:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:..:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. POWER STRIKE - SMS Version 1.0 (06/21/2006) Version History: 1.0: Basic Guide Complete - (06/21/2006) .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:..:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. Legality: This Guide is Copyright, 2006, Matthew McIntyre This guide may not be used on a website or in any public forum where it is protected by copyright without the consent of the author. To contact me: entropiclobo(at)yahoo(dot)ca or chaos(dot)wolf(at)gmail(dot)com Websites with permission to use this Guide: www.GameFAQS.com www.neoseeker.com faqs.IGN.com www.1up.com www.honestgamer.com Game by Compile ****************************************************************************** * Table of Contents * ****************************************************************************** *To jump to a section, hold the Control Key and press F, then type in the section number as it appears (ie type PS1) PS1: Intro PS2: Gameplay PS3: Power-Ups PS4: Rounds PS4.1: Round 1 PS4.2: Round 2 PS4.3: Round 3 PS4.4: Round 4 PS4.5: Round 5 PS4.6: Round 6 PS5: Enemies PS6: Credits Power Strike is rated "P" for "Power." It contains scenes of plant matter bases and beautiful rivers. Player discretion is advised. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | PS1: Intro | -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= One of the key things I enjoy about shmups is how they are artistry in simplicity. The concept is easy to understand - dodge and shoot the enemy and get a load of points. But they challenge us, they inspire us to play with a greater intensity. Perhaps it's how helpless you feel at the hands of a shooter like these? A lone ship against countless foes? Or perhaps again, it's the perfection through simplicity that makes these games accessible to so many people to start but difficult to truly master. Power Strike qualifies for this denotion I believe. There are a number of weapons and enemies and all of this sort, but it's down and gritty intense action. The screen becomes absolutely swamped at times, but we learn to prioritize enemies on the fly all the while blasting and weaving. The SMS does not have the largest library around, but it certainly has some contenders like Power Strike. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | PS2: GamePlay | -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Power Strike isn't over complicated. The control pad steers your craft, the Primary Weapon is fired with one button and the secondary is fired with the other. All secondary weapons besides (1) run out, you get 80 seconds of use with each pick up of teh same weapon. Secondary weapons can be upgrades to become more useful. You will lose a life in a single hit, and you earn new lives ever 20000 points. Your HUD in the bottom right display three numbers: -Your Weapon Number -Time remaining on your Weapon -Lives Remaining Beat all of Power Strikes levels by defeating the end stage boss. After six Rounds, you will beat the game. You can play again after ebating it, but nothing carries over and you are brought to the title screen. So the title does not loop, but something await you if you do beat the game and choose continue... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | PS3: Power-Ups | -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= *Primary Weapon: You can power your primary weapon up from one shot to two shots to three shots. This is done by collecting multiple (P) capsules. One important note about the 3-shot is that it will protect you from the side. The Primary weapon only fires forward. You can get secondary weapon power ups from the enemies that carry them onscreen or from pods on the ground. *Secondary Weapon (1): This is a large shot that fires in the direction in which you are moving. It won't run out like the other powers, and is pretty useful when you power it up completely. It will stop enemy shots at power level 3, so it becomes very useful for survival. While not always the weapon of choice, others can certainly have a greater show of power, it is not finite and so always useful. *Secondary Weapon (2): A barrier is placed in front of your ship, and this prevents forward assault. It is useful, for sure, but it leaves your sides and your back completely vulnerable. And therein lies the problem - while helpful, it's not definitevly helpful and it cripples your offensive capabilities. *Secondary Weapon (3): A long laser is shot forward. As you upgrade it, you will get a wider shot (two lasers side by side for instance). This is a powerful forward assault, but the limited spread kind of detracts from it. (8) fires a similar laser with a greater spread, but I suppose (3) concentrates the laser's hit zone more. *Secondary Weapon (4): Another barrier, but unlike (2) it provides much more coverage as the balls spin around your ship. The protective qualities might be a little compromised until you can increase its size. *Secondary Weapon (5): A cluster of balls will seek out a nearby enemy and hit. Sounds good, but it is slow and small and altogether not worth it. When the enemy waves really pick up, you'll want something more reliable. *Secondary Weapon (6): A wave is rapidly launched forward. Not bad if you want a fast weapon, but the range will be limited. The advantage lies inhow you can sway it however. It changes direction based on your horizontal motion. This becomes an excellent weapon with upgrades. *Secondary Weapon (7): Holding this in starts it as a much more effective number (2). Upgrades to (7) will increase its range. However, it's still a very limited weapon... *Secondary Weapon (8): Large lasers are spewed forward in a sin curve. These are long lasers, and fast firing making secondary weapon (8) a great offensive weapon. The advantage of (8) over (3) is an increased spread. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | PS4: Stages | -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The most useful information here is where power-ups are located and maybe where certain enemies might start appearing. It's not really effective to talk about specific waves in this game, as they come too fast and with some degree of unpredictability. Just to mention, the White Loopers I've talked about in this guide relate to my pace of the game. They appear in order, holding items that cycle 1-8 and seem to be timed. IF you're playing the game effectively, you should be able to match or exceed this pace, but you can usually count on at least one of these enemies showing up where I've mentioned it. They do seem to slow down or speed up in frequency based on your progress, so my general locations are fine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS4.1: Round 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The first stage starts out simply enough with some (1) power-ups to your upper right. If you power this up right off the bat to level 3 you'll have a great head start. You will be introduced to some regular looking aircraft (look like fighter planes) and more alien looking craft that loop backwards after flying onto the screen. You should keep firing unless you think you will hit a secondary weapon power-up you want to get. They might fly off the screen before you can collect on them. Shoot some P-Ships as they appear. As for power-ups, there are two (2) coming to the upper left and two (8) to the upper right. Continue to pulversie P-Ships and the like. Two (3) power-ups will appear toward the cebtre of the screen. Two (4) Power-ups appear to the upper right. You may start fighting Wave Ship 1's now, blue ships that travel in long formations and follow a sine curve. Try to take these out all in a row if possible. There are two (5) power-ups to the upper left if you so wish. I don't recommend this weapon, but you may like it... Soon, you will face some folding ships. These folders look like small rods that fly onto the screen and unfold to launch a wide spray of shots. Try to shoot them before they shoot. Their spread leaves generous room to dodge, however, so don't dread them too much. As you cross over the forest, some orbs will begin floating down. They simply move on a curvy path, be more concerned about the Folder. After the forest you may see some Yellow Triangles. These bust apart to launch three missiles. I'd personally worry more about the Folders for the time being. The next set of power-ups will be on the left and will be 6,6,7,7,1,2,3,4. So pick something you like... The red blade orbs in thsi area have a wide path but should probably be the least of your worries. There are these spread shot enemies that take a few hits and stay on the screen. They can fire forward and backward in spread of three so make them you primary concern. You can shoot the volcano, but there's no real need. Watch out when firing on the long red enemies. They explode in a burst of shots. There will be a ship a little large than yours that lobs shots at you out of its sides. Try to take this out asap. The other big thing to worry about here is those white ships. They can make a loop and fire a spray of shots in the process. Your second priority. There is going to be a huge amount of red orbs coming up. After this extensive array of reds, you'll see one of the White Loopers (Loop ship 3) holding a (5). It won't fire so long as it holds the item. The Black and Red ship that will soon appear fires spreads of blue shots. Take out the Lob ship that appears as well. The Spread Shot ships that will soon arrive will be firing lobs as well. The White Looper that appears holds a (6) if you want it. It gets pretty hairy so take them out as best you can, they revert to spread shots soon. Coming up on the upper right is 5, 6, 7, and 1 in one diagonal line and 8, 2, 3, 4 in the next. So pick something useful. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 1 ****************************************************************************** A large volcano-like base. OO The smaller openings launch blue and red balls that generally block your O/\O shots. The volcano launches sprays of blue shots. With the right power, O\/O you can smash both shots. OO You will probably have to break at least the bottom two openings before attacking the centre. There are P-Ships incase you need an upgrade, and you should pay attention to the non-boss enemies because they might trip you up. Not to mention, the White Loopers may bring in a secondary power-up... Take out the two side openings if you are having difficult with the red and blue balls. Destroy every opening to beat the boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS4.2: Round 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Destroy the White Looper as you appear, then get ready to strike down the Lob ships that appear. Their missiles will be very rapid in this instance. The power-ups that appear are 1, 2, 3, and 4. (8) will be brought in by a White Looper, then more appear twoards the left: 5, 6, 7, 8. Again, pick your fave and get ready. What follows is a mix of red blade orbs, Lob Ship 2's (the Lob Spreaders) and Spread Ships. Take out the Spread/Lobbers first. This just gets very cluttered, and it's up to you to just blast your way through. What follows is a few bigger Lob Ships and a White Looper with an item. The blue spheres on the ground will also fire blue shots at you. Try to get some shots in on them, but the lobbers are priority. Take them out at the sides because their constant streams of missiles probably block your shots. A red and black ship appears as well, so keep an eye out. As you fly out over the forest, Black and Red Ships and Spreaders are common. I find the spreaders stick to the centre and the red and blacks seem to appear aroudn the sides. Alright, a White Looper brings an item and you'll be placed against a combo of Lobbers, Spreaders, and Red Blade Orbs. Take the Lob Ships first. As you take on this assault, a few loopoing orbs will appear and fire off a few shots. Focus on the bigger lob ships, and keep an eye on these guys. They shoot slowly and in small numbers but may be a surprise. When you leave the forest, there will be three Blue Spheres, then another small stretch of trees. It's the same assortments of enemies, buta White Looper will bring an item. There will be three Blue Spheres up soon as well. The big thing to watch out for here are the spreaders. Make sure to take them out. There's going to be 3 blue spheres again then 3 (1)'s soon thereafter on the left. Might be a good thing to get if you're going to run out of juice on your secodnary. There are three (2)'s afterwards. I'd stick with the (1)'s. The bounty continues amidst the Lob ships with three (3)'s coming up on the left, then three (4)'s. Alright, you're upgraded and ready to go. This large purple ship will teleport in, fire, and vanish. Shoot it as it appears then dodge shots as needed. As you fight thisphasing ship, a White Looper will bring an item, another appears later. The ship will turn yellow then red as it takes damage. When it explodes, watch out for the shrapnel. Mainly lob ships and wave ships follow, and a White Looper with an item. Then a long diagonal of secondaries from left to right: 5, 5, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. If you powered up at the last group of many upgrades, you are almost out of your choice by now. This is a great opportunity to upgrade it and refill your stock. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 2 ****************************************************************************** This base has more rapid firepower than the first one. but shouldn't be too difficult. The blue orbs shoot blue shots, and the red orbs shoot red as well as blue shots. You can fire on these orbs fairly freely, and you should rack up damage on them all as you dodge shots. I fully recommend taking out the two orbs on the left and right first. This gives you one concentrated threat rather than something spread across the extent of the screen. Once the two side orbs are destroyed, it's a simple matter to just rack up hits on the centrals while you dodge shots. Of course, there are power-ups and P-Ships throughout the boss fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS4.3: Round 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The stage starts off innocently enough with a Lob Ship. Hwoever, as more enemies appear, a constant stream of orb enemies with glowing cores will appear and start firing many blue shots. Try to take these out the best you can and focus on any very dangerous enemy like a lobber or spreader. After the Red Blade Orbs in this series of Glow Orbs, a White Looper will bring an item. If you have no weapon currently, this can help (unless you have a high powered (1) I mean). The Glow Orbs drop off and there are many red blade orbs, lobbers, folders and wave ships. Lob Ships and Folders always have priority. A White Looper will shortly bring an item. There will be Folders and Black and Reds as primary threats until you come to the River. A White Looper will bring an item, then along the right side of the river you will find 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Lobbers and Red Blade Orbs become the predominant force here. As always, deal with the lobbers first. As you head out over the water, some orb loopers will appear and spin in a circle. Take these out before they can cause too much trouble and get ready for the three blue spheres coming up. A White Looper will also bring an item. The Blue sPheres that will be appearing along the right side of the stage seem to have an increased firepower - greater spread and frequency. So stick to the right of the screen and focus on them and dodge (or shoot if possible with your secondary) the enemies to the left. Lobbers take over as the water opens up again. A lot of blue spheres will follow, and a White Looper with an item precedes them. The issue that arises while facing the spheres is brought on by the lobbers and the glow orbs. They will try to trip you up a little. There's a volcano in the centre of all of these blue spheres, and after you pass the formation a White Looper will bring an item. Going between the blue spheres coming up is not a good idea, considering the volume of other enemies. Stick to one side and take the blue spheres out. There will be a few just after the groups of two that go up and left in a diagonal. At this point, a White Looper will bring in a (1). A large Purple Ship will attack now with lobbing bullets. It takes a number of hits to defeat and blue spheres will occur while you are fighting it. Try to attack it from the greatest possible distance. A White Looper will take in an item. Afterwards, the enemies become a mix of Yellow Missiles and Red and Blacks. A White Looper will bring an item. The enemies become thick with glow orbs and and then a large assortment of the blue spheres before the boss arrives. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 3 ****************************************************************************** This Base is nicely spaces and is actually pretty slow. There is one central red orb and the right and left sides have four blue, two small red, and one big red each. The Blue Orbs shoot blue shots and the Big Red Orbs shoot blue and red. The small reds shoot those blue and red balls that block shots, but they are at the top of the screen and seem very ineffective in this fight... It's easy enough to again, dodge shots and rack up the damage on the orbs. However, I again recommend you take this onbe cluster at a time. That is, dodge between one of the sides and the centre, racking damage up on both of those before taking on the other side. The centre will probably be the first to fall, and as well it should. Once it does, just keep an eye on one side's shots as you focus on the other. Of course when you are reduced to only one side you'll be doing less dodging and will quickly destroy the boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS4.4: Round 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The action starts right away with red blade orbs, some Folders and some wave ships. A White Looper will bring an item. There will be an extensive array of lobbers (some of either variety) and folders until a White Looper comes in with an item. At this point, keep a good eye out for Yellow Missiles. There will be a few red blades, lobbers, folders and spreaders up next. As always, ships that spread or lob shots are top priority. After a blue sphere, you will encounter a White Looper carrying an item. Following this, you should encounter more blue spheres. The most notable partner of the spheres are the Black and Reds. A Black and Red as usual will mostly stick to either side. Concentrate most fervently on enemies towards the centre of the stage. You will eventually see a White Looper bring an item. As this extensive section of Red and Blacks as well as Blue Spheres wears on, you will encounter more and more Yellow Missiles. Now, these usually come in two's so you cans hoot the top and avoid the bottom. The blue shots from the Red and Blacks should always be notes. You can probably destroy them, but you may need to know where they're coming from to do so - depending on your secondary. The next item to come on screen comes with another White Looper. During this section, the Blue Spheres are still there but Folders are the big threat. These folders open up and fire a few missiles, then change their course of flight. They look like the other folding enemy, but they do have this different behavior. You don't want them to ram you, so shoot them as you see them. The Red and Blacks return for a brief section prior to a White Looper with an item. Some power-ups will appear soon: (1) on the left, (2) in the centre, and (3) on the right. Now, the Red and Blacks pick up again and have Yellow Missiles as their companions. This is a short section but it's thick. Stick it out, maybe try to hold one part of the screen. There is a White Looper with an item, so try and get that if you feel the item will work well against the boss. The boss is up next, however, so you'd have no time to upgrade your item... ****************************************************************************** BOSS 4 ****************************************************************************** Six large plant pods are lined up at the top of the screen. This is mostly a constant spray of blue and red shots. From what I can tell, pods 1, 3 and, 5 fire off blue shots. Pods 2, 4, and 6 stick to the red. Until there are a few left anwyays. Remember - you can always destroy Blue Shots. The screen can quickly get very thick with fire, so destroy the blue shots and worry about dodging the red. Perhaps you would like to destroy the red shooting pods first? If there is any difference in how I marked their firing patterns above, just look for the ones that spew red. Destroying them makes the arena filled with destructible shots only, and that could provide a breather for you. Or the other option is to take the pods out left to right, in sets. Work your way across, stick to two pods and focus on the red first then the blue. You'll still have red shots from everywhere else, however, so pick a strategy that works for you. I find that when the pods are dwindled to a few left, they'll fire both and more rapidly. So you'll be wise to maybe concentrate the last few pods on either opposite sides or directly together. That would give you the best dodging options. ------------------------ The stage continues with an assortment of enemies, many lobbers and a White Looper that brings in an (8). Take out any lob or spread fire ships first. The next item to be brought in will be a (1). You will soon encounter a Purple Pod. This roundish enemy will follow you around firing at you. You can deal with it by drawing circlesaround it and keeping a good pace of fire and secondary fire on it as much as possible. You can cross a blue sphere in the meantime, and a Plant Pod like you fought in Boss 4. The Purple Pod will turn yellow, then red as it takes damage. For the purposes of the guide, let's say you down it at the buildings shaped like [. Remember that the ship will explode in a spread of shrapnel so get clear. You'll be soon thrust against lob ships, yellow missiles, and the red and black ships. At thispoint, focus on the bigger lob ships and avoid any plant pods you pass over. After you spot a White Looper with an item, you'll notice some Red and Blacks are firing Red Shots at you. These kind of undulate as they fly towards you, but for the purposes of dodging they are mostly linear in path. You'll pass by two Plant Pods as the Red and Blacks revert to blue shots and a White Looper will bring in an item. There will now be a variety of enemies, inlcuding Missile Folders (so watch out as they leave the screen). The bigger issue up ahead is that you'll be facing a Numbe rof Plant Pods, they come in pairs. I suggest that if you're hard up for power-ups, you avoid these and focus on other enemies. A White Looper will take in an item soon after this section starts. After the section is cleared, worry about the Blue Shot Red and Black ships and Yellow Missiles. There is one Blue Sphere, and a White Looper brings in an item. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 5 ****************************************************************************** This Boss is far more densely packed than the level's first boss, and that does offer you an advantage. Since all of the fire comes from one general area, your ability to evade shots will be greater. There are four blue spheres on either side, making eight total. There are seven Plant Pods in the centre, and they shoot blue and red shots. Currently, the shots are infrequent. You can dodge left to right, right to left spraying the boss to rack up damage on the different sections. I'd suggest taking out the sides of Blue Spheres first and then focusing on a few Plants at a time, but it's your choice. As you reduce the number of components, the boss fires more quickly. At this time, if you can't destroy red shots, you may want to shoot the blues and dodge the reds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS4.5: Round 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As always, the action starts instantly. Some Yellow Missiles and Folders will be there to greet you. Fire at them, then head either left if you want a (3) or right if you want two (1)'s. There will also be a White Looper carrying an item. If neither of those items pleased you, up next on the left you'll find two (4)'s and on the right you'll find two (2)'s. Look out for the lobbing ships as you continue onwards. Deal with them, but keep in mind there will be two (6)'s on the left and two (5)'s on the right. The Lobbers continue as there are two (8)'s on the left and two (7)'s on the right. A White Looper is taking in an item at this time. What follows is a potentially lethal combo of lobbers and folders. Take out the folders, then focus on the larger lobbers as the Glow Orbs make their triumphant return and start to fill the upper part of the screen. Try to take them out before they start to close in. A White Looper carries in an item as you approach a Boss. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 6 ****************************************************************************** This boss is a fairly simple layout. On the left and right, there are four small openings each for a total of eight. In the centre, there is a larger opening and it kind of looks like a pool of lava. The small pods are set up as so: (RED) (BLUE) (BLUE) (RED) The Blue Pods shoot blue shots, but the reds shoot the blue and red balls which can block your shots. They can be destroyed, but they are nuisance. The central lava pit fires off both blue and red shots. However, since this is all coming from one concentrated zone, it is easy to dodge from right to left. Focus on the sides first. Fire on them, then dodge to the other when you need to. Destroy the centre last. ------------------------ Of course, the stage would have been very short if it ended there. So get ready for the next part. The action starts right away with wave ships and red blade orbs. Some Yellow Missiles and Red and Blacks will likely follow. As a Whiet Looper brings a (7) onto the screen, you are attacked by a large purple ship. This ship launches circular spreads of shots as it flies around the stage. As you fight it you will also encounter Blue Spheres and Red Spheres. Red Spheres fire red shots. These line the centre of the screen, essentially. You may want to stay towards the bottom centre (dodging as the need arises) so that you can hit both the Purple Spreader and the Spheres. During the fight, a White Looper will bring in an (8). As the Canyon begins to open out a bit, you'll encounter lobbers and some spread fire ships like folders. Blue Spheres will flank the right and left sides of the screen. You may want to stick to just one if your ship isn't powered up very much - either left or right. A White Looper takes in an item as the section begins. Perhaps the compounding factor to the threat level are the glow orbs. As you fly between the blue spheres and fight lobbers, they will steadily approach. The spread fire and lob fire ships are of course your main target, but don't let these get too close. Eventually, the Red and Black ships will start coming down the sides firing off their blue spreads. Approaching the end of the canyon, a White Looper will bring in an item. As you fly over the forest area, you'll see sets of openings like you foguth on the previous boss. The Red Spheres here _do_ fire red and blue balls, so don't get too close. A White Looper will presently take in an item. As this section of spheres continues, some missile folders will arrive and they will prove to be the more difficult enemy. There is also a new version of the original Looper type, but they don't seem to do anything different. Just come in and fly off. As the stage gives away to metal, a White Looper brings an item. Some spreaders and missile folders will follow, and a White Looper brings in an item as you approach the boss. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 7 ****************************************************************************** Boss 7 prooves to be about the same intensity as the stage's previous boss. This can be attributed to the notable lack of Red Spheres. It just has the Blue Spheres firing Blue Shots and the bigger openings firing red and blue. However, the boss is spread out. It is as such: (Blue)/BIG\(Blue)/Big\(Blue)/Big\(Blue) \ ! /(Blue)\ ! /(Blue \ ! / Alright, so that means we revert to our older strategy of going from one side to the other. Try to catch the farthest left Blue in your fire as well as the Big. Move up and down to avoid the bullets or shoot them if the need arises. When both of these are taken out, do the same for the righthand side. Now, the central four blues and big opening. Fire on the big guy first to quickly decrease the threat, then take out the blues. ------------------------ Yikes! The stage isn't quite over yet folks. After yoru score is displayed, get ready to fight. Take out the Folder as it appears, then any wave ships. The biggest threat that follows is, as usual, the Spreaders and the Lobbers. Fire on these to stop their threat and if you want it - a White Looper brings down an item. Big lobbers will persist for quite a while, then for the first time in a while the White Loopers will actually attack. They'll probably release a thick array of red shots so look out. A more benign White Looper will bring in an item however. Some spreaders and lobbers and white loopers preempt the boss... ****************************************************************************** BOSS 8 ****************************************************************************** This one's going to be quite a bit tougher than the other 2. From left to right: four Red Spheres, a Big, Four Reds, a Big, and Four Reds. The reds fire Blue and Red balls, the Bigs fire red and blue shots. The Red Spheres are going to be your primary target. Take out the red spheres on the left and right first. Focus on one side, and dodge to the other side if the need arises. After these have been taken out, go for the two big spheres, this will concentrate the remaining fire into one spot. Fire now on the last Red Spheres, from the side if need be. If the screen gets thick with the balls then you probably won't be bale to hit the spheres. Take a short flight away from your firign position to have the balls spread out a bit before you come back in to try again. ------------------------ The stage still isn't over. Watch out for the Folder that arives and fire on the red orbs as well. What will follow is a mix of spreaders and lobbers, and a White Looper carrying an item. Stick to the back and stick and move to the best of your ability. Yellow Missiles and the bigger Lobbers mostly follow after the Blue Spheres. A White Looper will bring in an item. Towards the last set of Blue Spheres, a White Looper brings in another item. In this cross-hatch section, there will be many Black and Red ships and they fire Blue spread shots. A White Looper will bring in an item. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 9 ****************************************************************************** This one's pretty extensive. A series of panels will lift up to reveal turrets that fire Blue Shots. While there are many of them, this is key because the shots can of course be destroyed. In total, there are ten turrets and two blue spheres. As usual I suggest taking out the turrets on the sides first, and then the middle. Towards the end, the shots can become very thick so you may want to move to one side just so you can get a clear shot at the turrets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS4.6: Round 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The action of course starts right away with Folders, Spreaders and Wave Ships. There is also a White Looper with an item right from the get go. The enemy make-up stays roughly the same. You'll notice some Panels coming loose as you approach them. They will fly out to hit you, so down them first. Following a few panels, a Purple Phase Ship will appear. Try to take this out as quickly as possible because there are big lobbers here and panels at points across the floor. This section continues like this for a while, as you fight the Phase Ship you may get a White Looper carrying an item. Right before the metal gives away, a White Looper will bring in an item. At this point, a Purple Pod will attack you. As you fight, Folders and Panels will be the main worries. A White Looper brings an item if you want it. You may remember that the Purple Pod follows you? Well, the Panels interrupt any clean circles here, so avoid it and fire on it to the best of your ability. Yellow Missiles and Red and Blacks become prevalent as you progress. The next White Looper will carry an item. There'll be a few Missile Folders in the mix after this - watch out as they fly away. Before the boss, you will have a chance to get a an item from a White Looper. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 10 ****************************************************************************** This one is pretty spread out, but not too bad. The big openings launch red shots and the small red openings launch Blue shots. I would suggest firing on the side big openings first. Then, take out all of the smaller pods. They don't even seem to actually fire at you, but launch the Blue shots out in different directions. This makes for easy dodging. When the two big pods are left in the centre, they will begin a rapid spray of shots, and enemies will start to arrive. Just dodge the shots as you need to and keep firing. They won't interrup your hitting the pods as much as rapid blue shots do. ------------------------ As the music changes, you will face multiple lobber type enemies. This includes a Purple Lobber. It will track you somewhat slowly... keep clear and keep firing on it as much as you can. Take out the smaller Lobbers if you have a chance as well. If you are beneath the Purple and other ships, the screen can get very thick with shots, so try to avoid this position when the Purple is close to the bottom of the screen. During this section, a White Looper takes in an item. As the stage progresses, you'll face some folders and spreaders, but mostly lobbers. A White Looper will take in an item but others will attack you. Blast the spreaders to the best of your ability - dodge if you need to. The lobbers here mostly rely on missiles. A White Looper will shortly bring an item. Look out for the Yellow Missiles as you continue. If you're dealing with lobbers and spreaders you could forget about them altogether. An item will be brought in by a White Looper soon. The combo of Red and Blacks as well as Yellow Missiles that follows can become very dangerous. It might be best to destroy the blue shots if you can, rather than dodging into a missile. As you approach the boss, a White Looper will give an item. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 11 ****************************************************************************** This is five turrets and four red spheres. They all shoot Blue Shots so you can easily dodge or destroy them. Start with the turrets on the left and right sides. This will concentrate the threat to the middle of the screen. Next, clear out all four spheres. This will make shooting the remaining turrets easier. Now take out the last three in whatever order you prefer. If the shots get too thick, fly away to thin them out. ------------------------ As the stage continues, your main threat will be a Purple ship that launches Red & Blue balls. Keep your distance and fire on this Purple Ball Ship as much as possible. There are a lot of Wave Ships and Turrets here. Keep an eye on the scenery as you fight the Purple. A White Looper will take in an item. Another will take in another item. The Turrets continue along with bigger lobbers. You probably can't destroy the Turrets in time, so focus on the other threats in the sky. White Loopers with items follow. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 12 ****************************************************************************** There are seven large flowers here. They can shoot both red and blue shots. They basically cover from left to right, so as always we're going to work our way in. Dodge as you need and work on the sides first and middle last. Enemies start to arrive towards the end, so dodge as need be. ------------------------ As you fight Spreaders and Lobbers, it seems to be that White Loopers with items will become frequent. It's not at all long until the next boss. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 13 ****************************************************************************** Enemies persist as you fight this boss, and panel block your shots at the red pods. Knock out the panels on the left and on the right. Fire on the pods, which shoot red shots, before taking out the middle panels. When all panels and pods are destroyed the boss is over. This one isn't so difficult except for the other enemies in the mix. Just make sure you dodge to the other side if shots become too thick. ------------------------ We're right back into the action again. The screen will fill up here, there's not a whole lot to say. Spreaders, Folders, Lobbers, and White Loopers become threats and you should as always focus on the big lobbers first. Take out the White Loopers if possible. About three White Loopers with items will fly by. Now, things get even thicker as panels take up space and big lobbers attack. As the panels give away, we approach the boss... ****************************************************************************** BOSS 14 ****************************************************************************** This is a large assay of pods. Those aren't normal panels - they won't block your shots (theya re dangerous after the fight though). The pods fire red shots. Now, there are so many of these pods that we have to condisder that while a side/side/centre pattern is optimal - it might not happen. Concentrate on one side of the boss, then dodge to the other when things get roguh. So rake back and forth, you'll wear the pods out. When only a few are left, the pods will stay open and fire rapidly. Dodge to one side if you need room and focus your fire on them. Rake from side to side if you have to. Stay toward the bottom of the screen and fire upwards. When all have been destroyed, get to the far left or right. the panels will give way and you won't want to be hit by one. Get ready to fight once again... ****************************************************************************** BOSS 15 ****************************************************************************** Seven eyes centred in one area, we don't have to worry about any pattern here. They shoot blue shots and the Red and Blue Balls. Dodge from one side to the other, raking teh eyes with your fire. The balls can get very thick, so dodge even to one of the upper corners if you need to clear some room. If you die or lose your power up, you will _need_ another one. A high powered weapon 1 or some semi-useful secondary that can hit the eyes. Maybe that you can arc in towards them. Such as with secondary 1, fly up to a corner, and fire in on the eyes from the side. The good thing is that the eyes always open and close, so when you're down to one or two, there will be breaks in the balls. This is your chance, train your fire on an eye as it opens and hopefully you'll score some hits. ------------------------ Great, are we done? You'll get 2000000 points and a ton of extra ships. We can continue our game now, at Round 0. Watch the Credits and select Continue... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS4.0: Round 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Round 0. As mentioned above, just continue the game after you beat it. You won't keep all those ebautiful lives you received for beating the last boss or any upgrades you'd collected on your firepower. But anyways, it's a strange new stage that seems somewhat based on Round 1. It scrolls faster than usual. Comin in at the upper right are two (1)'s, and in the upper left two (2)'s. Next up are two (8)'s to the right. Near the centre will be two (3')s. Coming up on the left are two (5)'s. After a few rivers, the items will be going up/right in a diagonal: 6, 6, 7, 7, 1, 2, 3, 4. It can be difficult to actually choose one here. The Folders and Spreaders will start to arrive now. Don't let the background disorient you, focus on the shots - they move no differently. After some red blade orbs, there will be two diagonals up and left toward the right side of the screen. From the bottom up the leftmost one is 5, 6, 7, 8. The rightmost series is 1, 2, 3, 4. Presently, you will slow down. ****************************************************************************** BOSS 0 ****************************************************************************** This is a repeat of Boss 1 with one key difference - there are enemies throughout the fight. These are some of the uppe renemies like lobbers, so watch out. Take out the little red openings first, they are producing the Red and Blue Balls. You may need to move to left or right to draw the fire then swoop back in for a clear shot. Take on the central volcano next. It only shoots red shots and should drop without a great deal of effort. Finish off the two small reds behind it and you're good to go. You will be taken now back to Round 6. Enjoy! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | PS5: Enemies | -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= No enemies here have an official name, just something descriptive that I've used for the purposes of this guide. Enemies have three types of shots: -Red: Quicker and take more power to destroy than Blue. -Blue: USually slower, and easily destructible. -Red and Blue Balls: Large and while easy to damage take a few hits to destroy. Their spinning often means they will block your shots from hitting enemies. Now, I mention lobbing and spreading in here: -Lobbing: The shot is thrown in an arc, and seems to be pulled down with gravity. -Spreading: Multiple shots are released in different directions. Introduced in Round 1: ********************** *Lob Ship A largish ship that lops its shots in small arcs toward you and can persist on the screen. As its shots aren't super predictable, take it out fast. These also fire forward missiles. *Lob Ship 2: Looks like a spread shooter, fires liek a lob ship. *Loop Ship /\_/\ Rough Outline \___/ These ships, encountered soon after starting, fly onto the screen and then loop back off. *Loop Ship 2: Same pattern as loop ship 1, just smaller. __ __ \ .. / Rough Outline |\/| | | *Loop Ship 3 "White Looper": Makes a loop on the screen and releases a spray of shots. Large white wings. *Fighter Jet: Simple movement of flying straight down. *Folder: A small enemy that flies onto the screen, then unfolds and launches a wide spray of bullets before flying away. Shoot it before it opens. *P-Ship: Moves back and forth downwards in a sine curve. Shoot it to release a (P) upgrade. *Red and Black: Slowly moves down the screen firing waves of blue shots. *Red Blade Orb: Simple enemy that waves back and forth ina wide sine curve with its comrades. Take them out if you can, but they aren't the highest priority. *Red Mine: A long enemy that explodes in a burst of shots. *Spread Shooter: /|-|\ Rough Outline. | - | \| |/ They fire a spread of three shots and stay on the screen for a long time. They can fire forward and backwards, so keep an eye on them if you can't get to them to end them. *Volcano: Spewes red shots when it opens - only vulnerable when open. *Wave Ship 1: |\-/| Rough outline. ||-|| \/ \/ These are blue ships with a small red centre roughly the same size as your craft. They appear in waves and follow a definite sine curving pattern. They release blue shots that move at a somewhat moderate pace. Try to line up and take out the entire wave asap. *Yellow Triangle: Busts apart to launch three missiles. If you can't get to it, at least mark its position... Introduced in Round 2: ********************** *Blue Sphere: Stationary enemy that fires Blue Shots. There's greater threats in the skies, but I recommend you get them in between the larger risks. *Loop Ship 4: Orb Looper Make little loops and fire shots. *Purple Phase Ship: Large ship that teleports in, fires off a few shots, then vanishes. Take it out as it appears if possible. Introduced in Round 3: ********************** *Glow Orb: Moves in a horizontal line with a constant stream of blue shots. Often appear in large groups... *Purple Lobber: A large purple ship that takes multiple hits. It lobs its shots at you. Try to take it on from as far away as possible. Introduced in Round 4: ********************** *Black and Red Ship 2: Fires, with a fair frequency, red shots. This is not a spread, but remember that red shots aren't as vulnerable as blue. *Blue Sphere 2: Opens and closes, but otherwise acts like a blue sphere. Shoot it when it opens. *Folder 2 "Missile Folder": Looks like the Folder enemy but fires missiles. It will usually veer off in a diagonal downwards direction after firing, so don't collide with it. *Plant Pod: Can fire Red and Blue shots. Large stationarye enemy, shoot it when it opens. *Purple Pod: Follows you around firing. Circle it and constrantly train your fire on it. Introduced in Round 5: ********************** *Loop Ship 5: Just like the original, it comes in and loops back out. *Red Sphere: Just like the blue sphere, except it si a stationary target that fires red shots. *Red Sphere 2: Fires the Red and Blue balls. *Purple Spreader: A large ship that launches circular spreads of red shots as it flies around. Try to stick to one spot where you are able to easily evade its shots as you rack up the damage. Introduced in Round 6: ********************** *Panel: Rips out of the ground and flies downward. Destructible. *Purple Ball Ship: Launches Blue and Red balls. Keep your distance. *Turret: Lifts up to fire off Blue Shots. Introduced in Round 0: ********************** No new enemies. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | PS6: Credits | -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Thanks of course to my hosts for letting you see this guide. Thanks go out to Compile, for the great Power Strike/Aleste games. Websites with permission to use this Guide: www.GameFAQS.com www.neoseeker.com faqs.IGN.com www.1up.com www.honestgamer.com Game by Compile