option screen with the 1st controller and highlight the
difficulty setting. Hold down the A and X buttons on the 2nd
controller, and then change the difficulty with the 1st
controller. You should see a new level called "GAMER".
Methods for defeating:
Use the F8E until you can afford an Efreet
First board - Tank
No weapons. Shoot at the tank treads and dodge the rockets.
First Air board -- Big Stealth
Hit the big Stealth with three clusters as soon you can see
it. Be sure the grab the (3)power-up after the first
cluster. You have to be at least half way up the screen to
get it. Next, hit the Stealth with bombs until it rises too
high then launch your megacrusher. Get behind the Stealth
and fire away, staying between the air charges and away
from the center of the Stealth
Sub
No weapons.
Stay in the upper left part of the screen when you are not
shooting the Sub. (I think it's worth buying the bombs
just to get the board over with more quickly.)
Land carrier
(Two of the small caves in the early part of the level
contain powerup items... one that opens to the left
contains a Smart Bomb item, and one that opens to the right
contains a $5K star.) You don't need weapons. Take bombs
though. Get low on the deck. You can shoot out the
aircraft launchers and the rocket ports, but you have to
change elevation a little and dodge around. You don't have
to raise up until the end. You will be below the big rocket
fire. Once you have disabled everything except the big
rocket launcher, raise up to just above the mountain line
and fire at the top edge of the big rocket launcher. He'll
die fairly soon.
Second Air board -- Small Stealths
Bombs and megacrusher.
Use bombs to take the guys behind you. Get above them. You
have to keep up or you're dead. Use the megacrusher on the
three Stealths. They are weak now. Shoot-em-down.
Minks battleship:
This guy is hard. Take all the weapons. (There's a $5K
star between his stacks, and a weapon powerup on the far
right end of the ship.) Fire at the small gun on the front.
Raise up to the top of the screen before you get too close
or the Unicorn will pass. Be sure to get the Unicorn. Try
to hit the stacks until you get to the middle of the ship
and then launch you megacrusher. It will knock out all the
small arms in the central part of the ship. Drop bombs on
the rear big guns. Get get below the deck for the turn
around. Raise and knock out he back small guns. If you
have enough fire power you can target the the two big guns
and still stay away from their fire. You have to get just
high enough. Once the big guns are gone, fire into the
stacks (he'll flash when you hit the right spot). He'll
die. You don't have to knock out the front guns.
Forest Fortress:
Take all your weapons, just in case...
There is a Unicorn just before the fortress, immediately
after the ground-based missile launching grids, but I can't
figure out exactly where it is. Get to the level where you
can hit the front cannon and the aircraft launcher at the
same time. You can stay here and clear out the whole front
of the fortress. Don't move until you knock out the last
cannon. Raise up and hit the big cannon low. Use you
cluster bomb or regular bomb to take out the last aircraft.
The cannon will blow up if you hit it hard. Next, hit the
rocket launcher. Drop a few bombs on it at the same time
you shoot at the second large cannon. Get the fuel-up at
the end. Take out the rear small cannons the same way you
did the front cannons. Go back to the rocket launcher and
take'em out. (When you turn around for a second pass,
there's an Energy powerup at almost the same height as the
small turrets. Shoot the end one from the right, and it
should appear.)
SR71 Blackbird:
(One of the rock towers contains a $5K star.)
Take all the weapons.
Use napalm to get the rocket launchers.
Use the gunpod once the air battle starts. Get below the
Blackbird with the gunpod and go to work. That's all it
takes.
Cave Fortress:
(There's a Smart Bomb item in the area with all the ledges
and planes, shortly after the first vertical ascent.) This
one is pretty hard. I've only beat it once so far. Take
cluster, phoenix, gunpod and megacrusher. Shoot down
everything until the second ground machine gun then use
phoenix, until you get to the vertical ascent. Before
entering the column launch a megacrusher. Get up and over
to the upper middle cavern, launch a second megacrusher.
Use cluster until the vertical descent where you go back to
phoenix. Use all your phoenix up. Too many weapons get in
the way at the end. There is a Unicorn at the upper right
when you get to the one-eyed-machine. Get the Unicorn,
keep the conveyer belt clear with your gun and clusters.
Shoot the crap out of the eye (up close) with the gunpod.
The eye turns red and he dies.
>From :tagreen@lothario.cica.indiana.edu:
Here's some advice on the final level.
I use phoenix, gunpod, megacrush, and cluster. Use the
phoenix in the early part until you shoot the red cannon in the
narrow tunnel, make sure you are on cluster at that point in
time to use it to take out the blue planes that come from
behind. Switch back to phoenix. Rocks will come up from the
ground. You can blast them with your normal gun. Use the
phoenix to take out any planes that come around and the missiles
that drop from the ceiling. Next two tanks and more planes and
helicopters come, you can take them out with the phoenix or
clusters (or normal guns). After this you fly through anarrow
winding corridor and there is a weapons recharge, get it! and
use your phoenix to take out more of the dropping missiles.
Keep your phoenix and use them to take out the guns that move on
a grid, there will be a weapons recharge/damage recharge item in
the lower right section of this area. Next you go into another
narrow corridor and there is a unicorn in the cut away section
on the top. After this you come to a "mini ship" I just blow
him up with my normal gun dodging the missile that he shoots.
Next is the mother ship. First blow up the nose-cone and then
take out the top cannons with your guns and all 3 megacrushes
(assuming you got the weapon recharge token) This should have
blown open the middle of the ship showing you the inner
mechanics and also have blown up the top tail fin. You'll now
be past the ship and will want to switch to the gunpod. You'll
pass under the ship, take out the bottom tail fin with your
normal gun, and then take out the first underside cannon with
your gunpod, next blow open the underside of the ship with the
gunpod, you'll now turn around and pass over the ship again, try
to shoot the front of the ship to take out as many pistons as
possible, as you pass overhead use the cluster to blow up the
remaining top pistons and the main piston. Finally you'll pass
underneath again and use the gunpod to finish her off. If you
do it right, you won't even lose the shield that you got from
the unicorn.
