------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PANZER DRAGOON ORTA A Full FAQ/Walkthrough, ver 1.13; March 13, 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the Microsoft Xbox By American Arsenal (c) 2004-2005 Chris Noonan. All rights reserved. =============================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS =============================================================================== I. Introduction II. The Story So Far a. Characters b. Story III. Game Basics a. Controls b. The Basics IV. Walkthrough a. Scoring Tips b. City in the Storm c. Altered Genos d. The Fallen Ground e. Gigantic Fleet f. Eternal Glacies g. Legacy h. Forbidden Memories i. Imperial City j. Showdown k. The End of Destiny V. Sub Scenarios a. Imperial Boy b. Missions VI. Dragon Rankings a. Rankings b. Play Styles VII. Bestiary a. Common Enemies b. Bosses VIII. Unlockables IX. Original Panzer Dragoon "Mini-FAQ" X. FAQ XI. Revision History XII. Legal Disclaimer XIII. Closing WHAT'S NEW? Thanks to Cham for pointing out yet another Play Style that I missed. In addition to adding that in, I also made a few aesthetic changes. =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= I ------------------------------------------------------ INTRODUCTION =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= The legacy began in 1995, when Sega's highly skilled Team Andromeda released Panzer Dragoon, the first in what would turn out to be a trio of neglected Saturn shooters. Another year's passing brought forth the first sequel-- Panzer Dragoon Zwei, which fed faithful Sega fans with a second helping of rail shooting goodness. As the Saturn's unfortunate demise was imminent, however, Team Andromeda returned for one final encore in two years time: Panzer Dragoon Saga, an epic adventure that meshed classic Panzer series elements with those found in typical role-playing games. Improving the classic trademarks of this series, Panzer Dragoon Orta easily becomes the best game on Xbox, and should not be missed by anyone. Before I proceed to the sections that people actually read, however, allow me to explain exactly what can be located in each chapter of this guide. The intro, which your eyes are feasting on as I speak, contains a small bit of useless rambling. Subsequently, you'll find a chapter detailing the storyline, as well as the characters who will appear throughout. In the Game Basics section that follows, I'll teach you how to hold the inordinately massive Xbox controller. Afterward, you'll stumble across a little part of the guide known as the walkthrough; its purpose is to tell you exactly what to do and when. Directly following the walkthrough is a section detailing the Sub scenarios, which are short missions meant to provide a side attraction from the main game. Next up are the Dragon Rankings, where I have created a list covering all thirty possible scores, as well as an explanation for the play styles given to you by the game. In the Bestiary, you'll find in-depth descriptions and tactics pertaining to each of the various enemies you'll encounter throughout the game, bosses included. Wrapping things up, I've got sections telling you how to unlock the game's myriad secrets, explaining the playable version of the original Panzer Dragoon, and the FAQ, which is a basic Q & A session. With that, I bring this guide to a close with some boring items that no one reads. Enjoy! - American Arsenal americanarsenal4 (at) gmail (dot) com =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= II ------------------------------------------------- THE STORY SO FAR =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= Within this chapter, I'll divulge some basic introductory information about the game's various characters, as well as a prelude to Panzer Dragoon Orta's storyline. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= a. Characters =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This sections contains nothing more than some general character biographies that took me like five minutes to write. That'd probably explain why they suck so much (and are cheesier than Monterey Jack). In any event, have fun reading them! ==== ORTA ==== Our young dragon-flying, ancient gun-wielding, prison-escaping, white-haired heroine, Orta has spent her whole life confined within a tiny prison cell. Thus, she holds a terrible grudge against all people. However, upon her chance encounter with Mobo and his fellow Wormriders, she realizes that not everyone is out to get her. Whilst in the presence of the Wormriders, Orta actually feels significant for the first time. Panzer Dragoon Orta centers on this young girl and her attempts to free herself from the cruelty of fate. ====== DRAGON ====== Just as the Empire's Dragonmares prepare to put out the flame of Orta's life, the legendary Dragon of Destruction appears as if from nowhere to save her. Using immensely powerful "Arrows of Light"--bio-lasers fired from the mighty beast's throat--the dragon will be your mount throughout the game, aiding you in battle. This legendary creature strikes fear in the hearts of most Imperial soldiers, and using its various powers to their fullest potential will prove invaluable. ==== MOBO ==== Or "The Mighty Mobo", as he calls himself. The leader of the Wormrider tribe, Mobo seems, at first, to be no more than an average hunter trying to earn his keep. Yet, as the story progresses, Orta finds that Mobo burns with an inner urge to destroy the Empire. This shared vendetta is what keeps the two fighting together. ===== ABADD ===== To avoid spilling any unnecessary beans, I'll just mention that Abadd is Orta's main adversary throughout the game. Interestingly enough, he also has an unusual tie to our heroine. ============ IVA DEMILCOL ============ A tragic orphan whose father was killed whilst dabbling with the bio-engineered creatures that plague the world, Iva is a youth training to join the Imperial army. Although the two often engaged in belligerent argument, Iva feels empty following his father's untimely death. ==================== LETRAL NAUS DEMILCOL ==================== A part of the Empire's research unit, Iva's father spent countless hours studying the bio-engineered creatures. He was killed during a battle involving the Empire's Dragonmares and the Dragon of Destruction spoken of in legend. Though he was often cold to Iva, his true motives for working with the object of his son's hatred were pure. ============== STRATEI URAMIS ============== A confident young Imperial soldier, Stratei saves an exhausted and off-guard Iva from a bio-engineered monster's attack. After their encounter, Stratei soon becomes Iva's closest and only friend. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= b. Story =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Thanks to PDO's shiny instruction manual for this little snippet providing a basic backdrop to the story so far! =================================================== THE ERA OF FALLEN GRACE - Tales of the Three Tribes =================================================== "The wondrous civilization of the Ancients had long since passed, and the remaining human population was scattered into a thousand tribes, each seeking out a marginal existence on the barren land. "One tribe discovered an ancient ruin containing powerful weapons created by ancient sciences. Using these weapons, the tribe began to reclaim the land from the bio-engineered creatures that had hunted them for so many years. An Empire was formed, and it revived the Ancients' flying machines and exterminated all opposing tribes. Soon the whole world became dependant on the Empire's technology to protect them. "The greed of the Empire spread, and their desire for power led them uncover the ultimate weapons: the Towers, which held the promise of absolute dominance over the world. However, the discovery of the Towers awakened the legendary Dragon of Destruction, which appeared to stop their activation. Three times this horned dragon appeared, and each time, it bore upon its back a rider carrying an ancient gun. A fourth dragon, a black dragon ridden by a young girl named Azel, appeared soon after. "The appearance of the black dragon marked the beginning of the dragon's final battle, which lead to the destruction of the Towers, as well as the near destruction of the Empire itself. With the Towers gone, so, too, were the last of the dragons. "That is, until the Empire rose once again and awakened dragons of their own." ===================================== A NIGHT OF STORMS - The Opening Scene ===================================== "From a backdrop of seething black clouds, five Dragonmares steered by riders of the Imperial cavalry descend screeching one by one to unleash a maelstrom of destruction upon the town. In a crumbling stone tower rising amidst the flames of the burning town, a young girl with pure white hair clutches the bars of her prison window. The Dragonmares swoop down to tear down the walls of the tower. She is surrounded, the monsters' snarling jaws closing in on her... "... When an enormous winged shape descends from the sky. A dragon! Long thought vanished from the surface of the earth, a dragon rescues the girl. "'Where... where are you taking me?'" "Borne by the giant beating wings, together they flee the furious pursuit of the Imperial Army. This is the beginning of an epic journey that will take them from one world of wonders to the next, and lead them to encounters with countless enemies and allies, sacred mysteries and secrets. "What fate awaits the two? "Who awaits them at their journey's end?" =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= III ----------------------------------------------------- GAME BASICS =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= The purpose of this handy little section is to cover all the basic information useful to know before playing Panzer Dragoon Orta. Think of it as a condensed version of the instruction manual, only written by me, and much tastier than any kinda condensed soup. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= a. Controls =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Start Button - Pause game Mashing the Start Button during play will temporarily stop the action and bring up a menu displaying the current level of all three Dragon forms at your disposal. On a side note, Start's little brother, the Back Button, has no use in this game. Left Thumbstick - Aim / move Dragon Tilt the left stick in any direction to aim the targeting reticle. This will also move the Dragon Right Thumbstick - Berserk Attack Press the right stick in like a button (click!) to unleash a powerful Berserk Attack. Only works when the Berserk Gauge is full. A Button - Fire Using this button, there are two methods of attack. Tap it lightly to fire Orta's gun, or hold it down to release the Dragon's homing lasers. The A Button is also used to confirm selections on the menu screen. B Button - Decelerate Tap the B Button during play to slow down, providing more time to make a decision or defeat a tough enemy. Additionally, pressing it on the menu screen will cancel a selection or return you to the previous screen. X Button - Glide Attack The exact opposite of the B Button's function, a Glide Attack is basically accelerating. However, accelerating through a group of foes will destroy them, making the glide ability a valuable weapon in its own right. Y Button - Change Dragon's morph from Press this little yellow button a single time to switch your Dragon's type from Base Wing to Heavy Wing. Hit it a second time to morph into the Glide Wing form. A third tap of the Y Button will bring you back to Base Wing form. Left Trigger - Rotate view left Give the left trigger a squeeze to swivel the camera 90 degrees to the left, allowing you to see foes attacking from behind or to the side. Right Trigger - Rotate view right Same thing as the left trigger, only this time the camera will spin to the right. Press the two triggers together to rotate the camera a full 180 degrees. Black and White Buttons - Berserk Attack When your Berserk Gauge is at its max, press either button to release a devastating attack. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= b. The Basics =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= In this portion of the FAQ, I'll go over all of the bare-bone basics that you should know before playing this game. ========= MAIN MENU ========= Turn on the game, watch the creator's logos pop up, and soon enough you'll be greeted with a few options. New Game =~~~~~~~~= To get started with the game, select this. Before moving on, you'll have to select a difficulty level to play on. There are three choices: Easy, Normal, and Hard. Choose whatever caters to your skill level, but keep in mind that the walkthrough is based on Normal mode. Continue =~~~~~~~~= If you have a previously-saved game, you can load it from here. Pandora's Box =~~~~~~~~~~~~~= A variety of cool unlockables can be viewed from here: * Flight Records: This displays several different things, including but not limited to total play time, number of cleared games, play style, and more. You can also check out your best scores for each episode, on each difficulty level. Records for the Sub-scenarios are also available. * Sub scenarios: Allows you to play two sets of side-missions that entail gameplay unique from the main game. * Box Game: Unlocked after beating the game on Hard mode or amassing 15 total hours of play time, Box Game allows you to replay any episode in the game with special circumstances. For instance, you can change your mount, rider, or tinker with certain settings, like how often you gain Berserk Attacks or how large your Life Gauge is. Fun! * Encyclopedia: Under this heading, you can read snippets of information pertaining to the game's world or view the myriad enemies found throughout the game. * Appendix: Here you can check out art from the game, watch the cutscenes and other videos, or play the original Panzer Dragoon, first released on the Sega Saturn (granted that it has been unlocked). Tutorial =~~~~~~~~= There are three tutorials to choose from, each explaining different tidbits about how to play Panzer Dragoon Orta. Definitely something useful for newbies to try out. Options =~~~~~~~= Decisions, decisions... * Up/Down: This choice decides whether you want up to move the aiming reticle up and down to move it down, or vice versa. Default is "Normal." * Vibration: Care to have the controller rumble ever so slightly when your Dragon is hit? Turn this on, if so. Default is "On." * Instrument Mode: Toggling between the three selections here allows you to set what you want to be displayed on-screen and what you don't. Default is "Normal." =========== GAME SCREEN =========== "Hey, what do all those bars on the screen mean?" - Random confused gamer _____________________________ | | | ( 3 ) | | | | | | {2} | | | | 1 | | | | 6 | | \~~~~~~ 4 7 | | === 5 (/ /) | |_____________________________| What you see above is an admittedly crude representation of the game's screen during play. The various numbers / symbols stand for the many different meters, bars, and gauges on the screen at once. 1 - Orta & Dragon Why, that's you! 2 - Targeting reticle This is your aiming tool; wherever it's pointed is where Orta will shoot her gun when you hit the A Button. 3 - Radar A very handy device, indeed! Using the radar, you can spot enemies coming at you from all directions. 4 - Life Gauge When this is completely empty, the game is over, and you're dead. No funeral, either. 5 - Glide Gauge This meter determines how often you can decelerate or use the Glide Attack. If it's empty, there's no chance of that happening. It refills over time. 6 - Berserk Gauge A gauge that shows how pissed off your Dragon is. It fills up as you destroy enemies, and allows you to fire a Berserk Attack when it's full. 7 - Gene Base Counter Every time you grab a Gene Base (explained in-depth below), this will appear in the corner to show how many more are need before you level up. =============== SAVING THE GAME =============== Usually I don't mention something so basic as saving, but recording your data in Panzer Dragoon Orta can be a wee bit confusing. Basically, should you choose to save your game via the pause menu, there are a few things to be aware of. Firstly, you can only have one saved game at a time. Also, regardless of whether you save the game in the middle of a stage or at the boss, you'll always begin at the start of the level when you load the data. ============== ATTACK OPTIONS ============== Throughout the game, you'll have access to two main weapons: Orta's gun and the Dragon's lock-on bio-lasers. Orta's gun, which is your basic weapon, must be manually aimed and can be used by successively tapping the A button. This weapon is somewhat weak, however, and thus it should not be used as a primary form of attack. The bio-laser, on the other hand, is a more powerful weapon that automatically targets enemies. Simply hold down the A button and run the targeting reticle over any enemy to lock-on. Release the button to unleash an ultra-powerful homing laser that can kill most foes in a single hit! Keep in mind that these lasers are limited to the Base and Heavy Wing morph forms. Additionally, both of the aforementioned forms have specific limits to how many lock-ons are allowed at once (see below for more in-depth information on the various morph forms). ======================== GLIDING AND DECELERATING ======================== Using the Dragon's glide ability is a fundamental part of playing the game that should soon become second nature, as it is an effective way of avoiding enemy attacks. During many boss battles, it will be necessary to speed up and slow down in order to find a safe area where you won't be damaged. The X Button causes the dragon to speed up (it will also destroy any enemies directly in front of you) while the B Button will slows the Dragon's pace to a crawl. There is, of course, a gauge that sets a boundary on how often the Glide ability can be used. Each morph form has a differently sized gauge, though, adding more strategy into the mix. Fortunately, the Glide Gauge, once depleted, slowly refills itself. =============== USING THE RADAR =============== Enemies attack from all sides and angles, so it's imperative that you know how to use your radar to keep track of where they're coming from. With attacks coming from all sides, rotating your view with the Left and Right Triggers should become a routine practice. Furthermore, you can actually rotate your view a full 180 degrees by pulling both triggers at once, allowing you to quickly target foes who have appeared from behind. ============== BERSERK ATTACK ============== As you attack and defeat the myriad enemies that you are bound to encounter, the Berserk Gauge (located near the Life Gauge)slowly fills. Once it has reached its maximum capacity, it becomes possible to unleash a massively powerful attack utilizing the Dragon's sheer rage by pressing either the Black or White buttons. Not only do these attacks (each morph form has its own) often cause unrivaled amounts of damage, but they also grant temporary invulnerability, and, in the case of the Glide Wing, even replenish your life. Be sure to save them for a time when they are actually needed, instead of wasting it on something that could easily be defeated by more conventional means. ================== DRAGON MORPH FORMS ================== The latest and greatest feature in the Panzer Dragoon universe is the ability to switch your dragon's form at will. Each of the three forms comes fully equipped with their own pros and cons and are most effectively used in certain situations. So, without further adieu, the morph forms... Base Wing =~~~~~~~~~= As its name suggests, the Base Wing is the basic dragon form; it has average statistics and you begin each episode in this form. Depending on its level, the Base Wing can lock onto as many as 8-12 different targets, which is more than enough in most situations. Also, it has decent maneuverability and a nice sized Glide Gauge, thus making it a great choice for many boss battles. Add on a terrific Berserk Attack that is automatically aimed and causes massive amounts of damage to everything on screen and you've got a winner. Heavy Wing =~~~~~~~~~~= Your heavy artillery, the Heavy Wing is far and away the most powerful dragon morph form. And although its bio-lasers are incredibly strong, only a maximum of 5 lock-ons are possible at one time. Add to that the fact that it cannot Glide at all and you've got some serious drawbacks. On the plus side, the Heavy Wing's Berserk Attack is hands down the most potent weapon you'll have gain access to, although it most be manually aimed. Despite the various shortcomings, the Heavy Wing is an easy choice for taking down bosses or a small group of strong foes. Glide Wing =~~~~~~~~~~= The smallest and most agile of the three, the Glide Wing is perfect for evasive action. Its bulky Glide Gauge allows for several elusive maneuvers before running dry. Unfortunately, this form has no lock-on homing lasers whatsoever, though it does have a rapid-fire gun instead. This allows missiles and other projectiles to be shot down with little to no trouble at all. Boasting an enlarged targeting reticle, the Glide Wing's lasers will automatically target anything inside. Additionally, its Berserk Attack, though not nearly as damaging as the other two, can restore a small portion of the Dragon's life. Another cool thing about this morph form is that it can execute a barrel roll--something the other two are not capable of--by tilting the Left Thumbstick left (or right) twice. In the end, the Glide Wing is the perfect choice for dodging enemy attacks, but not much else. =========== LEVELING UP =========== As in previous games, Orta carries on the ability to level up your dragon. It's actually done quite similarly to a traditional RPG. However, instead of experience points, you must collect items known as Gene Bases, which are dropped by certain enemies when defeated. Gene Bases are, quite simply, your experience points. Released as you destroy certain enemies (note that killing a certain amount of enemies does not yield anything, you must defeat the preset enemies that carry Gene Bases), these add up to increase the level of your Dragon. As you grab these nifty items, a counter at the bottom-right of the screen will display how many more are needed for a level up. Increasing the Dragon's level increases its battle capabilities: it becomes stronger, can lock-on to more foes at a time, gains more life, and generally starts to look a lot cooler. Each of the three dragon morph forms must be leveled up individually, however. In other words, your Base Wing may be at Level 4, but your Heavy Wing and Glide Wings may be at a lower level, say 2. It all depends upon which form you were in when you obtained the Gene Base. You can check the current status of each of your Dragon forms by pressing start. Keep in mind, though, that the maximum level for each dragon is 5, so any Gene Bases collected after reaching Level 5 will be wasted. By the way, as you Heavy and Glide Wings level up, they're appearances will change. Pretty much, they just start looking even cooler. Unfortunately, the Base Wing retains its initial form throughout the game. Must have not eaten enough veggies as a kid. Anyway, below is a table that displays the number of Gene Bases needed to advance to the next level. Level | Gene Bases needed ------+------------------ 2 | 2 3 | 4 4 | 6 5 | 8 Acquiring the said amount of Gene Bases will result in a level up for the current morph form. You may want to note that the number of Gene Bases is that many more, not that many total. So if you are at level 2, you need 4 more Gene Bases to gain another level. Get it? I hope so. ======= SCORING ======= After successfully completing each episode, a screen will appear displaying how well you scored, based on several criteria. Shot Down Ratio =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This number is the percentage of enemies that you killed out of the total number of foes in the level. Score =~~~~~= Based on a variety of things. You can boost this score by shooting certain non-enemy things in a stage, or by locking-on to as many foes as possible before shooting your lasers. Hits Taken =~~~~~~~~~~= The total number of times your Dragon was hit throughout the course of the episode. Pretty self-explanatory. Boss Clear Time =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= The time it took you to defeat the level's boss. Based on those four factors, you'll be given a ranking, either S, or A-D (with S being the best, and D being complete suckage). At the end of the game, all ten ranks will be put together to form a final ranking; check out chapter VI to view how to attain each score. =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= IV ------------------------------------------------------ WALKTHROUGH =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= A few notes boring enough to lull you to asleep before I begin... * The walkthrough is based on Normal Mode, which is harder than Easy Mode but not so difficult as Hard Mode. Obviously. The main difference between the various modes is that foes can take more damage before biting the dust on the harder difficulty levels, making it a small bit tougher to destroy them. * This entire guide is spoiler-free, so don't you dare even consider yelling at me via e-mail or IM about how I ruined the game for you. I did no such thing. * Know of a more effective way to get past a certain part of the game / beat a boss? Then send it in; I'll gladly credit you for useful findings and toss them into the guide should they prove worthwhile. Hit me up at . =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= a. Scoring Tips =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of this section is not to provide tips on how to get laid. Instead I've provided some quick pointers on how to maximize your points so that the ever elusive S ranks will come a bit easier. ================================== TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR MORPH FORMS ================================== Don't be afraid to constantly switch between the forms. All three of the Dragon's morph forms have their own unique abilities that make them useful for certain situations. For example, the Heavy Wing is the perfect remedy for a small amount of powerful enemies, where as the Base Wing is much more suited to taking down a miniature army of weaker foes. Learning to use each form effectively is integral to obtaining a good score. ================= ATTACK CONSTANTLY ================= After unleashing a salvo of homing lasers upon your enemies, don't just sit back on your heels, waiting for your lasers to hit. Rather, take advantage of Orta's manually fired gun and start shooting with it the moment you release the lasers. ============================= CONSERVE YOUR BERSERK ATTACKS ============================= Rarely is it a good idea to be gung-ho with your Berserk Attacks and use them as soon as they become available. Conserve it for large groups of enemies or bosses where they'll be most useful. Also take to mind which morph form's Berserk will be most effective; a huge group of foes is best left to the Base Wing's attack, while a smaller pack or a boss could be dealt with more efficiently by the Heavy Wing. ======= LOCK-ON ======= Generally speaking, it's usually a good idea to lock-on to as many targets as possible. Not only will this help you defeat your foes quickly, but it also improves your overall score. The more foes that go down in one wave of lasers, the more points you'll score. Just be careful not to waste excessive time trying to lock-on to everything in sight, or may regret it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= b. City in the Storm =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= You begin this initial stage facing backwards, in the Base Wing form of course. Four Battleship Bhout (those Imperial planes) and a couple of Dragonmares are right on your tail, so focus on the Bhout rather than the 'mares, as it's impossible to destroy them at this point. A second group of Battleship Bhout will drop in shortly, so take all four out in one blast and prepare yourself for yet another pack who'll drop in shortly. Continue facing backwards and still another group of Bhout will appear; lock-on to the first three but don't fire until the fourth plane shows up a few moments later. Now, swivel the camera so that you are facing to the left, where four more Bhout will emerge from a canyon. Shoot down the planes with your lock-on lasers, then clear out any incoming missiles with fire from Orta's manual weapon. Taking out that pack should yield your first Gene Base, so switch to whatever morph form you want to have it and proceed along. Keep in mind that while it is impossible to damage the Dragonmares at this point, firing at them builds up your Berserk Gauge, so go pell-mell on them whenever you've got an opportunity. As you fly through the canyon ahead, use your Heavy Wing to destroy the three Hovertank Dahras, dispelling any missiles they fire with your manual gun. Following the demise of the third Hovertank, keep an eye on the bottom-left portion of the screen; three Battleship Bhout will fly by, releasing a few projectiles along the way. Quickly floor the three planes, then shoot down the incoming bombs. While flying through the canyon just ahead, turn around, as a couple more Bhout as well as five or six Hovertank Dahra will appear on your tail. Try to take them all out in one go, but be quick about it, since the Bhout are gonna fire some missiles at you. Don't miss the pair of Bhout that come in from above after the fact, either. Shortly after, three more planes will zoom in from behind, moving toward your front. Shoot them down, then turn around to the front, grabbing a Gene Base from one of the previously downed Bhout along the way. Just ahead are two Hovertank Dahra and a few battleships. Take care of them, then watch out for the two groups (each consisting of four ships) of Bhout that will drop in from above. They are gonna be firing missiles like there's no tomorrow, so be sure to get your shots off quickly so you can be ready for the incoming barrage. Destroying one of these foes will also yield a Gene Base, so be on the lookout. This next part is tough, so hopefully you've got a Berserk Attack ready. If not, you can still defeat all the enemies, albeit with a little more difficulty. Ignore the Dragonmare that cuts in front of you, and speed up to avoid being rammed from behind by a second 'mare. Eight Bhout will dive from above--lock and load and soon as possible, then get ready for the real toughie. A group of battleships will come from behind, speeding in front of you as more Bhout appear from both the left and right sides. Now would be a perfect time to unload the Base Wing's Berserk Attack, if possible. For those who haven't built up a Berserk Attack yet, just concentrate on locking onto as many targets as possible and firing quickly. There will also be a field of incoming projectiles, so make good use of Orta's manual weapon here. After dodging that bullet, clear out any remaining Bhout before they fade out of range. Up ahead, a pair of Dragonmares will speed by, destroying a small building to the left. Remember, you can't damage them, but you can build up your Berserk Gauge by firing shots their way. Although the two in front of you will soon fade away beyond your Dragon's range, another 'mare will drop in behind you. Unload all you've got before entering the next area. In the sewer area, keep your Dragon facing backward--five battleships are in hot pursuit of you. Take them all out, along with another three that appear after their predecessors are destroyed. At this point, swivel around to the front view and destroy a third grouping of Bhout. Now then, switch to the Glide Wing form. Watch out for the massive, turning cogs ahead, and duck to the side to avoid smashing into one, which would cause unnecessary damage. Take note that you can shoot the small pegs on the gears to eliminate most of the danger. After making it past the fourth and final cog, switch back to the Base form and look out for a pack of Bhout to fly from behind in front of you. Defeat them, and do the same for a second group that comes in from behind. With that, Orta's Dragon will emerge from the sewers, and take to the skies. Boss time! Assault Carrier Vermana =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= At the start of this battle, you will be hovering in front of the ship. Aboard the deck, there are four Hovertank Dahra. Using the Heavy Wing form, destroy each Dahra, one at a time. They'll periodically fire a barrage of missiles your way, so briefly morph into Glide form to shoot them down, then switch back and continue the assault. Also, take note that your attacks aren't doing any direct damage to the ship. Because of this, you will want to conserve a Berserk Attack for later, if you have one. Once all four Dahra have been destroyed, the Dragon will sweep across the ship and duck behind it. Still in Heavy Wing form, fire at the three cylindrical canisters inside the extension of the ship, the concentrate your attacks to the left of there, on the airship shutters (the part right above the red flags). Watch out for a group of Battleship Bhout that will squeeze out and shoot them down before returning your fire to Vermana. With that destroyed, you'll move around to the ship's front, where you can target either the hull or two cannons on either side. The best course of action here, I think, is to aim for the hull (the large gray part in the middle). Now is the picture perfect place to unload a Berserk Attack, so hopefully you've been saving up. The Base Wing's is the most effective Berserk for this particular battle, by the by. From time to time, the cannons sandwiching the hull will fire a salvo of projectiles your way, so morph into Glide form and shoot them down. Once they've been dealt with, return to the Heavy Wing and continue the assault. Not long after, you will swing around to Vermana's side, so keep firing until you see five large canisters--homing missiles--appear on the far side of the ship. There are two ways to avoid these: either shoot them down in Glide Wing form or accelerate out of the way, also in Glide Wing form. Both methods are effective, although I tend to prefer the former. If you aren't quick enough to destroy all five missiles, you can always glide out of the way of the last one or two. Either way, use the Heavy Wing to blast anything you can lock-on to. Before long, you'll circle back around to Vermana's front. You should also have another Berserk Attack ready by now, so have the Base Wing let loose. This should bring Vermana within destruction's vicinity, so finish it off with fire from the Heavy Wing. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= c. Altered Genos =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= As soon as this episode commences, three Wormriders will appear on your right. Don't worry about shooting them--they're your friends, and you can't hurt them anyway. As you cross under the first natural arch, a pack of eight Purnam (they look just like really big butterflies!) will swoop down from the next arch. Try to blast them all down in one shot to attain maximum points. Past them are two more groups, each consisting of nine Purnam. Trying to lock-on to all of them can be tricky, so instead simply accelerate through them. Easy! Next up, several Golegs will emerge from the canyon's west wall. They each take two shots from the Base Wings's lasers to down, so lock-on quickly to finish them off. Just past them, a pack of blue Yarva will race by. Shot them down as a massive group of Purnam appears from either side of the canyon. As with before, the most effective method to defeating them all is to Glide through. Once you're past, turn around and clear out any survivors. Now, you'll be heading towards another natural arch, from which a family of Golegs will drop down. As you cross beneath them, turn backwards and blast them, twice each remember, as well as the pack of Yarva that follows. Keep in mind that Golegs can also fire acid balls in mass amounts, so be ready to shoot down any incoming projectiles. Up ahead is another large vine hiding some Golegs. Just behind you will be another group of blue Yarva, so include them in your assault. After a third group of Golegs, this one even bigger than either of the previous two, which when destroyed will yield a Gene Base, you're free to turn around. A giant Yondo-Worm will emerge from the river but, like the Dragonmares in the first episode, cannot be killed at this point. Even so, shooting it will charge up your Berserk Gauge, so go for it! Also up ahead is a crossroads in the river and you've got two choices; you can either head left and follow the worm or go off to the right along with the Wormrider buddies. To turn, rotate the camera in the direction you want to go. If you don't do this, you'll automatically take the left path. Left Path =~~~~~~~~~= After splitting up with the Wormriders, duck down underneath the arch ahead, then blast the three Yarva that appear into submission. Also beware of their green energy balls--be ready to use Orta's manual gunfire to defend yourself. Swerve above the next vine, and watch out for the trio of Yarva that appear from the right. Duck under the bridge ahead and quickly lock-on to the three Yarva ahead before they can escape down the canyon. As you proceed along the narrow ravine, several more packs will swoop down from above, always in groups of three. Carefully maneuver around only dangerous territory, such as the fallen trees seen toward the end of the path. When the giant Yondo-Worm shows up again, begin firing at it without relent; the idea here is to build up your Berserk Gauge for an upcoming boss fight. Move to the bottom-left of the screen to avoid smashing into the sheer rock face ahead, and you'll be reunited with the Wormriders from before. Right Path =~~~~~~~~~~= Keeping up with your Wormrider buddies, watch the waters below you for four small creatures that will jump out. Lock-on to them the first time they leap out, and seal the deal when they appear a second time. Following that, you'll begin to move upward, on level with the adjacent plateau. A pack of Yarva, led by a Carrier Yarva will fly by to the left, so quickly take them out, using the Heavy Wing to blast down the Carrier and the Base form to deal with the small fries. Once you've dealt with them, turn back to the right to find a stampede of Baturn running along the plateau. By far the easiest way to take care of this scenario is to blast them all to hell with the Base Wing's Berserk Attack. Additionally, a second group of Yarva, led by another Carrier, will drop in, so try to include them in the effects of the Berserk Attack. If your Berserk Gauge isn't quite full at this point, the Base Wing's myriad bio-lasers will have to do. Try to neutralize the pack of Baturn first, then use the Heavy Wing to shoot down the Carrier Yarva and his buddies. Once they go down, you'll run into the Yondo-Worm again as the two paths unite. The Verdict =~~~~~~~~~~~= I highly suggest taking the right path; not only is it safer and the enemies are easier to shoot down, but you'll also have the opportunity to grab another Gene Base. When the paths reunite, follow the massive Yondo-Worm into a cave, blasting it all the while to charge your Berserk Gauge. In the following area, your Glide Wing form is the most effective. After exiting that introductory cave, look to the left to spot two small enemies, as well as the brown bases from which they emerge. A single shot from the Glide Wing will do them in, giving you some time to glance to the right to find another group with the exact same setup. You know what to do. As you dive through the subsequent cavern, target the four spiraling Yarva to earn another Gene Base. At the bottom, look out for a few more small, bug-like enemies and their brown bases. From there you'll pull into another headlong dive through a cave, along with eight Yarva making the journey with you. Shoot them up and enjoy the Gene Base they drop. Back outside, quickly start blasting the buggies and their bases, then Glide through them at the last moment to clear out any survivors. Sub boss: Yondo-Worms =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= That's right, you're fighting not one but two, count 'em, two Yondo-Worms! "Uh-oh!" is right! Start off by peppering them with the Heavy Wing's oh-so mighty bio-lasers. Every so often your foes will blast you with some nasty green energy balls, which can easily be shot down utilizing Orta's handgun. If ever the worms get too close and it looks they're gonna crash into you, make a quick switch to the Glide Wing and accelerate out of there and into safety. Conserve any Berserk Attacks you may have; they'll prove more useful in a few. When the worms try to cross in front of you, turn around so that you are facing frontwards and get ready to shoot down the imminent acid balls with the Glide Wing. After that they'll submerge themselves and return to their position behind you. When they reappear, blast them with the Base Wing's Berserk Attack (if available) or homing lasers from the Heavy Wing. They will return to their previous pattern for a bit, just before charging ahead of you a second time. Following that, the worms will split up and move to the side of you. There's no way to damage them at this point, so wait for them to come out of hiding (be sure to slow down when one cuts right in front of you to avoid damage). Before long, they'll return to their original position directly behind you, giving you a chance to deliver the finishing blow. When you arrive in the following region, take a glance to the left to spot the jellyfish-esque Morli. Nail him with homing lasers from your Heavy form. Unfortunately, the various waterfalls in this area provide a disadvantage to you; though quite pretty, you can't lock-on to a foe through one. Granted, firing Orta's weapon through one is quite possible, but homing lasers are out of the questions. Sucks, I know. In any event, a group of Yarva will ascend from below, meaning you should temporarily focus your attention on them. Use the Base Wing to track them all at once, then switch back to the Heavy Wing to deal with the Morli. As you proceed onward, a sixpack of Yarva will swoop in from the left. Shoot them down quickly, since another group of six appears just moments later, this one coming from below. With that second group of Yarva out of the way, a miniature army of Morli will flood the skies to the left (Aaaaah! It's raining jellyfish!). As with before, the best remedy for this tough foes is the Heavy Wing. Pick one and blast it until it goes down, then focus on another. Also, watch out for the acid balls, since they'll be coming at you from every which way. Normal gunfire is plenty good to dispel that danger. Keep in mind that as tempting as it may be to use a Berserk Attack at this point, a boss battle lurks just 'round the corner, and it'll prove much more useful at that time. Ikrakav =~~~~~~~= First of all, it's impossible to cause any damage to Ikrakav from your initial position, so change to the Glide Wing and slow down twice to find yourself behind this beast. Inside the "cage" is a flower--that is your target. Go apeshit on it with bio-lasers from your Heavy Wing, but save any Berserk Attacks you may have for a bit. At this point, Ikrakav has no way to attack you, so don't worry about that. When it reaches about 3/4 health, Ikrakav will rise out of the water, exposing a variety of purple bulbs below the cage portion. Continue to barrage the flower with Heavy lasers, but wait a bit before using your Berserk Attack. After it turns around, use the Glide Wing to accelerate twice back around to the opposite side, giving you a clear shot at the flower again. Now's your chance to hit it hard with a Berserk move. I recommend the Heavy Wing's; it's the most powerful move in the game, and you just need to focus your attention on the flower, as opposed to a wide area. You may notice that the purple bulbs beneath Ikrakav are beginning to swell up. When that happens, pepper it with manual gunfire until it returns to normal size; if it gets too big, it'll burst, unleashing a myriad of acid balls, often times too many to shot down in one go. Also, this enemy will turn around again, meaning you must use the Glide Wing to get in position behind it again. Continue battering the flower, only pausing to shoot at the bulbs every so often and this battle will end before you know it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= d. The Fallen Ground =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Right from the get-go, switch to Heavy Wing form and search the upper-left corner of the screen for a far-off foe. Quickly blast it and grab the Gene Base that appears, then prepare for a miniature army of Seba to appear before you. Although they don't all appear at once, flooring them all can be difficult, taking into consideration that they require two shots from the Base Wing before dieing and disappear rather fast. I suggest using the Heavy Wing so you can clear out a few in one shot before targeting the next group. Shoot as fast as humanly possible, and use the Base Wing's Berserk Attack if at all possible. It works wonders for clearing out these pesky guys. Sub boss: Mobo & Pals =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This group of four Wormriding foes will drop in from above, then circle to the left. Go to town on them with bio-lasers from the ever-so trusty Heavy Wing, constantly rotating the camera to keep a lock on the enemy. Before long, Mobo will announce that he's gonna use a smoke bomb (don't you just love it when the enemy tells you what they are going to do?). Keep firing until the Wormriders charge straight for you, at which point I recommend morphing into the Glide form to dispel this threat--six missiles. If you're having trouble shooting them all down in time, try accelerating just as the bombs are released; you'll fly right past them! At this point, Mobo will lead his buddies in a circle around you, then charge a second time, leaving behind six more smoke bombs along the way. Continue the assault with your Heavy Wing, unleashing a Berserk Attack if available (the Base Wing's is the most effective in this situation). Soon enough, the crew will pause in front of you and release a salvo of purple energy balls. While gunfire from Orta's manual weapon will do just fine here, the Glide Wing's lasers are more of a sure bet, so use those if you aren't confident in your ability. After this, revert to the Heavy Wing and keep blasting Mobo and co. as they continuously circle around you. If you can't seal the deal quickly, they will regroup and launch two more rounds of smoke bombs your way, so be careful of that. Once you've depleted his Life Gauge, Mobo will cease and desist, realizing that Orta is no Imperial Soldier. Following the cutscene, quickly switch to the Glide Wing and unload your rapid- fire lasers on the oyster-esque Kuru ahead. Deal with them as fast as you can, as a left turn is imminent. Here you'll see another trio of Kuru, two of them hiding behind the first. There's little time to shoot, so instead accelerate through them, firing the Glide Wing's lasers as you go. With the subsequent turn, keep the A Button held down, since three more Kuru will materialize just ahead. Right behind them is a second group--Glide through these guys instead of shooting. Next up is a turn, followed by a downward plummet. Straight ahead is still another pack of Kuru; start firing at them from far away and they should go down by the time you reach them. Below and to the left are several more groups. If you begin firing at them now they should be destroyed by about the time you reach their position. Nice. If you can't quite take them all out in time, turn around after the last group and try to take out any survivors before spilling into the next area. Before long, three Seba will fly in from the right and stop in front of you. Use the Heavy Wing to send them all to hell, as the Base Wing requires two shots to defeat one of these guys, if you remember. Almost immediately, a second trio of Seba will drop in from the left. Apply the same Heavy Wing tactics, then get ready for some more foes of the same ilk to show up directly in front of you. Once they've been cleared out, look for a lone Seba floating above the tunnel just ahead. Blast him to receive a Gene Base. Inside the aforementioned tunnel, change to the Glide Wing and steer clear of the energy traps. On the opposite side of the tunnel, morph back to the Heavy form. Three Seba will fly in from the right, so blast them before focusing to the left in preparation of another trio appearing in that direction. Following their demise, more Seba--this time a six-pack--will hover right in front of you. When they go down, you'll need to make a split-second decision; either continue along into the tunnel straight ahead or accelerate to the right. Which will it be!? Left Path =~~~~~~~~~= There are no electricity traps to avoid this time, but three Seba will follow you in. Take them out with the Heavy Wing and remain facing backwards, as another group will enter via a hole in the tunnel very soon. Once outside, Mobo will be caught in a pickle, so be a dear and help him out by shooting down the Seba above and to the right. Doing so will yield a Gene Base, providing proof that helping others can indeed be beneficial. Mobo will express your love for him (yes, you read that right) before pointing out a group of Seba attacking from the right. Shoot down the duo, as well as a second one that follows, then rotate the camera all the way to the left; another duo will soon show up, and you want to be ready to rock steady on them. Once those first two have been dealt with, five more will appear, the fifth coming into view a wee bit late. Blast him to attain an oh-so nifty Gene Base. Sweet! Now rotate the camera ahead of you. Three foes float just before your Dragon. However, annoying forcefields prevent any attack from damaging them at this point. That's no good. So, lock-on to them but don't release your lasers quite yet. Instead, boost past them, firing the lasers once behind them. Blammo! Problem solved! Three more will appear from behind, so lock-on and slow down, allowing them to pass you, exposing their prone backsides. You know what to do. Enter the tunnel ahead to rejoin the main path. Also, you may have a Berserk Attack prepared at this point. As tempting as it may be to use it on one of the massive jellyfish, it will come in handy just ahead, so I recommend conserving it. Right Path =~~~~~~~~~~= Boost to the right of the tunnel to take to this semi-hidden path. As with the previous, tunnel, this one is filled with perilous energy traps. Maneuver around the first few (preferably in Glide Wing form), but know that the ones at the end of the tunnel cannot be avoided. Instead, you'll want to accelerate right through if its open or slow down right in front of the lasers, sparing yourself from any damage. Outside, look slightly above to find a Churmachum, which is very large foe with jellyfish-type tentacles trailing behind. These particular monsters can absorb a ton of damage before dying, so switch to Heavy form and let fly with everything you've got (although I'd recommend conserving any Berserk Attacks you may get for later). Shortly after the first Churmachum comes into sight, a second will appear to the right. Focus on one at a time and you should be able to destroy them both. The following area is a narrow canyon, throughout which a lone Carrier Seba (who looks just like a normal Seba, but is much stronger) will pursue you. He's the only enemy in this entire area, so focus all your homing lasers on him. It's a bit difficult to aim due to the multiple turns, but locking-on with at least a few lasers shouldn't be expecting too much of you. Just be on the look out for his green projectiles, which come in several at a time. The Verdict =~~~~~~~~~~~= The left path provides more opportunities to grab Gene Bases and is, in my views, an easier method; go for it! Ahead and to the left, you will see a solo Churmachum; y'know, the huge jellyfish-type creature. With the Heavy Wing, unleash a salvo of homing lasers his way. Continue blasting him for a while and he'll soon go down, just in time for you to save Mobo's worthless ass from a pair of unhappy Seba. Take them out, then focus on a second Churmachum that appears ahead. Keep in mind that when a Churmachum flies ahead and opens up it's tentacles it is preparing for a nasty laser attack. Avoid it by accelerating in Glide Wing form. When Mobo begins talking about how nice the view is, face backwards and enter Base Wing form. A massive pack of Seba will appear; now you wish you had followed my advice and not wasted the Berserk Attack earlier, don't you? If you paid heed to my words of wisdom, let fly with the Berserk Attack and watch them all die in a matter of moments. If not, you'll have to take them out by hand--lock-on to as many as possible before firing. Catharp =~~~~~~~= As the fight begins, you will be positioned in front of Catharp, a large skeleton-type enemy. Switch to Heavy Wing form and aim for the small round disc on it's "head." Once you've destroyed it, Catharp will lead over you, so morph to Glide form and accelerate a couple of times to regain your previous position. Once there, pepper it with Heavy Wing lasers, pausing every so often to destroy Catharp's green projectiles with manual gunfire. From there, continue the same pattern--accelerating when needed--until a cutscene introduces the second stage of this battle. When his armor breaks off, Catharp will race ahead, leaving your sight for a few moments. As you catch up to him, accelerate to his frontside and continue the barrage on his head. This time when he jumps, however, you will want to accelerate ahead, otherwise he'll land on top of you. Not good. Anyhoo, attack the head whenever you can, and Catharp will soon race off again. When his head is open again, you will want to blast it with either Heavy Wing bio-lasers or a Berserk Attack to finish off this problematic battle! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= e. Gigantic Fleet =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From the beginning, three massive warships, referred to as Assault Hovership Taishak, are positioned right in front of you. The most effective way to deal with them is, of course, to blast a Berserk Attack their way, preferably a few moments after you begin, allowing the next wave of foes to absorb the brunt of the attack, as well. If that option is not available, use the Heavy Wing's lasers to pound on them, focusing on one ship at a time. Their most vulnerable portion is the gray curved fin-type protuberance extending from the bottom. Watch out for their missiles, also--the ships tend to launch them simultaneously, meaning that you will have a whole salvo coming your way at once. Quickly switch to Glide form to shoot them down, then return to Heavy form to seal the deal. Once you've finished off the Taishak, Mobo will lead you into a downward drop. Directly ahead you should spot four more Assault Hovership Taishaks. However, hold off from attacking them for now (unless you've got a Berserk Attack ready, in which case you should lock and load with the Base Wing at this time). From behind you, a pack of Battleship Bhout will sweep in front of your Dragon--target them first. Once they've been destroyed, watch for another group of planes to sweep in. With them gone, switch to Heavy Wing mode and unload on the four Taishak. Try to finish those guys off as fast as possible, providing some time to take down the massive behemoth ahead: a floating, square-shaped unit called a Homing Airship Ajati. Thanks to four turrets on each of the ship's four corners, an Ajati is a brutal force to be reckoned with, even from this great distance. I suggest battering it down with the Heavy Wing, aiming first for the gold, curved part at the very top of each corner. Those things are the turrets. Disable them and the Ajati is a sitting duck. If you can manage to destroy this thing, a Gene Base is your reward. From here, Mobo leads you into a steady climb, where you'll be able to spot a few more Taishak, as well as some new Imperial planes called Airship Kartha, distinguishable by the flowing red flags that hang behind. Aim for the Kartha first, taking them out quickly compliments of the Base Wing's multiple locks. If you are just now getting one, this is the perfect opportunity to let loose with a Berserk Attack, blowing away just about everything in sight. Otherwise, you'll want to make sure you've cleared out all of the Kartha before switching to Heavy form in order to deal with the Taishak. Despite what Mobo might say, aim for the smaller, Airship Kartha that appear again first and foremost. Be quick about it, though, because these guys are in a hurry to speed off and leave you high and dry, but one of the planes is carrying a Gene Base. When the Kartha have either been destroyed or have flown off, morph into the Heavy Wing and pound the big guy Ajati--it's another Ajati! Since you are closer this time than you were the first time out, taking out the turrets quickly is even more important. With that done, target anything you can to pull down this monster of an airship. Once it fades away (or you blow it to pieces), you'll turn right into a field of Taishak. Destroying them is futile for the most part, but fire at them anyway, if just to build up that Berserk Gauge of yours. Now flying right next to the walls of a monstrous Imperial ship, use the Heavy or Base Wing to blast the missile turrets that pop out of the walls ahead. It takes two lasers from the Base Wing to destroy these and only one from the Heavy form, so take your pick. Either way you'll have to fire multiple rounds of beams, though I recommend the Heavy form. Chances are these missile launchers will have a chance to fire some missiles before you destroy them all, so clear out any incoming projectiles with Orta's gun. Once they've been dealt with, you'll make a slight turn, now flying across the wall. Look straight ahead and you should spot two dots off on the horizon; quickly fire at them before it's too late, then focus on the missile turrets that appear from the wall just ahead. Same thing as before. Not far ahead, following some twists and turns, a third sixpack of turrets will emerge--you know what to do. Since you're closer now than you were to either of the previous turrets, though, it's important that you be wary of the missiles that are fired. After still another group of turrets, you'll head upwards, confronting some Battleship Bhout, as well as a pack of Airship Kartha. In Base Wing form, target as many ships as possible before unleashing your lasers. Past that, look to the wall on the right; a total of twenty mounted missile launchers! Shoot them in Base Wing form, using manual gunfire from Orta's handy gun to dispel the missiles that they are sure to fire. After that, look around for a small group of Battleship Bhout. Deal with them quickly. After dropping to a lower level, aim for the Airship Kartha that appear, and accelerate to destroy the silver shielded foe off to the right. You'll now swerve away from the massive warship, so turn right and blast another pack of Kartha before attending to another twenty missile launchers mounted upon the wall. Boost ahead to avoid any remaining projectiles afterward, and turn back- wards to face the twelve or so Kartha that drop out of the ship. Even with the Base Wing, it'll take two rounds of lasers to clear them all, so aim carefully. Following that, face forward again and you'll enter a downward plummet, pursuing a group of nasty Kartha. Despite all the disorienting turns, it's very important that you destroy this particular group--one of the planes is hiding a Gene Base. After a short straightaway, your Dragon will ascend again, meeting up with another shielded foe along the way. Accelerate to destroy it, and watch for a small pack of Kartha to fly just ahead of you. With the aforementioned Kartha out of the way, a few Floating Mine Mardai will emerge from the ship's side. The sole purpose of these guys is to ram into you, causing much mayhem and distress. Target them from afar with the Base Wing; don't even give them the light of day to attack. Not far behind them are two more similar groups; don't let them ram you! At this point, the best option is to morph to the Glide Wing in preparation of the events to come. Ahead, two shielded enemies will appear. They cannot be damaged whatsoever from the front, so accelerate past and pump the Glide Wing's rapidfire lasers into them until they go down (which should be rather abruptly). A second pair will appear just ahead, followed by four more of the same foes. Apply the same tactics; boosting past and finishing them off with rapidfire. Once they have been defeated, Orta's Dragon will push into the innards of the ship. After the cutscene, you'll appear on a straight path with a massive statue at the end. There are no enemies to target at this point, but the statue will fire lasers every so often. Fortunately, you can see where the laser is going from a distance, allowing you to easily get in position to avoid it. Use the Glide Wing for this point; the extra maneuverability will help. Guardian Statue =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= From the beginning, switch to Heavy Wing form and pound the highlighted area in the statue's chest. Before long, it'll raise its arms and prepare to blast you with a nasty laser attack. At this point, change to the Glide form and duck out of the way, accelerating if necessary. If you can avoid the laser without boosting, quickly switch to the Heavy Wing between laser blasts and shoot a bit before ducking out of the way again. If not, just wait until he stops firing, then slow down and continue the onslaught. Soon enough, the statue will lower its left arm (although from your perspective its the right arm). Get in a few last minute lasers blasts before dashing out of harm's way in Glide form. When the boulders he's firing from his arm cease, move back into position and revert to the Heavy Wing. Again, target the highlighted circle in the statue's chest, boosting twice in Glide Wing form once he punches at you. At this point, the Guardian Statue will activate it's anti-laser system; the circular target on its chest will disappear completely! In this current state, damaging the statue is impossible. Granted that you accelerated twice before, you should now be hovering above the statue. As the Base Wing, target the rotating circles along the base of the Guardian. Once they've all been destroyed, you are free to return to the statue's front. However, be on the look out for incoming missiles, and shoot them down with manual gunfire. With the anti-laser system out of the picture, slow down twice as the Glide Wing. Switch back to Heavy Wing form and toss everything you've got at the highlighted circle on the statue's chest, which has returned to view now. A single Berserk Attack should be enough to finish off this behemoth of a foe. He's done with, but this stage isn't-- Dragonmare Squadron =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= At first, this pack of draconic beasts will swoop in behind you, so turn 'round and let loose with shots from the Heavy Wing. Shortly after first appearing, the Dragonmares will fire a round of burning projectiles your way. Although shooting them down with Orta's manual gun is indeed possible, switching to the Glide Wing to destroy them is far easier and much more feasible. Following this, the 'mares will dive below you and unleash another salvo of projectiles. Shoot them down quickly, getting in some hits of your own in between. From this point onward, the Dragonmares will move to various locations around you, always stopping to fire flame missiles when they've got the chance. Be sure to shoot these down in Glide Wing form, but don't forget to fire upon the 'mares yourself. Now would also be a perfect time to let fly with a Berserk Attack, preferably from either the Base or Heavy Wing. After several missiles firings, the pack will group together behind you, preparing for a devastating ram attack. Switch to the Glide Wing as soon as they do this, and accelerate the moment you hear them screech. If done properly, you'll dodge their ramming maneuver. Now, they'll cross to your front side and bombard you with still more missiles. Have your Glide form ready to blast them down. Soon after, the 'mares will lead you into a gauntlet of sorts; an upward climb through a field of flaming projectiles. While blowing right through them with Glide Wing lasers works, boosting through works even better, so do that instead. Following this, the Dragonmares will fly ahead of you, firing wisps of razor-sharp air your way. Remain in Glide form to maneuver around these deadly blasts, holding down the fire button the whole time to cause some damage as you dodge. Once they've finished with the blasts of air, the dragons will split up, each flying right in front of you, leaving a trail of black air behind them. Know that colliding with either the 'mare or the trail left behind will cause damage, so use the Glide Wing to avoid both of the aforementioned. As with before, you will want to keep the A Button held down, as it's likely to cause at least some damage during this time. With that final bullet dodged, the Dragonmares will regroup and return to their original plan of attack. Basically, that means they'll start the pattern all over again, starting with the fiery projectiles. Use this time to cut down their Life Gauge with some Heavy Wing lasers, and perhaps even a Berserk Attack if applicable. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= f. Eternal Glacies =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "... Everything is so quiet." Since your Dragon has been heavily damaged, there are a few things you should know before trying out this stage. First and foremost, the ability to switch morph forms is temporarily unavailable; you're stuck in Base Wing form until you reach the boss. Additionally, the Berserk Gauge will not build up at this point either, so you'll have to make it through with lasers alone. That said, as you climb over the first hill you should spot the silhouette of a giant enemy off in the distance, directly in front of you. Target this foe, known as a Pussa Bubo, with as many lasers as possible and fire. Quickly shoot it down, watching out for the salvo of projectiles that it will launch toward you. Just about the time it is destroyed, turn around to face a pack of dinosaur-like Didar who have appeared right behind you. What's particularly tricky about this pack of Didar is that they can all fire green blobs of energy at once, making it difficult to protect yourself from the barrage. When this happens, don't even bother thinking about attacking the Didar themselves until their missile attacks have been dealt with via Orta's manual weapon. Once you've done that, turn your attention toward the Didar and pound them all with haste before they make an escape. Just as the Didar either fade away to the side or are defeated, face forward again to find another Pussa Bubo. Blast it with as many lock-ons as possible, because two more will soon drop in from behind. When this happens, concentrate your attacks on one Bubo at a time; otherwise all three make escape alive. As with the original Pussa Bubo you fought, these guys can shoot rounds of projectiles at you, so be on the look out for those; they hurt and need to be shot down immediately. As you approach a small set of ruins ahead, quickly target the Urimasan that pop out of the snow before they disappear. At this point, you'll be able to decide which of the episode's two pathways you want to take. Don't do a thing to head right or boost left to go in that direction. Left Path =~~~~~~~~~= Right after turning away from the small set of ruins, eight Urimasan will pop out of the snowbank ahead. Take them all out in one fell swoop, so they don't have a chance to launch any green energy balls at you. Just ahead are eight more Urimasan; this group is more likely to get their green blobs shot before you can destroy them. Shoot down any incoming projectiles with that handy weapon of Orta's. Still further ahead, another pack of eight Urimasan will emerge from the snowy depths. Shortly after you finish with this group, another four will pop out right in front of you. They're far too close to lock-on to, and Orta's manual weapon won't prove too useful in this situation either, so accelerate right through them. From here you'll move onward into the next area, which is filled with upright columns. Swooping in from the left will be a rather sizable pack of white Yarva that will take as many as three separate laser blasts to clear out. Aim quickly, and watch out for their energy blobs. Coming in right behind them from the right is another, albeit a bit smaller group. Apply the same tactics to take them down, noting that they should only require two rounds of lasers to finish off. Next up, look above you to find a jellyfish-like Morli floating above. Unload everything you've got on him, as he's about to release a few Didar behind him. Even when the aforementioned Didar hit the ground, concentrate first and foremost on destroying the Morli, since he will disappear in mere seconds. After he's gone, aim for the dinosaur-esque Didar. Shortly after, another Morli will cross into view, just before dropping a trio of Didar. Blast the Morli to hell, then accelerate through the Didar to seal the deal. From your left, a third and final Morli will appear, with six Didar ready to hit the ground. As always, target the Morli first, and only after he's gone shoot at the Didar, who will duck behind some ruins while releasing green energy blobs left and right. Be sure to shoot them all down with Orta's manual gun. Following this, a lone Madidar will appear from behind and cut in front of you. Blast it, as well as a second Madidar that shows up, and accelerate through the Urimasan that pop out of the snow just ahead. Directly after this, two more Madidar will show up, so fire at them and accelerate through the next group of Urimasan that appear. After that, the Dragon will make a headlong sprint toward a narrow bridge, where the boss lurks. Right Path =~~~~~~~~~~= Just ahead you'll spot a Pussa Bubo fly across the screen. Immediately begin firing at it, as well as the three others that appear, one from the right and two from the left. As with before, the best course of action is to focus on one at a time. The moment one Bubo falls, turn and concentrate on the next guy. Don't forget about their projectiles attack, because with four Bubo in the area at one time there will be plenty crashing down from above. Be sure to boost to avoid those, as shooting them down will simply consume far too much time. When you destroy all four (or if they happen to escape behind a hill to the left), you will move onward to the subsequent area. In this dark mountainscape, turn your view toward the foothills to the right, where a herd of Didar will soon emerge. You should know the drill by now; pump your homing lasers into the dinosaur-esque foes while dispelling their nasty green projectile attacks with fire from Orta's manually-operated weapon. Before long, some of the Didar will actually hop off the mountain and run behind you. Shoot at them, as well as the guys who remain on the mountain ledge. Be quick with your lasers--the Didar will turn off to the side and run away if you take too long. Once that's done with, turn around backward to see a pair of snowsharks, as I like to call them, or Erkist as the game calls them, burrowing behind you. While underground, it's impossible to damage or even lock-on to them, so be patient and wait for them to leap out. When they do, promptly shoot them down with manual gunfire; the Dragon's lasers take too long to prepare at this point and as such are much riskier to use. On the tail of those first two, another trio of Erkist will pull in behind you. Deal with them as before. Finally, a few more will appear, only to move ahead of you, so face forward to finish off this last group. As you proceed through this canyon area, a pack of Didar will drop in from the mountains above. Begin targeting them, although another group will soon appear right in front of you, blocking your aim at the original pack. Basically, all you need to do here is keep the lasers flowing and each Didar, as well as the Madidar that drop in later, will eventually fall. Simple! Just watch out for their green blobs, and face left at the end of the canyon to clear out any survivors. Just as the Didar/Madidar are finished, another group of Erkist (y'know, the snowsharks) will show up behind you, only to move in front of you before emerging. Once they've been dealt with, look above to see some Didar jumping from side to side at the top of the canyon. Lock-on as they leap across; you won't have any other opportunity to hit them. Note that they will fire their trademark green blobs your way, but not as frequently as previous foes. Rejoice! Just as the Didar/Madidar fade away to the right (giving you one last chance to finish off any remaining foes), a sixpack of Erkist will pull in front of you from the right. They jump out one-by-one, but they don't give you much time in between jumps, so you'll need to be fast. Once they've all been dealt with, you will head straight for a narrow bridge, where the stage's boss lurks. The Verdict =~~~~~~~~~~~= No Gene Bases either way, and the right path is far easier to make it through undamaged, not to mention shooting down the foes is simpler. Go right--it just makes more sense. Els-Enora =~~~~~~~~~= During this first stage of the battle, all you can really do is pound Els-Enora with homing lasers. Immediately begin the laser-blasting process as soon as this beast appears to the left of the bridge, and only cease when your foe ducks out of view or blasts some green projectiles your way. In the case of the latter, all you really need to do is shoot out the middle projectile with manual gunfire; the others will miss you anyway. Note that this only applies when he fires three missiles at a time--later on when Els-Enora fires four or more at a time you'll need to shoot them all down. Once you've brought Els-Enora down to about 2/3 health, it will destroy a portion of the bridge, forcing the Dragon to take to the skies again. At this point, all three morph forms will be at your disposal once more, along with their respective Berserk Attacks. Very nice. Begin by peppering Els- Enora with bio-lasers from the Heavy Wing, making sure you use manual fire to block the incoming projectiles. When it seems as though all the targets have disappeared, switch to Glide Wing form and accelerate ahead to position yourself beneath one of the beast's wings. Use the Base Wing to quickly fire some homing lasers at the four targets under the wing, then use manual fire to dispel the pink energy blobs fired at you, then return your focus to blasting the wings with lasers. When Els-Enora slows down and you go flying ahead of it, quickly decelerate to pull underneath it's other wing. Use the same steps as you did with the first wing. Now would also be a terrific time to use a Berserk Attack, if at all possible. At this point, Els-Enora will charge straight ahead, performing a strange spinning move as it goes. Soon enough, it will release a myriad of white feather that cause damage should you collide with one. To prevent this, shoot through them in Glide Wing form, and accelerate forward if necessary. Next, it will return to its original pattern, allowing you to boost under its wings again and continue the assault. Keep this up and Els-Enora will begin to spasm, causing damage to itself and releasing a volley of green projectiles. Shoot these down to cause even more damage to the creature, and the battle will end within mere moments. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= g. Legacy =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= As an interesting change of pace, Episode 6 actually kicks off with a mini-boss battle. Just as a side note, there is no "true" boss in this Episode, as evidenced by the lack of a score for your boss clear time upon completion of the stage. Sub boss: Atish =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= As this confrontation begins, you'll be diving through a narrow tunnel with Atish, a robotic foe of some sort, in hot pursuit. Start off by switching to Heavy Wing form and hammering this enemy with bio-lasers. When you see a small missile appear at any one of Atish's four corners, immediately morph into Glide form to shoot it down; not only will this eliminate any danger, but it will also cause some damage to Atish. Nice! Following the destruction of all eight missiles (two from each corner), revert to Heavy form and keep firing until you exit the tunnel and enter a large, open chamber. At this point, quickly switch to the Glide Wing and accelerate to avoid a ramming attack from Atish. After that, you'll enter a second tunnel, where Atish will resume its pattern, starting with more missiles. Don't hesitate to unleash the Heavy Wing's Berserk Attack the moment it's available; using it will end the battle significantly quicker. One last thing to note is that Atish's missiles now move noticeably faster, so you'll want to shoot them down ASAP. With the conclusion of that interesting boss battle, you'll exit the tunnel and come into an open room with some unique architecture. From behind you, three foes will appear: two of which are blue while the third is red. Damaging the two blue foes is impossible, simply put. Instead, lock-on to the red enemy, and only the red enemy, using the Heavy Wing for best results. Destroying it will take out the two blues as well. Good deal. Right on their tail is a second trio; again aim only for the one that is red in color. Following their demise, a final pack of three will appear. Don't be afraid to rotate the camera in order to keep up with the movement of the red foe. Once he's been defeated, the other two will croak as well, leaving behind a Gene Base (first one in a while, eh?) as a reward. Sweet! After they fall, look toward the ceiling--six eyeballs should appear. While these cannot be locked- on to, nor do they appear on your radar, they can actually be destroyed (use either the Glide Wing or Orta's manual weapon) to rack up some bonus points. Switch to Base Wing form and direct your lasers toward the four Nayaks that materialize at the end of the hall; while each one will fire a green laser, they conveniently form a circle around you. Upon their defeat, pull a quick 180 to face three more who will, again, blast lasers that miss you. Nice. With them destroyed, face frontside to witness the wall closing in on you. This first one should be easy to make it around: just drive hard to the right side of the screen and you're golden. Accelerating shouldn't be necessary. Make it around the first wall to meet up with four more Nayaks, two coming from each side of the wall. Treat them to some Heavy Wing lasers, then morph into Glide form and accelerate past the next wall before it closes on you. With more Nayaks appearing from all sides, now wouldn't be a bad time to let loose with the Base Wing's Berserk Attack. If that isn't an option, just blast any foes in sight with bio-lasers while pushing hard toward the next wall, accelerating only if its necessary to avoiding damage. Once you make it past the first vertically-closing wall, four new enemies will swoop into sight. These guys, known as Degla to the common man (or common nerd, in my case) can easily be shot down with a laser or two from the Base Wing. Be sure to get locks on all four Degla in one shot as you dive beneath another vertically-closing wall. If you can manage to get past here, Abadd and his kickass Dragonmare show up. Seems like you're out of the woods... for now, at least. As Abadd leads you through this narrow corridor, you'll get to choose which pathway you care to take it make it through this stage. Face forward the whole time to split up with Abadd, or look and veer to the left after the first turn to follow him. Left Path =~~~~~~~~~= At the end of the corridor, you'll enter a squeaky clean room that is completely white. As the walls begin to close in on you, two packs of Degla, each comprised of four foes each, will swoop in front of you. Shoot through them, preferably grabbing all eight in one round of lasers. Just past there, you'll come into another room, where five enemies will emerge from the ground ahead. Not giving you a moment's rest, several more groups of the same foes appear to the left, right, straight ahead on the ground again, left, and finally on the right one last time. Use the Base Wing to swiftly sear each group. With that taken care of, you'll enter another room where the walls are constantly closing in. It's almost of mirror of the previous room like this, in fact, with two packs of Degla (four enemies in each pack) dropping in right on cue, as before. Indeed, even the next chamber is exactly like it's predecessor. Quickly turn around so you're facing backwards, and get ready to deal with foes straight ahead, to the left, then right, then directly in front of you again. After another group to the left, the final pack will show up on the right. Hold your position; even though your Dragon will plunge straight ahead, you want to be facing backwards to deal with the oncoming foes. After one pack of four Degla are dealt with, a second similar group will appear directly behind the first. Now face the front, as its time for one last round of foes coming at you from all directions. Truth be told, this wouldn't be too bad of a place to unleash the Base Wing's Berserk, if you have it. If not, focus your lasers first on the foes directly ahead, then to left, in the center of the screen, and finally to the right. Defeat all the foes and you'll cruise right along, rejoining the original path. Right Path =~~~~~~~~~~= Subsequent to a few sharp turns, you'll exit the corridor and, aided by a very brief cutscene, enter a downward plummet. What's tricky about this portion of the level is not destroying the foes, but rather the disorienting camera angle. Aiming can be difficult, but just bare with things and you'll make it through just fine. Nine Degla will line up right in front of you; move your targeting reticle across them and sweep out all nine in one go. Upon their defeat, five more Degla will appear, swiftly followed up by another nine or so who swoop in from above. Aim for the pack of five first, then the larger group. Don't move the camera just yet--still more Degla appear, again in a pack of five, from the same direction as their predecessors. Blast them, and Abadd will lead you into a corridor filled with twists and turns. As you exit the tunnel, face backwards and prepare yourself for an onslaught: Degla are about to start pouring into the chamber. Hopefully you've got a Berserk Attack ready, otherwise you are in for a rough ride. Following a few small fries who can easily be shot down, a massive group will swarm in; unleash the Base Wing's Berserk and watch the results with glee. With that, you'll return to the main path. The Verdict =~~~~~~~~~~~= Here's the deal: the left path, while easier to blast through, contains no Gene Bases. The right path is a more difficult route, but a grand total of two Gene Bases can be obtained should you opt to head in that direction. Your choice. Within this large, gold chamber, several Nayaks will congregate ahead of you, firing their trademark inacurate green lasers. Hastily clear out any survivors, as well as another group of Nayaks that swoop in, then switch to Heavy form. Four Degla will drop in from above and fly ahead of you. Shoot them down, using two separate rounds of lasers if necessary. Next, you'll swoop into a small corridor, with a bright red circle directly in front of you. Contrary the popular belief, shooting this does not amass bonus points that add up to your score at the end of the stage. Instead, it determines which path you take. Sadly, I've yet to figure out just how this affects the course of the game, so you'll have to bare with me here. After passing the first circle, four Degla will speed ahead from behind. Take them down in Heavy Wing form before settling in front of another circle. Shoot it if you like, and you'll soon pass it by. Another trio of Degla drop in, leaving columns of green lasers behind them. Lock-on and fire, veering far to the right to avoid said laser columns. Just past there is a narrow corridor, with multiple Nayaks waiting at the far side. Deal with them as fast as possible, and dive/climb out of the course of their lasers. Subsequently, you'll come to a set of horizontal bars that you must weave above and below to avoid. Switch to Glide Wing form and, holding A the entire time to fire at the enemies who appear, move down and up, down and up to snake through the bars and escape any damage. A hallway full of Nayaks are waiting for you on the opposite side--this wouldn't be such a bad place to unleash a Berserk Attack, though its hardly necessary. Just shoot through the foes in Heavy Wing form. On the other side of the hallway, you'll find more bars to avoid, only these ones are vertical. Even so, the concept is the same, so morph to Glide form and zigzag left and right to make it through A-OK. A third red circle can be found at the end, with several Degla flying ahead and paving the way to a fourth circle. Past there, you will make a sharp right turn and enter a corridor brimming with Degla. Another good place to let loose a Berserk Attack. Just target the Degla as you fly through, and use the Glide Wing to zip through the gaps in the laser columns. More vertical bars impede the path ahead, so switch to Glide form and snake through them. Remember to hold A as you go, in order to shoot down the foes that come from behind you. As you make your way away from there, change to Base Wing and target everything in sight: foes will start swooping in front of you like nobody's business. If you can make it through the chaos of that, you will be done with the stage. Nice! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= h. Forbidden Memories =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From the beginning, aim for the four Interception Program ver 1.00s that swoop across in front of you. Then, rapidly turn around to spot another five or so behind you. Face forward again to spot four more ver 1.00s, arranged in a diamond shape before you. With that, swing around yet again to find a sixpack of ver 1.00s--two rows of three each. Once they've been dealt with, swivel back around frontside to meet an Interception Program ver 2.00. He's noticeably tougher than the guys you've been dealing with, so pound on him a bit in Heavy Wing form. Defeat him quickly, since two more ver 1.00s will appear shortly afterward. With them taken care of, you encounter a boss of sorts... Sub boss: Diodopure Lv1 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= For this battle, you'll want to use the Glide Wing to dole out some major damage. Thanks in no small part to a massive laser beam that the Diodopure can (and will) fire all the time, you'll need the Glide forms maneuverability. Anyway, hold down the fire button to keep a continuous stream of fire headed toward the blue object constantly moving across the Diodopure. Now then, as for the Diodopure's laser--it can be evaded, and quite easily at that. Basically, the laser can only move up or sideways from where it was last fired, meaning that if you position yourself diagonally across from the beam it won't be able to hit you. Very nice. Once the first Life Gauge has been depleted, you'll destroy the Diodopure's outer barrier and disable its laser. At this point, switch to Heavy form and start pounding what remains of the Diodopure, all the while dodging its blue lasers. After a short while, you'll destroy the thing, and receive a Gene Base as a reward. Sweet! You'll be transferred to a location known as the "Memory Cell." Look ahead and (slightly) to the right to see a blue, rotating thing. Shoot it to hear some random nonsense. Do the same with a second blue object that appears to the left. You'll be sent to a new room, where yet another sub boss awaits. Sub boss: Central Data Unit Ofnir =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Your foe here is a giant robotic worm, reminiscent of the Yondo-Worms seen in the second episode. Note that this enemy cannot be damaged when its body is completely white; you must wait until the actual worm becomes visible. From the start, following Ofnir's various movements as he heads behind you before becoming visible. Be ready to unleash some Heavy Wing lasers as soon as possible. He'll only be vulnerable for a few seconds, so make good use of what precious little time you have. When Ofnir moves in front of you, swivel to face it and continue blasting without relent. After but a few seconds in front of you, Ofnir moves to your back, only to execute a nasty ramming attack. Accelerate out of harm's way in Glide form. It will circle around before coming back for a second attempt to crash into you; apply the same tactics as before and you will be golden. From here on, Ofnir will fly far ahead of you and fire a series of green projectiles back toward you. Shoot down any incoming missiles with Orta's manual gun, but don't bother with the ones that will obviously miss their intended mark (you). Subsequent to a small turn from Ofnir, you should see a ring off in the distance. Destroy this at all costs! I cannot stress how important it is that you eliminate this ring; if Ofnir flies through it, it will regain ALL of its health, forcing you to more or less restart the battle. Keep firing upon this worm and he'll bite the dust soon. As soon as that battle ends, you'll immediately be transferred to a new area where, *gasp*, you get to do battle with yet another sub boss! Shocking! Sub boss: Diodopure Lv2 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= A perfect mirror of the earlier fight with Diodopure Lv1, apply the same tactics here to score a win. At first, blast away in Glide Wing form while dodging the laser cannon (which still cannot move diagonally). Once you've depleted Lv2's first Life Gauge, switch to the Heavy Wing and slam it with repeated lasers to end the fight. Easy! You'll first appear in another Memory Cell (shoot the blue objects when they appear). Following a short trip through there, you'll be sent to a wide open area, with white, bird-like Sealance Images crossing into view from the left and right. Drop them in Base Wing form, as well as another few who appear a bit later and line up directly in front of you. From this chaotic few seconds, you should receive a Gene Base. Next, several Sealance Images will pull ahead of you from the left and right. Take out as many as you can in one round of lasers, then accelerate through the rest, hopefully destroying all the foes. If not, swing around backwards and quickly finish off the survivors. Just after they are done with, about ten or so more appear right in front of you. Unless you have really swift hands, I suggest accelerating through them. You'll score another Gene Base from this particular group. Off in the distance, a massive pack of Sealance will slowly fade into view. Now is a great time to unleash the Base Wing's Berserk, as it will take them all out in one fell swoop. If that isn't an option, simply lock-on to as many foes as possible and keep blasting until nothing remains. Your reward for this hellish mess is still another Gene Base. Not bad! Abadd =~~~~~= This battle begins with you facing backwards, your massive adversary right in front of you. Send him some good will with the Heavy Wing and he'll zip ahead of you; swing 'round frontside to face him. From this position Abadd will start firing white beams at you, so veer to the side (in Glide Wing form if need be) to evade them, returning fire of your own the whole time. Following this, Abadd pulls up right next to you, pausing for a moment before smashing you with his mighty fist. Do yourself a favor and dash out of the way as the Glide Wing. Pound on him for a while longer, then go back to the trusty Glide form to avoid another round of nasty white beams. He'll pull up next to you a second time, again preparing to whack you with his mighty fist of doom. Be sure to accelerate out of harm's way, eh? Now, Abadd will move in front of you, revealing a weak spot on his back (indicated by a handy flashing cursor). Aim for that point with your Heavy Wing. When he turns to face you and starts charging up an attack, boost twice to get ahead of him, at which point you can continue your assault. However, when he leans his head back you'll want to decelerate to escape any possible danger from laser fire. Accelerate back to the front once he stops firing. Eventually, (when he's got less than half his Life Gauge remaining) Abadd will shift behind you before lunging ahead to grab a triangle of small stones that have appeared in front. He'll then drop behind you again; be sure to keep him in plain sight. Soon enough, Abadd will send the three stones ahead, and they'll form odd shapes before blasting lasers at you. Use the Glide Wing to veer away from the blasts. Following about six or seven rounds of lasers, the stones will disappear, so take this opportunity to hammer Abadd with everything you've got (Heavy Wing lasers or Berserk Attacks, if applicable). From here on in, Abadd will repeat this process until either he kills you or you defeat him. Fortunately, the lasers shot out from Abadd's stones are insanely easy to avoid, so finishing off this battle shouldn't prove too difficult a task. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= i. Imperial City =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Right from the start, make the change into Heavy Wing form. Appearing from the right and pulling in front of you is a Transport Tank Emden; immediately begin firing at it. Note, however, that you should only be targeting the lead car on this train, as destroying it will destroy the trailing cars. Be sure to shoot down any missiles it might fire at you with your manual gun, then swivel the camera forward. You should spot another Transport Tank Emden coming into view directly ahead. Direct your fire at the lead car again, rotating the camera left, then back to keep the train in your sight. When it is destroyed, continue to face forward as you rise and a third Emden train will appear. As you are pounding it with lasers, the fourth and final Emden will pull right into view. Take out the earlier train first, then focus on the more recent foe. Make sure you clear out any missiles they fire (preferably using Orta's manually-operated weapon) before trying to destroy the tanks. With all four tanks (hopefully) destroyed, you'll move onward into the subsequent locale. Switch to the Base Wing, and swing around so that you are facing backwards as you travel through a claustrophobia-inducing corridor. As you exit, three Imperial battleships will swoop in behind you. Hastily take care of them, as well as a fourth ship that appears somewhat late. Through a second narrow corridor, you'll emerge in another large chamber where four more Imperial ships are waiting to ambush you. Still facing backwards, be sure to clear them out as fast as possible, since they're going to try to crash into you. Inside a third corridor, two planes will pursue you, so make short work of them before emerging into the next open chamber. There will be a total of four more enemy planes in here; two drop in almost immediately as you exit the corridor, where as the other two show up a little late. If you hold off firing for a few moments you can get all four planes in one round of lasers. Just past the next corridor, a single battleship will be your only target. Face forward and look for him right away--he won't be prevalent for very long, so make your lasers count. Through the next hallway, you'll enter a massive chamber. Look to your right, switching to Heavy form along the way, and take note of the many, many Dragonmare Embyros. Start firing at them right away, watching out for the Patrol Airship Vayu that appear every once in a while to ruin your fun. You'll pass by each row of Embryos enough times that destroying each and every one should not prove too difficult, so long as you can keep a constant flow of lasers going. Enjoy all the Gene Bases you receive from this particular escapade, by the way. Following a few twists and turns, you'll slow down in front of a group of Floating Mine Mardai. Reduce their numbers greatly with a few rounds of lasers, then accelerate through to kill off the survivors. In the subsequent corridor, you'll be accompanied by an Airship Vahra. He can take a surprising amount of damage before croaking, so go at him hard with the Heavy Wing. At the end of this tunnel, you'll see four Airship Kartha appear in front of you before turning off to the side. Lock-on and take them down quickly, then duck to the bottom left of the screen to avoid their lasers. Two more Kartha will speed past you at the end of the next tunnel. You know the deal. In the following room, you'll first see two Hovertank Dahra. Target them as the Heavy Wing, dispelling the missiles they fire with manual gunfire. Before long, three Battleship Bhout will swoop in, moving to the right of the Dahra. Quickly blast them down, then finish off the Dahra as you move long. On the other side of the area, you'll find still more Dahra. Start firing immediately, and be on the look out for another trio of Battleship Bhout. You will circle around the area a few more times, giving you an opportunity to defeat the remaining Dahra. Also, several more Bhout will fly past, so be looking for them. Once the Dahra have all been destroyed/are out of range, focus your attention to the large skeletal creature confined within the central pillar. BY GOLLY! Its Catharp, our friendly neighborhood Episode 3 boss! Fortunately, it can't move anymore, so just smack him with repeated lasers. After ascending along the pillar for a bit, you'll enter the next area. Change to the Base Wing, and accelerate just at the end of the corridor you begin in to destroy a group of Floating Mine Mardai. As you rapidly climb upward, target the four Airship Kartha before entering the tunnel ahead. Two more Kartha will chase you inside said tunnel, only to propel themselves ahead of you. Try to destroy them before they leave behind their laser mines, since those are quite difficult to avoid. In the next chamber, another pack of four Kartha speed past before veering off to the sides. Same deal as last time, really. As you progress into the tunnel ahead, two more Kartha will fly ahead of you, just like last time. Once you are outside again, a group of Floating Mine Mardai will gather in front of you. Shoot as many down as you can, then accelerate through the remaining foes. Only one Kartha will chase you into the subsequent corridor this time, so take him out, then prepare yourself for the upcoming sub boss. Sub boss: Assault Carrier Vermana REVIVED =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Remember this not-so-friendly airship from the very first level? Well, its back, albeit in a slightly less-maneuverable form. As you pass beneath it, let loose a few blasts in Heavy Wing form, then change your target to the multiple sets of Hovertank Dahra on the deck as they enter view. Be sure to shoot down their missiles as soon as they are fired, since they'll be too overwhelming if you wait even a moment too long. Before long, you'll travel to the far side of Vermana, where two cannon platforms are positioned far below you. Fire away at them, stopping every so often to dispel the fired missiles with manual gunfire or via the Glide Wing's rapidfire capabilities. From here, you'll move to Vermana's side, prompting it to release several remote missiles. Just like the first time you did battle with this battleship, you can either accelerate out of the way or shoot them down as the Glide Wing. Whichever floats your boat. At this point, you'll return to the side of the ship with all the Hovertank Dahra and the battle will re-begin from the start. Keep up the same strategy, constantly blasting the ship with bio-lasers whenever you're open and the battle will soon come to an end. Once Vermana has been destroyed once and for all, look for a squad of Battleship Bhout to appear to your left before moving onward. From here on, a pack of five Airship Vahra will appear and begin antagonizing you. Aim at them in Heavy form, and be wary of their constant position changing (e.g., from in front of you to behind you and back). Keep blasting and they'll die soon. As you enter the corridor ahead, the walls will begin closing in on you. The Glide Wing is without a doubt the best remedy for this sticky situation. Try to maneuver around the closing doors without having to accelerate as much as possible, but don't hesitate to boost if it seems necessary to preventing damage. Make it through there and the real boss is all yours... Imperial Defense Unit Bacharsuha =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Right off the bat, change to the Heavy Wing and start pounding the indicated target on the Bacharsuha's center. When you see the right arm (the one on your left) coming toward you, quickly duck down to avoid getting whacked; hold down for a few moments until the left arm (on your right) passed by, as well. Fire off a few more rounds of lasers before switching to Glide form to shoot down the incoming missiles fired by the Bacharsuha. Now, the massive battleship will turn around completely, so that its back faces you. Take this opportunity to destroy the two arms with blasts from your Heavy Wing. After making short work of those, accelerate twice in Glide form to take up your original position in front of the Bacharsuha again. Take down any missiles on the way while still in the form of the Glide Wing, then regress to the Heavy form and keep hammering the cursor- marked area of your foe. Once again, it will turn around 180 degrees, so slow down two times to catch up with it. Deliver some steady blows to the ship (now wouldn't be a bad time to fire a Berserk), and it will restore its two arms. Repeated its steps from the beginning of this battle, the Bacharsuha will swing its two appendages at you, first left (your left, that is) then right. Drive downward hard to evade this. Just a few more laser blasts and you'll enter stage two of this fight. Quickly jump into the Glide Wing form, as you'll need a highly maneuverable dragon to dodge this next bullet. As the various arms now surrounding your enemy charge up beams of blue electricity, you will need to dodge under or over each beam. Generally, all you need to do is rhythmically move the thumbstick up then down then up and back again. Once you get the timing down its a snap. Be sure to hold down A while doing this to fire at anything you can and cause a bit of extra damage. When the arms stop, quickly target them in Heavy Wing form and destroy them all. Make sure you watch out for an incoming salvo of missiles from above, however, otherwise you may be left feeling ambushed. Either way, once the missiles have all been destroyed/have detonated upon you, the Bacharsuha will begin to climb upwardly. During this ascension, each of its arms will fire massive balls of energy at you, so move around in a circle as the Glide Wing to dodge them. When you even out again, you will pull in right in front of the battleship. Cause some quick hell with your Heavy Wing on the three specified locations, only pausing when you notice spiraling red dots gathering in front of the ship. This signifies that it is about to unleash a devastating laser, so accelerate out of the way (you'll have to do it three times). Now then, when the laser stops firing, you should take the initiative and start blasting with your Heavy Wing lasers. Don't be afraid to fire off a Berserk Attack, also, as it would work wonders here, possibly ending the battle. Again the laser beam will start up, so slow down a few times to get out of the way, then repeat the previous steps. After a third round of lasers, the Bacharsuha will retreat to the bottom of the battlefield, where it will repeat its pattern, starting with the arms firing electricity. Hopefully it will have only a sliver of life remaining, allowing you to end the battle with a few more shots. If not, apply the same tactics you used earlier; you've seen everything this boss will throw at you by now. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= j. Showdown =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Right off the bat, switch to Heavy form and aim for the Mare-embryos visible off in the distance. In addition to the original pack of four embryos, several more will drop in soon, creating quite a hectic situation. Fortunately, a fully powered (Level 5) Heavy Wing (which you should have at this point in time) can floor a single 'mare in one hit. Even if you aren't quite at that level yet, it shouldn't take too much to clear out these guys. Two of the 'mares in this first group drop Gene Bases in their wake, by the by. Following their demise, turn to the left and look slightly below you: another swarm of embryos have come into sight. Aim first for the guys positioned close to each other, then focus on the foes trailing off to the left afterward. Once they are all gone, swivel around to face your right side. About four more 'mares have taken up position on this side; try to finish them off before they circle around to your backside. Also, watch out for the fiery projectiles that every 'mare can fire; they hurt and come in so many at once that it's hard to shoot them down with Orta's gun. Use the Glide Wing if necessary. From here on, a massive swarm of beasts will encircle you; Mare-embryos will be to all sides. Instead of constantly spinning the camera to keep up with all of them, simply face forwards and shoot each embryo as they pass in front of you. Doing so will not only give you a shot at taking down each and every 'mare, but it will also fetch you some fair Gene Bases. Nice! Dragonmare Squadron =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This pack of angry winged beasts from Episode 4 have "wisen fwom their gwaves" (go go Altered Beast reference!) to haunt you once more. This battle is a near mirror of the aforementioned one, only a bit more difficult, and with a mixed up attack pattern. Unlike the first time you faced these guys, they'll immediately split apart and flying directly in front of you, leaving dangerous black trails of painful goo behind them. To avoid this, morph into Glide form and dodge out of the way, holding down the fire button as you go (in an attempt to dole out at least a small bit o' damage). Subsequently, the 'mares will congregate in front of you and unleash a barrage of razor sharp air blasts. As with the black trails, evade them compliments of the Glide Wing's sick tight maneuverability. When they've finished with those, the Dragonmares all move behind you, so quickly turn to face them and give 'em hell in Heavy form. Note that they will also pepper you with fiery projectiles during this point; shooting them down with Orta's handgun can be a wee bit tricky, so use the Glide Wing if you are having trouble. After a short round of fiery missiles, the 'mares will lure you into an upward climb (of doom). Accelerate through to avoid the debris left in your foes' wake, then turn to face them as they gather behind you. By now, it should go without saying that you're pounding them with Heavy Wing lasers at every possible opportunity. Now then, be ready for a few more shots of fiery projectiles before they move to your bottom left. From here, they'll let loose on your with many, many burning missiles. Shoot them down, preferably in Heavy Wing form (or at the very least as the Base Wing), all the while chipping away at their Life Gauge with constant laser shots. After a few moments, the pack will relocate to your upper right, where they'll repeat the same steps as before. No biggie--you know the deal by now. Following a quick maneuver behind you, the 'mares will dash ahead, still using the fiery missiles as their number one means of offense. After one or two rounds of the projectiles, they'll split up and take it from the top, starting again with the black trails of painful goo attack. Repeat the steps you took from the beginning of the battle and you'll end it in no time flat. Cool beans! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= k. The End of Destiny =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This last mission is comprised of nothing but the final confrontation with your ultimate nemesis--Abadd. Abadd, Stage 1 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= As soon as this battle commences, change to the Heavy Wing and start smashing the spiky structure ahead with bio-lasers. However, when several green organisms appear in a circle around the spiky structure, quickly switch to Glide Wing form to shoot them down. If you let these green guys stick around for too long, they'll fire a nasty laser that's pretty much impossible to dodge, so you want to make sure you clear them all out. Following that, return to Heavy form to continue the barrage, only to change back to the Glide Wing again to dispel more green organisms. Repeat this pattern a third time and Abadd will toss something new in your direction. The orange spiky things arranged in a circle around the main structure will fire a powerful laser beam, so change to Glide Wing form and slow down once to avoid the first round of lasers, then a second time to evade still more beams of doom. After this, Abadd will launch a myriad of projectiles high into the air. Hastily shoot these down, then make the switch to Heavy form to end the battle. A single Berserker blast from your Heavy Wing is enough to deplete 3/4 of this beast's life, and basic lasers will finish things off right nice. Abadd, Stage 2 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Start off hammering this dragon-like form with Heavy Wing lasers, pausing only when he ducks underwater to avoid the serious heat you're packin'. When he moves in front of you, he'll soon disappear into the void; this is your cue to switch to Glide Wing form and accelerate toward the water. If done correctly, you'll evade a nasty laser attack. Repeat this a second time when Abadd disappears again. As he reappears, he'll pull right in front of you, with his lengthy tail dangling behind. Use the Heavy Wing form to pound on him a bit, all the while weaving left and right, left and right to avoid getting smacked by Abadd's tail. Before long, you'll pull ahead of him, so switch to a smaller form, otherwise you might just collide with one his wings, taking on some unnecessary damage. At this point, he'll duck into the water above (the "sky") and move ahead of you; swivel around to face him as he reappears. Get a few quick blasts in using the Heavy Wing, then change to Base form and lock-on as many times as possible, but do NOT shoot yet. Doing so will leave you wide open for Abadd's most potent attack, a devilish bio-laser of his own that is your worst nightmare (even scarier than Gene Simmons!). So listen up, hold your locks until a green sphere encircles your Dragon and you hear a high-pitched beeping sound. When such occurs, let loose your lasers to negate his homing capabilities. Repeat this process until he ceases his attempts to use lock-on lasers. Now then, if Abadd still hasn't croaked yet, he'll disappear into thin air and blast a tricky laser beam at you. Fortunately, you've got this nifty guide sitting right in front of you, so you know exactly what to do! Using the Glide Wing (y'know, for the righteous maneuverability) and move in a clockwise circle. Doing so will allow you to dash around his blasts with the greatest of ease. When he makes his dreaded reappearance from the void, he'll move behind you, so swing the camera around and start blasting (with the Heavy Wing, of course). Very soon, he'll submerge himself and move quickly toward you. When he jumps out of the water at you, make a swift change to Glide form and boost out of the way. You'll be able to see his tail/wings sticking out of the water, so use that as a reference to know when to get out of the way. Following that, he'll do the exact same thing again, only this time he'll hide in the sky above you. You can avoid it the same way, however. Subsequently, Abadd will appear shortly behind you before diving underwater and plowing ahead. Fortunately, his wings stick out of the water, so target those to cause some damage. From here on in, he'll return to the beginning of his pattern. Basically what that means is this: if he isn't dead yet, start reading the first paragraph of this strategy again. Abadd, Stage 3 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Throughout the majority of this final stage, you'll want to remain in Base Wing form, as Abadd likes to use his lock-on lasers moreso than ever before. You'll be using the same tactics as before to destroy his lock-on capabilities: get as many locks as you can, but don't fire until you hear the shrill ringing sound and see the green sphere around your Dragon. You may also wanna note that a Berserk Attack from the Base Wing will work wonders in this battle, negating Abadd's lasers and causing insane amounts of damage. Let it go as soon as possible. From the start of this fight, you'll want to apply the laser-destroying tactics I mentioned above. When Abadd makes an abrupt turn, you should change to Heavy form and start pounding on him with bio-lasers, as he's going to take a break from his lasers for a moment. Before long, however, he'll revert to his tactics of old, so make the switch to Base form and continue the defensive work. Also, note that when your foe pulls right in front of you, you'll want to veer to the right to avoid being hit by that long tail of his. Keep firing, intercepting his lasers, and unleash your Berserk Attack whenever possible and the battle will be over before you know it. Congratulations, you have just completed Panzer Dragoon Orta! =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= V ----------------------------------------------------- SUB SCENARIOS =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= Accessible from Pandora's Box, there are two different sets of Sub Scenarios: those involving a young soldier and a variety of miscellaneous missions where you play as either Orta's Dragon, Mobo, or an Imperial machine. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= a. Imperial Boy =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A set of short missions centered on Iva Demilcol, a tormented young soldier in training out to seek revenge against the "Dragon of Destruction" that murdered his father. Since he plays rather differently then Orta and her Dragon, allow me to begin by explaining his controls. .-----------------. | IVA'S CONTROLS \________________________________________________________ | ============== | | Start Button -------------------------------------------- Pause the game | | Left Thumbstick ----------------------------------------- Aim / Move pod | | A Button -------------------------------------------------------- Ascend | | B Button ----------------------------------------------- Lock-on missile | | X Button ---------------------------------------------------- Machinegun | | Y Button -------------------------------------------------------- Reload | | Left Trigger ---------------------------------------- Rotate camera left | | Right Trigger -------------------------------------- Rotate camera right | |___________________________________________________________________________| Now, without further adieu, the mission strategies! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epeisodion Proto: Death of My Father ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your goal in this simple mission is to make it through an obstacle course of sorts. At first, you'll probably want to get acquainted with controlling Iva's pod. Thankfully, there are no enemies to worry about in this mission, so you can concentrate solely on getting through the course. From the start, tap the A Button periodically to maintain altitude and carefully proceed ahead. Be aware of the pipes all over the place; colliding even once with one will yield a game over. Aim your cursor toward the top right portion of the screen--a gap in the wall is where you want to guide the pod. Remember, there is no time limit of any sort, and the number of attempts it takes you to complete this mission attributes to your final score, so take it easy as you head through. On the other side, carefully descend by letting go of the A Button, only tapping it from time to time to remain airborne. Make sure you don't fall too quickly or hit the ground, as they is equivalent to instant death. The next gap in the wall is directly in the center, but it's also very close to the ground. Don't tap A too rapidly, otherwise you'll fly too high and crash into the wall, but make sure you don't get too close to the ground whilst proceeding through. Next, you'll want to travel to the top-left of the screen. It's a very steep climb, so tap A quickly, but not so much that you smash into the ceiling. We don't need no pancakes. Just through the third and final gap, you need to descend and aim for the red and blue striped landing pad. Ideally, you'll land right on the front and bounce into the middle. Unfortunately, this is quite difficult to execute, so just concentrate on landing on the front portion of the pad and you're done. Plero! Criteria for S Rank =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Distance from the center - .30ln Number of tries - 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epeisodion Duoba: Imperial Military School ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note that you've gained a few new abilities since the previous mission. Iva's pod can now fire its machineguns using the X Button. A few seconds after the mission has commenced, a pack of eight flying monsters will appear before you. While tapping the A Button to maintain height, hold down X and scroll the crosshair across them. A single shot from your machinegun will kill every foe in this stage, so just make sure you hit everything. Soon after you've dispatched of the aforementioned pack, a second group will emerge from the right. Take some of them out as they fly toward your front, then finish them off when they pause. Directly after said group disappears, another will show up, forming a "W" shape before you. Blast through them, not leaving a single straggler behind, by moving the targeting reticle in the same "W" shape. Once they've been dealt with, you'll move to the second stage of the mission. Coming from your right, a different type of enemy that you haven't quite encountered just yet will cross in front of Iva's pod. Blast him, then turn to the right in anticipation of the trio of similar foes that will show up momentarily. Once they are gone, turn so you're facing backwards. A final group of three will appear shortly. As long as you are prepared for them, they should go down in a snap. Note that you need to kill at least 42 of the 56 total enemies to pass this mission. Criteria for S Rank =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Shot Down Ratio - 100% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epeisodion Trine: Loneliness ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This mission bears a striking resemblance to the one directly above, only that there's one huge difference: Iva's pod can now fire lock-on missiles. You can take advantage of this awesome addition to your arsenal by pressing the B Button and running the target reticle over any foes. You can lock-on to as many as three enemies at a time, mind. At the beginning of the mission, four monsters will sweep in front of your pod. Lock-on to them and let your missiles do the talking. But wait! There are four enemies, and only three locks! What to do!? Don't freak on me. Just clear out the remaining creature with some machinegun fire. He'll go down like a glass of cherry lemonade; nice and smooth. Don't forget to keep your altitude by tapping A every so often. Quickly swivel 90 degrees to the right and prepare yourself for another wave of four monsters. Apply the same three-missile, one-machinegun tactics as before. The next thing this mission tosses your way is a four-pack of small, almost bat-like foes (except they're waaaay bigger than any bat I've ever seen) accompanied by a massive monster. To surmount this hurdle, quickly lock-on to big daddy and let loose, all the while spraying the small fries with machinegun fire. Don't worry about their attacks--they cause minimal damage and won't count against your score. It may take a fire separate waves of missiles to bring down Mr. Big, but the others will go down as easy as the cherry lemonade I referenced before. When you reach the upper level, a group that mirrors the one you just massacred emerges. Use the same tactics: hot lead for the Batman-wannabes, heavy artillery for big guy. Chances are, before you completely finish them off, the surviving monsters will charge past you, so swivel around and seal the deal in a hurry. A trio of enemies will appear around this time, right in front of you, so include them in your onslaught. Either missiles, if you can spare the locks, or machinegun shots will work. Following their imminent defeat, about ten or so foes of the same ilk will appear behind you. Turn around and fire your missiles before clearing out the remaining guys with your machinegun. Criteria for S Rank =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Shot Down Ratio - 100% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epeisodion Quate: Friends ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally a break from the mold of those first three missions. It's like a fresh burrito! Or a breath of fresh air. Whichever you prefer. Anyhow, this mission is something that most people would refer to as "laughably easy." Case in point: your best buddy Stratei will yell which direction the enemy is coming from. With that, turn in whatever direction he told you, lock-on (with the A Button), and fire a missile. Sometimes enemies will be hiding in the corner of the screen, where you can barely spot them. Just look around carefully if Stratei tells you where the enemy is located and you don't see anyone. If you still can't find them, you probably need to ask someone else what the difference between left and right is. Also, things get a bit hectic toward the end, what with foes attacking at almost the same time. Just be sure to finish off your attackers in a hurry and you're golden. Criteria for S Rank =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Shot Down Ratio - 100% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epeisodion Quini: Village of the Seekers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Definitely the toughest mission thus far, numero cinco still doesn't provide too tough of a challenge. The idea is to descend in the canyon so that the basket hanging underneath Iva's pod dips underwater. Once you've done that, Iva will circle back around and head for the reservoir. Upon arrival, dip the basket into the water. Repeat the steps a second time and you are done. What's tricky about this mission, however, is that you can't so much as touch the water in the river or the reservoir, otherwise it's game over. Ouch. Okay, so let's start from the get-go. Iva's pod begins at the apex of a peak, and slowly begins to crawl towards the entrance to the canyon. Gradually allow yourself to descend onto the river, ensuring that only the basket goes underneath. Keep the basket under until the gauge on the right side of the screen is filled, then ascend as fast as possible to escape the massive worm that lives in the water. If you see him emerge, pull out no matter what. Keep in mind, though, that you absolutely need to fill your basket to the top before you'll be able to drop it off in the reservoir. That's just the way it works, so you may have to take two trips just to fill the basket. You'll know its maxed out when it starts to glow. As soon as you've filled the basket, hold down A to quickly ascend. Iva will loop past the river a second time en route to the reservoir, giving you another opportunity to max out the basket by dipping down. If that isn't necessary, maintain your altitude and clear out any foes that get in the way. When you reach the reservoir, carefully lower the pod so that only your basket goes underwater; as with before, so much as touching the wet stuff will end the game. Repeat these same steps a second time and you're done. Criteria for S Rank =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Clear Time - Under 3:00 minutes Shot Down Ratio - 100% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epeisodion Sexi: Vengeance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basically, this mission is a chase scene and, as such, it's imperative that you keep up with the Dragon that you're in pursuit of. With this in mind, taking too many hits from enemies will slow you down drastically, allowing the Dragon to get away. Don't want that to happen. Nope. Due to this, you will want to order your priorities: the ground-bound dinosaur-esque Didars are the most potent (their energy blasts provide trouble in a bubble), while anything else is just small time in comparison. Also, don't forget that you can ascend (with the A Button, of course) to dodge these energy blasts. From time to time, swarms of blue, winged enemies called Yarva will appear in front of you. They can easily be blasted through with your pod's machinegun, while the larger, flying Vont-Morli are best dealt with through the use of lock-on missiles intermixed with gunfire. Provided that you are neck and neck with Orta's Dragon by the end of the stage (which can be viewed via the gauge on the right side of the screen), you'll be successful. Criteria for S Rank =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Clear Time - Under 1:30 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epeisodion Septua: Inescapable Fate ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This final mission can be a bit tricky, but if you know what's coming you should get through. Begin by raising your altitude a bit to pass the first barrier, though try not to bang your head on the ceiling, then be prepared for an immediate drop to move beneath the second barrier. The next gap is smack in the middle of the third barrier, accompanied by two enemies, both easily shot down. Subsequently, the following barrier has gaps to the upper-left and right, with the left path guarded by two additional enemies. Another steep drop to the bottom, with several enemies vying for your attention follows that. Shoot past the enemies, then ascend to the top-left, where a stronger enemy will be awaiting you. Take him out with some rapid fire, then drop to the bottom-right, all the while shooting at the three enemies who have appeared recently. Keep your current altitude, but turn to the left to find the next gap in the barrier. Climb up high again and enter the next chamber, where there'll be a landing pad, just like in the first level. Slowly proceed toward it; beware that going too fast may result in bouncing too far and falling off the landing pad, or you might just miss it completely. And that wouldn't be good. At all. Successfully land on the pad to be teleported to a an alternate, yet eerily similar location. A trio enemies will appear before you, so hastily shoot them down with missiles and regular fire as you head for the gap in the wall. Fire at a second pack of foes that become prevalent along the way. In this next room, several enemies project massive green beams across the chamber. Shoot down as many as possible to make the journey across a bit safer, but try to keep your position stable. I've found that halfway between the ceiling and floor is the safest place, though still not completely safe. Carefully proceed through the room and you'll reach the final area. Destroy any remaining foes and slowly make your way to the teleporter ahead. Land on it just as you did the previous one and you will be finished. Lovely. Criteria for S Rank =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Distance from the center Lv.1 - .30ln Distance from the center Lv.2 - .30ln Shot Down Ratio - 100% =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= b. Missions =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= In three of the five following missions, you'll play as Orta and her Dragon. Mission 1 allows you to take control of a Hovertank Dahra, whereas the second Mission puts you in the shoes of the Mighty Mobo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission 1: A Shot in the Dark ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This mission puts you in control of a Hovertank Dahra, where your goal is to destroy the enemy anti-aircraft guns before they shoot down your Battleship Bhout. The setting is Yelico Valley, where the first episode of Orta's game takes place. Your Hovertank Dahra has few complications in its controls; in fact, the only buttons you'll need to use are A and B (plus the triggers to swivel the camera from time to time). Hold down A to fire a continuous stream of hot lead, and tap B to reload. Simple! Since your goal in this mission is to protect a squad of Battleship Bhout, you need to be alert and keep your eyes out for the anti-aircraft guns that serve as your targets. As soon as you catch sight of one of the yellow-ish guns, immediately start unloading upon it--they go down fast, allowing you to level quite a few in a short amount of time. Another thing to be aware of is the enemy counter at the bottom of the screen. If you check this every so often, you'll be able to tell when new enemies are within range. Nifty! In this mission, you'll be ranked upon two different things come completion: number of enemies defeated and number of squad members remaining. That means that its important not only to defeat the anti-aircraft guns, but to do it quickly to ensure that your squad stays alive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission 2: The Fury of Mobo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ===== COMING SOON! ===== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission 3: Enemy Attack! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ===== COMING SOON! ===== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission 4: Quick Shooter 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this mission, Orta and her Dragon (as a cute li'l baby!) will be confined to a small room. Groups of four Interception Program ver 1.00 appear either in front, behind, or to the left or right. When you notice one of these groups (keep your eyes on the radar), quickly turn and fire at them. However, keep in mind that, while there is a time limit, you have more than enough time to take out the 15 required enemies. Do not rush things; ONLY fire your lasers if you have all four targets locked-onto. To clear the stage, all that is required of you is to destroy 15 foes. Attaining the S Rank expects you to take down quite a few more, so you'll need to be particularly quick. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission 5: Quick Shooter 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though this mission may at first seem like a carbon copy of its predecessor, there is actually a tricky catch that makes this version of the Quick Shooter mission much more difficult. Instead of simply turning and shooting at the foes that appear, there are now three different types of enemies, all of whom required the use of a different morph form to destroy. Ugh. Okay, so there are three different types of enemies: Interception Program Ver 1.00s, Interception Program ver 2.00, and Sealance Images. The Ver 1.00s appear arranged in a circle, and are best dealt with via the Base Wing. The Ver 2.00 only show up one at a time, so pound away on them with the Heavy Wing. Finally, the Sealance Images materialize in large groups, so they are best left to the Glide Wing. Know that you'll never see the same type of enemy twice in a row, so its safe to say that every time you swivel the camera to face a new foe you should also switch morph forms. Keep your eyes on the radar and the 15 enemies will be down for the count before you know it. =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= VI -------------------------------------------------- DRAGON RANKINGS =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= Below, you'll find a list of all the Dragon Rankings and their requirements, in addition a compendium of the various styles of play as determined by the game. To check either of these, head into Pandora's Box and select "Flight Records." There are thirty rankings in all, and I've listed them in order of easiest to reach to hardest. Please take note that attempting to achieve the "Winged Death" rank can cause extreme anger and occasional diarrhea*. Consider yourself warned. * Not pretty. Use some medication to get rid of it fast. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= a. Rankings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * NOTE: Thanks to silverdragon2 for contributing this list. .---------------. | THE RANKINGS \__________________________________________________________ | ============ | | 30. Pigeon --------------- Less than 10% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 29. Weakling ------------ Between 10-19% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 28. Grunt --------------- Between 20-24% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 27. Rookie -------------- Between 25-29% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 26. Peevish ------------- Between 30-34% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 25. Hunter -------------- Between 35-39% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 24. Captain ------------- Between 40-44% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 23. Master -------------- Between 45-49% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 22. Hitman -------------- Between 50-54% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 21. Assassin ------------ Between 55-59% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 20. Exterminator -------- Between 60-64% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 19. Predator ------------ Between 65-69% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 18. Raider -------------- Between 70-74% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 17. Officer ------------- Between 75-79% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 16. General ------------------ 80 or 81% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 15. Defender ----------------- 82 or 83% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 14. Dominator ---------------- 84 or 85% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 13. Gladiator ---------------- 86 or 87% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 12. Destroyer ---------------- 88 or 89% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 11. Lunatic ------------------------ 90% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 10. Dragoon ------------------------ 91% Shot Down Ratio, any difficulty | | 9. Weaponmaster -------- 92% Shot Down Ratio, Normal or Hard difficulty | | 8. Vanguard ------------ 93% Shot Down Ratio, Normal or Hard difficulty | | 7. Sniper -------------- 94% Shot Down Ratio, Normal or Hard difficulty | | 6. Dragoon Warrior ----- 95% Shot Down Ratio, Normal or Hard difficulty | | 5. Panzer Leader ------- 96% Shot Down Ratio, Normal or Hard difficulty | | 4. Dragoon Master ----- 97% Shot Down Ratio, must be on Hard difficulty | | 3. Perfectionist ------ 98% Shot Down Ratio, must be on Hard difficulty | | 2. Dragoon Lord ------- 99% Shot Down Ratio, must be on Hard difficulty | | 1. Winged Death ------ 100% Shot Down Ratio, must be on Hard difficulty | |___________________________________________________________________________| =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= b. Play Styles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Play Styles, which can be viewed under "Flight Records", are specific categories that the game chooses for you depending on how you play the game. All-Arounder =~~~~~~~~~~~~= As a player who takes advantage of all three morph forms--Base, Heavy, and Glide--and uses the three equally you would be categorized as an "All-Arounder." Berserker =~~~~~~~~~= If you often use a Berserk Attack to clear out large amounts of enemies in one go, chances are that you'll be named a "Berserker." Gunner =~~~~~~= Pretty much the opposite of the Berserker. Instead of wiping out massive packs of foes with Berserk attacks, you rely on your lasers instead to seal the deal. Thanks to Daniel Hoffman for bringing this style to my attention. Seeker =~~~~~~= Relying heavily on your lock-on lasers to deal with your foes makes you a "Seeker." Many thanks to Cham for informing me about this style. Specialist =~~~~~~~~~~= A player who relies moreso on the Heavy Wing and Glide Wing than the Base form is a "Specialist." Undead =~~~~~~= Someone who uses a dies often and uses many continues is dubbed "Undead." =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= VII -------------------------------------------------------- BESTIARY =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= Within this section, you'll find in-depth information pertaining to both the normal enemies found all over the game as well as the bosses who dominate each episode. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= a. Common Enemies =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Below you'll find a vast menagerie of enemies. Descriptions include what a foe looks like and usually where it can be found. Abadd's Mare =~~~~~~~~~~~~= This beast is seen throughout Episode 6, though you don't actually get a chance to beat it down. Even so, its a clean white Dragonmare with a long, whip-like tail useful for whacking things. Airship Kartha =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Small, flat planes with gray siding sandwiching a black central unit. There is also a long red flag that trails behind the plane. Airship Kartha Prototype =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These planes have the same look of the Airship Kartha described above. The only difference between the two is that this prototype version has a green flag hanging off the back, as opposed to a red one. Airship Vahra =~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This Imperial plane has the same body shape as the commonly-encountered Battleship Bhout, except that there are two of them. In addition to that, there is a control unit where a lone pilot can control the ship, and a gold "half-sun"-shaped design on the front. Artificial Sun =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= True to its name, the Artificial Sun is golden in color. It is a ground- based vehicle, with a blue "eye" hidden in the middle of several gold plates sticking out from the side. They illuminate the area of Episode 8 that is filled with unhatched Dragonmare embryos. Assault Carrier Vermana =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= The boss of the Episode 1, this Imperial battleship returns as a sub-boss in Episode 8. It's a pretty standard looking ship; gray-black armoring and platforms are built around a light gray core. Red flags hang off the sides and there is a tall unit on it's right side. Assault Hovership Taishak =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= You encounter these heavy battleships in Episode 4. They are mostly gray, with a large fin-shaped extension below the hull. Taishaks can take a lot of damage before bailing out, so they're best left to your Heavy Wing's powerful bio-lasers. Atish =~~~~~= As Episode 6's friendly neighborhood sub boss, Atish is a mechanical- looking beast of prey. It has eight appendages protruding from its head, four of which can fire missiles. It also has a long, flowing tail that trails behind it, and a deadly laser system that is rarely used. Battleship Bhout =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= You'll actually get to take control of one of these should you play through all of Iva's missions. They are pretty much your standard Imperial planes, encountering during the first episode. Their wings are marked with red flags, and they have long, slightly curved gray tails. Baturn =~~~~~~= Found on a plateau in the Altered Genos stage, Baturn are ground-bound monsters with two legs and long, elephant-like tusks on their head. Color- wise, Baturn are brown, with black legs and tail. They also have a blue, fin-like item on their heads. Carrier Bhout =~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These aeroplanes look quite similar to the normal Battleship Bhout. The only noticeable difference is that these guys have green flags instead of red ones, and their tail is predominantly black, instead of gray. Carrier Nayak =~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Basically the same thing as your average Nayak, only this guy doesn't have the horn and it has an overall cleaner look to it. Carrier Sealance =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These fellers have the same basic design as the normal Sealances, but have a red tint as opposed to it's brother's blue one. Carrier Seba =~~~~~~~~~~~~= The only physical difference between Carrier Seba and the standard Seba is that carriers have blue plates and a whitish tail, as opposed to white armor and a red tail. Carrier Yarva =~~~~~~~~~~~~~= While fundamentally similar to normal Yarva, Carriers tend to be much larger and are red in color, as opposed to blue. They often lead packs of regular Yarva. Catharp =~~~~~~~= Ah, the good ol' boss from Episode 3. It looks somewhat like a skeleton, only with spots of black. It has four legs, as well as a circular ring on it's pelvis and a much bigger one on it's back. Central Data Unit Ofnir =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= I like to think of this guy as a digital version of the Yondo-Worm you encountered in Episode 2. Anyway, you'll meet with this digital digger during Episode 7 in a sub-boss battle. Its got several segments, and is gold in color, with six tentacles extending from the head. Ceremonial Turrets =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These turrets, which have three separate guns each, poke out of the massive ship found in part two of the fourth episode. Churmachum =~~~~~~~~~~= These massive monsters have gray armored plates covering their head and eight lengthy, flowing tentacles in back. They can take a lot of damage before going down, but only show up one at a time, meaning you can easily deal with them via the Heavy Wing. Catch up with them in Episode 3. Churook =~~~~~~~= Encountered throughout Episode 6, a Churook is a small gray enemy with blue veins all over its body. It can travel as a small blue shadow, and cannot be damaged in that form. Coolia =~~~~~~= Tiny ground-based animals, Coolia are a brown color, with brown saddles strapped to their backs. Crane =~~~~~= Its... y'know... a crane. Like, for lifting and stuff. Not much to explain, right? Degla =~~~~~= Seen all throughout the sixth Episode, Degla are gray creatures with two lobster-like claws or pincers. They can travel very fast, and can leave tall laser columns in their wake. Didar =~~~~~= Not unlike certain dinosaur species in appearance, the Didar runs along the ground below you with two legs. It has a small pointed head, as well as a short tail. It is mostly gray in color, though it's tail is blue, and what appears to be a tuft of brown hair can be found on the back. Diodopure Lv1 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~= The best way to describe this interesting creature would be to call it a blue jungle gym with four huge green slugs crawling all over it. Okay, so that was a horrible explanation of it's appearance. There's also a yellow eyeball of sorts in the center. Meet up with it in Episode 7. Diodopure Lv2 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~= The same basic design as the above foe, but with different colors. The main "jungle gym" part is now purple and black, where as the slugs and eyeball are red. Like its little brother above, the Lv2 is encountered in Episode 7. Dragonmare =~~~~~~~~~~= Seen in the first, fourth, and ninth Episodes, these bad boys are gigantic red dragons. Their wings have a pinkish tinge to them, and their tails dangle behind them rather far. Els-Enora =~~~~~~~~~= The boss from Eternal Glacies (Episode 5), Els-Enora is a massive white creature. Extending from its head are six wings, each smaller in size, as well as a tail. It's most susceptible from below, though it can fire deadly blobs of pink goo at anyone who attacks from there. Erkist =~~~~~~= An Erkist, or "snowshark" as I like to call them, is a foe that burrows beneath the snow and leaps out to attack. It has two fins to either side of its head, and a large tail that serves as a propeller of sorts. Also, there is a small horn on the face. Find them in Episode 5: Eternal Glacies. Nailing it with homing lasers is tough since you can't target them until they emerge, and at that point they are too close. Just wait for an Erkist to jump out of the snow, then blast it with manual gunfire. Floating Mine Mardai =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These are more or less kamikaze pilots. A Mardai looks like a flying cylinder, with a few spikes on the side and a single pilot standing inside. Avoid them like the plague. They appear in Episode 4 and try to ram you, multiple Mardai at a time. Additionally, they make appearances throughout Episode 8. Gat-War & Kot-War =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These foes, who always appear in groups of three (two blue foes and one red guy), are connected to each other by chains of electricity. The two blue enemies are impervious to any attacks you might try, but destroying the lone red one will kill all three. Good deal! Catch up with these guys in Episode 6. Goleg =~~~~~= Seen predominantly in Episode 2 (although they also make an appearance in one of Iva's sub scenarios), a Goleg is a large plant extending from the wall of a canyon. It has a green stem connecting it to the wall, with five orange tentacles protruding from it's front. There is also a purple and green bulb in the front. It can fire nasty bolts of energy, so be careful around them. Guardian =~~~~~~~~= One of the bosses met in Episode 4, Guardian is a large stone statue with two distinguishable arms, a head, and several lumps that could very easily be misconstrued as "boobies." It's protected by an anti-laser system that must deactivated before any direct damage can be caused. Homing Airship Ajati =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These stationary units are encountered several times in Episode 4. They are very large, square-shaped ships with cannons on each corner, and semi- triangular protuberances poking out of the bottom. Hovertank Dahra =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These weapons are often found planted on the ground. They mostly black, with a single cannon on the frontside and a small platform for the operator to stand. Ikrakav =~~~~~~~= As the boss in Episode 2, Ikrakav resembles a giant floating cage, with six purplish bulbs hanging from the bottom. Attacking it from the front is futile, so you'll need to swing back behind it and aim for the flower confined within the "cage." Imperial Defense Unit Bacharsuha =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= As the boss of Episode 8, the Bacharsuha is an absolutely massive machine with a single purpose: destruction. It has two arms hanging off the main body which can be used to "punch" any nearby foes (e.g., you), and it can fire a deadly laser beams from its "head." Imperial Family Hovertank Dahra =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This Imperial version of the Hovertank Dahra has the same design as the regular type. You'll find the only difference is that this one is paved in gold, instead of covered in black metal. Interception Program ver. 1.00 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These computerized enemies consist of a central globe with three arms extended out in every which way. At the edge of each arm is a gold hand- like protuberance. Interception Program ver. 1.50 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Think Interception Program ver. 1.00, only with more of a blue glow. Interception Program ver. 2.00 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Take two of the above enemies and slap them together. Now you've got the Interception Program ver. 2.00! Despite it's gold head and hands, it also has greenish arms and an eye in the center of the central globe. Interception Program ver. 2.60 =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Again, same thing as above, except with more of a blue color. There is another anomaly here, though: there is noticeably more space between the eye and the two head parts. Kurbek =~~~~~~= An interesting looking foe, to say the least. It has a gray "head", along with several gold protrusions along its backside. Kuru =~~~~= If you look at them right, these guys look almost like an oyster. Anyway, it consists of a small gray body with two large, leaf-shaped appendages enclosing a thin needle on the head. They can be found in Episode 3, while exploring the canyon area after defeating the sub boss. Madidar =~~~~~~~= A relative of the Didar, the resemblance between the two is evident in the body shape and movement. Really, the only difference is that this type is a dark purple color. Mare-embryo =~~~~~~~~~~~= This is a half-developed Dragonmare. It has a shorter tail than the normal flavor, and isn't nearly as potent. Even so, they can blast fiery projectiles in groups of four. These dragons can be located at the beginning of Episode 9. Missile Launcher =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These are found on the walls of the massive ship in the second part of Episode 4, always in mass groups. They tend to unleash huge salvos of missiles all at once, causing a whole bucket of trouble. Morli =~~~~~= A Morli mirrors a stingray in appearance, albeit with a few changes here and there. For one thing, they fly instead of swimming. Also, their eyes are attached to their head only by thin, almost tentacle-like strands. In back, there are six waving tentacles, as well as a much thicker tail. Morli come in a pale green color. Nayak =~~~~~= These foes, seen throughout Episode 6, have two gray arms, each with three blue "fingers." They also have a gray ring of sorts on their back, as well as a long horn extending from its head. Patrol Airship Vayu =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= An upright battlestation, Patrol Airship Vayu have a gray base, with a black and brown platform above. There is also a gray column at the very top, which has a star-shaped piece with unreadable writing on it. They guard the Dragonmare Embryos in Episode 8. Peela =~~~~~= Peela are flat gray creatures with eight small limbs sticking out from its body, four on each side. Its tail forms a triangular shape, as does the head. Pod =~~~= This is the vehicle Iva uses in each and every one of his missions. Pump =~~~~= A very large pump, with a rusty red colored pipeline running from its gray base. Purnam =~~~~~~= You'll encounter these butterfly-esque foes in Episode 2. They can be distinguished by their bright, multicolor wings attached to a small, gray body. The rear side of the Purnam's wings is the same color as it's body. Pussa Bubo =~~~~~~~~~~= These golden foes are a shimmering gold in color, and use their massive size as a weapon. They have four tentacles atop their "heads", and can leap rather large distances. See them in Episode 5. Ramjanaki =~~~~~~~~~= This foe can easily be distinguished by its large head that resembles a flower. In order to damage them, you need to either accelerate or slow down to gain access to their susceptible backside. Remote Missiles =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These heavy missiles are used by the Assault Carrier Vermana, the boss in Episodes 1 and 8. You can either destroy it with Glide Wing fire or evade it by speeding up. Rokpur =~~~~~~= The body structure of this creature is actually very similar to that of a small lizard, only with wings in place of the four legs. Their body is light orange in color, with red stripes on the wings and tail. Sealance Image =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Silver and blue in color, these guys look similar to a bird, only with a third wing extending from the bottom of the head. Introduce them to your lasers in Episode 7. Seba =~~~~= These heavily-armored foes are black and white, with a red tail used for movement in back. They feature plates of armor on both sides of the head, as well as a third plate that stretches back behind the head. Seeker Anti-Aircraft Cannons =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These ground-based weapons are bronze-red in color and feature a small platform in back where the operator is meant to stand. Seeker Search Light =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= These devices pose no danger to you and your Dragon. Rather, all they do is shine a light into the sky. Sham =~~~~= These creatures have two fluttering wings and are shaped like a crescent, or half-moon. They are gray in color, and have a pointed, almost bee-like stinger on their bottom half. Shielded Warship Shaiha =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Found in the second part of Episode 4, these enemies are cubicle ships that can only be damaged from behind. The circular shields on their front devours all attacks, so boost past to destroy them. Tamtiti =~~~~~~~= These small segmented worms have gold bodies that get wider near the tail. There are two small horns on the head, and a similar pincer on its rear side. Transport Tank Emden =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This is an Imperial train, always seen with several cars hanging off its backside, that can be encountered at the beginning of Episode 8. A few blasts from the Heavy Wing will do it in right nice, and its only mean of defense is through the basic missiles you'll encounter all throughout the game. Urimasan =~~~~~~~~= These foes pop up out of the ice to attack. They have a long purple and silver neck, with three tentacles on either side. Its head is the same color, with two "arms" extending outward. Also, there is a third "arm" protruding from the back of the head. Say hi to them in Episode 5, particularly if you take the Path B. Vont-Morli =~~~~~~~~~~= Yet another member of the Morli species, this flavor are lighter and more yellow in color than it's brothers. Wormriders =~~~~~~~~~~= This is Mobo and his buddies. You'll get to kick their asses in one of Iva's missions. Yarva =~~~~~= I like to think of these guys as enlarged bats, although they really don't look anything like creatures of the night. Anyhoo, they have two pairs of wings connected to a narrow body. Predominantly, Yarva are blue in color, though they have flecks of purple in them, as well. Yarva-Raum =~~~~~~~~~~= Another relative of the Yarva, these guys have the same body shape, but different coloring. Identify a Raum by looking for the red body and blue/ white wings. Yondo-Morli =~~~~~~~~~~~= Almost a mirror image of the typical Morli, Yondos only differ in that they are significantly larger. Yondo-Worm =~~~~~~~~~~= This is the sub-boss encountered in Episode 2, and also the massive worm that causes trouble in one of Iva's stages. Basically, it's a giant segmented worm with claws and an orange tongue at the head. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= b. Bosses =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Yes, that's right. This section, right here, the one that your eyes are focused upon at this very moment will teach you everything necessary to know before trying to take down those oh-so tricky bosses. Assault Carrier Vermana (Episode 1) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= At the start of this battle, you will be hovering in front of the ship. Aboard the deck, there are four Hovertank Dahra. Using the Heavy Wing form, destroy each Dahra, one at a time. They'll periodically fire a barrage of missiles your way, so briefly morph into Glide form to shoot them down, then switch back and continue the assault. Also, take note that your attacks aren't doing any direct damage to the ship. Because of this, you will want to conserve a Berserk Attack for later, if you have one. Once all four Dahra have been destroyed, the Dragon will sweep across the ship and duck behind it. Still in Heavy Wing form, fire at the three cylindrical canisters inside the extension of the ship, the concentrate your attacks to the left of there, on the airship shutters (the part right above the red flags). Watch out for a group of Battleship Bhout that will squeeze out and shoot them down before returning your fire to Vermana. With that destroyed, you'll move around to the ship's front, where you can target either the hull or two cannons on either side. The best course of action here, I think, is to aim for the hull (the large gray part in the middle). Now is the picture perfect place to unload a Berserk Attack, so hopefully you've been saving up. The Base Wing's is the most effective Berserk for this particular battle, by the by. From time to time, the cannons sandwiching the hull will fire a salvo of projectiles your way, so morph into Glide form and shoot them down. Once they've been dealt with, return to the Heavy Wing and continue the assault. Not long after, you will swing around to Vermana's side, so keep firing until you see five large canisters--homing missiles--appear on the far side of the ship. There are two ways to avoid these: either shoot them down in Glide Wing form or accelerate out of the way, also in Glide Wing form. Both methods are effective, although I tend to prefer the former. If you aren't quick enough to destroy all five missiles, you can always glide out of the way of the last one or two. Either way, use the Heavy Wing to blast anything you can lock-on to. Before long, you'll circle back around to Vermana's front. You should also have another Berserk Attack ready by now, so have the Base Wing let loose. This should bring Vermana within destruction's vicinity, so finish it off with fire from the Heavy Wing. Sub boss: Yondo-Worms (Episode 2) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= That's right, you're fighting not one but two, count 'em, two Yondo-Worms! "Uh-oh!" is right! Start off by peppering them with the Heavy Wing's oh-so mighty bio-lasers. Every so often your foes will blast you with some nasty green energy balls, which can easily be shot down utilizing Orta's handgun. If ever the worms get too close and it looks they're gonna crash into you, make a quick switch to the Glide Wing and accelerate out of there and into safety. Conserve any Berserk Attacks you may have; they'll prove more useful in a few. When the worms try to cross in front of you, turn around so that you are facing frontwards and get ready to shoot down the imminent acid balls with the Glide Wing. After that they'll submerge themselves and return to their position behind you. When they reappear, blast them with the Base Wing's Berserk Attack (if available) or homing lasers from the Heavy Wing. They will return to their previous pattern for a bit, just before charging ahead of you a second time. Following that, the worms will split up and move to the side of you. There's no way to damage them at this point, so wait for them to come out of hiding (be sure to slow down when one cuts right in front of you to avoid damage). Before long, they'll return to their original position directly behind you, giving you a chance to deliver the finishing blow. Ikrakav (Episode 2) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= First of all, it's impossible to cause any damage to Ikrakav from your initial position, so change to the Glide Wing and slow down twice to find yourself behind this beast. Inside the "cage" is a flower--that is your target. Go apeshit on it with bio-lasers from your Heavy Wing, but save any Berserk Attacks you may have for a bit. At this point, Ikrakav has no way to attack you, so don't worry about that. When it reaches about 3/4 health, Ikrakav will rise out of the water, exposing a variety of purple bulbs below the cage portion. Continue to barrage the flower with Heavy lasers, but wait a bit before using your Berserk Attack. After it turns around, use the Glide Wing to accelerate twice back around to the opposite side, giving you a clear shot at the flower again. Now's your chance to hit it hard with a Berserk move. I recommend the Heavy Wing's; it's the most powerful move in the game, and you just need to focus your attention on the flower, as opposed to a wide area. You may notice that the purple bulbs beneath Ikrakav are beginning to swell up. When that happens, pepper it with manual gunfire until it returns to normal size; if it gets too big, it'll burst, unleashing a myriad of acid balls, often times too many to shot down in one go. Also, this enemy will turn around again, meaning you must use the Glide Wing to get in position behind it again. Continue battering the flower, only pausing to shoot at the bulbs every so often and this battle will end before you know it. Sub boss: Mobo & Pals (Episode 3) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This group of four Wormriding foes will drop in from above, then circle to the left. Go to town on them with bio-lasers from the ever-so trusty Heavy Wing, constantly rotating the camera to keep a lock on the enemy. Before long, Mobo will announce that he's gonna use a smoke bomb (don't you just love it when the enemy tells you what they are going to do?). Keep firing until the Wormriders charge straight for you, at which point I recommend morphing into the Glide form to dispel this threat--six missiles. At this point, Mobo will lead his buddies in a circle around you, then charge a second time, leaving behind six more smoke bombs along the way. Continue the assault with your Heavy Wing, unleashing a Berserk Attack if available (the Base Wing's is the most effective in this situation). Soon enough, the crew will pause in front of you and release a salvo of purple energy balls. While gunfire from Orta's manual weapon will do just fine here, the Glide Wing's lasers are more of a sure bet, so use those if you aren't confident in your ability. After this, revert to the Heavy Wing and keep blasting Mobo and co. as they continuously circle around you. If you can't seal the deal quickly, they will regroup and launch two more rounds of smoke bombs your way, so be careful of that. Once you've depleted his Life Gauge, Mobo will cease and desist, realizing that Orta is no Imperial Soldier. Catharp (Episode 3) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= As the fight begins, you will be positioned in front of Catharp, a large skeleton-type enemy. Switch to Heavy Wing form and aim for the small round disc on it's "head." Once you've destroyed it, Catharp will lead over you, so morph to Glide form and accelerate a couple of times to regain your previous position. Once there, pepper it with Heavy Wing lasers, pausing every so often to destroy Catharp's green projectiles with manual gunfire. From there, continue the same pattern--accelerating when needed--until a cutscene introduces the second stage of this battle. When his armor breaks off, Catharp will race ahead, leaving your sight for a few moments. As you catch up to him, accelerate to his frontside and continue the barrage on his head. This time when he jumps, however, you will want to accelerate ahead, otherwise he'll land on top of you. Not good. Anyhoo, attack the head whenever you can, and Catharp will soon race off again. When his head is open again, you will want to blast it with either Heavy Wing bio-lasers or a Berserk Attack to finish off this problematic battle! Guardian Statue (Episode 4) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= From the beginning, switch to Heavy Wing form and pound the highlighted area in the statue's chest. Before long, it'll raise its arms and prepare to blast you with a nasty laser attack. At this point, change to the Glide form and duck out of the way, accelerating if necessary. If you can avoid the laser without boosting, quickly switch to the Heavy Wing between laser blasts and shoot a bit before ducking out of the way again. If not, just wait until he stops firing, then slow down and continue the onslaught. Soon enough, the statue will lower its left arm (although from your perspective its the right arm). Get in a few last minute lasers blasts before dashing out of harm's way in Glide form. When the boulders he's firing from his arm cease, move back into position and revert to the Heavy Wing. Again, target the highlighted circle in the statue's chest, boosting twice in Glide Wing form once he punches at you. At this point, the Guardian Statue will activate it's anti-laser system; the circular target on its chest will disappear completely! In this current state, damaging the statue is impossible. Granted that you accelerated twice before, you should now be hovering above the statue. As the Base Wing, target the rotating circles along the base of the Guardian. Once they've all been destroyed, you are free to return to the statue's front. However, be on the look out for incoming missiles, and shoot them down with manual gunfire. With the anti-laser system out of the picture, slow down twice as the Glide Wing. Switch back to Heavy Wing form and toss everything you've got at the highlighted circle on the statue's chest, which has returned to view now. A single Berserk Attack should be enough to finish off this behemoth of a foe. Dragonmare Squadron (Episode 4) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= At first, this pack of draconic beasts will swoop in behind you, so turn 'round and let loose with shots from the Heavy Wing. Shortly after first appearing, the Dragonmares will fire a round of burning projectiles your way. Although shooting them down with Orta's manual gun is indeed possible, switching to the Glide Wing to destroy them is far easier and much more feasible. Following this, the 'mares will dive below you and unleash another salvo of projectiles. Shoot them down quickly, getting in some hits of your own in between. From this point onward, the Dragonmares will move to various locations around you, always stopping to fire flame missiles when they've got the chance. Be sure to shoot these down in Glide Wing form, but don't forget to fire upon the 'mares yourself. Now would also be a perfect time to let fly with a Berserk Attack, preferably from either the Base or Heavy Wing. After several missiles firings, the pack will group together behind you, preparing for a devastating ram attack. Switch to the Glide Wing as soon as they do this, and accelerate the moment you hear them screech. If done properly, you'll dodge their ramming maneuver. Now, they'll cross to your front side and bombard you with still more missiles. Have your Glide form ready to blast them down. Soon after, the 'mares will lead you into a gauntlet of sorts; an upward climb through a field of flaming projectiles. While blowing right through them with Glide Wing lasers works, boosting through works even better, so do that instead. Following this, the Dragonmares will fly ahead of you, firing wisps of razor-sharp air your way. Remain in Glide form to maneuver around these deadly blasts, holding down the fire button the whole time to cause some damage as you dodge. Once they've finished with the blasts of air, the dragons will split up, each flying right in front of you, leaving a trail of black air behind them. Know that colliding with either the 'mare or the trail left behind will cause damage, so use the Glide Wing to avoid both of the aforementioned. As with before, you will want to keep the A Button held down, as it's likely to cause at least some damage during this time. With that final bullet dodged, the Dragonmares will regroup and return to their original plan of attack. Basically, that means they'll start the pattern all over again, starting with the fiery projectiles. Use this time to cut down their Life Gauge with some Heavy Wing lasers, and perhaps even a Berserk Attack if applicable. Els-Enora (Episode 5) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= During this first stage of the battle, all you can really do is pound Els-Enora with homing lasers. Immediately begin the laser-blasting process as soon as this beast appears to the left of the bridge, and only cease when your foe ducks out of view or blasts some green projectiles your way. In the case of the latter, all you really need to do is shoot out the middle projectile with manual gunfire; the others will miss you anyway. Note that this only applies when he fires three missiles at a time--later on when Els-Enora fires four or more at a time you'll need to shoot them all down. Once you've brought Els-Enora down to about 2/3 health, it will destroy a portion of the bridge, forcing the Dragon to take to the skies again. At this point, all three morph forms will be at your disposal once more, along with their respective Berserk Attacks. Very nice. Begin by peppering Els- Enora with bio-lasers from the Heavy Wing, making sure you use manual fire to block the incoming projectiles. When it seems as though all the targets have disappeared, switch to Glide Wing form and accelerate ahead to position yourself beneath one of the beast's wings. Use the Base Wing to quickly fire some homing lasers at the four targets under the wing, then use manual fire to dispel the pink energy blobs fired at you, then return your focus to blasting the wings with lasers. When Els-Enora slows down and you go flying ahead of it, quickly decelerate to pull underneath it's other wing. Use the same steps as you did with the first wing. Now would also be a terrific time to use a Berserk Attack, if at all possible. At this point, Els-Enora will charge straight ahead, performing a strange spinning move as it goes. Soon enough, it will release a myriad of white feather that cause damage should you collide with one. To prevent this, shoot through them in Glide Wing form, and accelerate forward if necessary. Next, it will return to its original pattern, allowing you to boost under its wings again and continue the assault. Keep this up and Els-Enora will begin to spasm, causing damage to itself and releasing a volley of green projectiles. Shoot these down to cause even more damage to the creature, and the battle will end within mere moments. Sub boss: Atish (Episode 6) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= As this confrontation begins, you'll be diving through a narrow tunnel with Atish, a robotic foe of some sort, in hot pursuit. Start off by switching to Heavy Wing form and hammering this enemy with bio-lasers. When you see a small missile appear at any one of Atish's four corners, immediately morph into Glide form to shoot it down; not only will this eliminate any danger, but it will also cause some damage to Atish. Nice! Following the destruction of all eight missiles (two from each corner), revert to Heavy form and keep firing until you exit the tunnel and enter a large, open chamber. At this point, quickly switch to the Glide Wing and accelerate to avoid a ramming attack from Atish. After that, you'll enter a second tunnel, where Atish will resume its pattern, starting with more missiles. Don't hesitate to unleash the Heavy Wing's Berserk Attack the moment it's available; using it will end the battle significantly quicker. One last thing to note is that Atish's missiles now move noticeably faster, so you'll want to shoot them down ASAP. Sub boss: Diodopure Lv1 (Episode 7) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= For this battle, you'll want to use the Glide Wing to dole out some major damage. Thanks in no small part to a massive laser beam that the Diodopure can (and will) fire all the time, you'll need the Glide forms maneuverability. Anyway, hold down the fire button to keep a continuous stream of fire headed toward the blue object constantly moving across the Diodopure. Now then, as for the Diodopure's laser--it can be evaded, and quite easily at that. Basically, the laser can only move up or sideways from where it was last fired, meaning that if you position yourself diagonally across from the beam it won't be able to hit you. Very nice. Once the first Life Gauge has been depleted, you'll destroy the Diodopure's outer barrier and disable its laser. At this point, switch to Heavy form and start pounding what remains of the Diodopure, all the while dodging its blue lasers. After a short while, you'll destroy the thing, and receive a Gene Base as a reward. Sweet! Sub boss: Central Data Unit Ofnir (Episode 7) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Your foe here is a giant robotic worm, reminiscent of the Yondo-Worms seen in the second episode. Note that this enemy cannot be damaged when its body is completely white; you must wait until the actual worm becomes visible. From the start, following Ofnir's various movements as he heads behind you before becoming visible. Be ready to unleash some Heavy Wing lasers as soon as possible. He'll only be vulnerable for a few seconds, so make good use of what precious little time you have. When Ofnir moves in front of you, swivel to face it and continue blasting without relent. After but a few seconds in front of you, Ofnir moves to your back, only to execute a nasty ramming attack. Accelerate out of harm's way in Glide form. It will circle around before coming back for a second attempt to crash into you; apply the same tactics as before and you will be golden. From here on, Ofnir will fly far ahead of you and fire a series of green projectiles back toward you. Shoot down any incoming missiles with Orta's manual gun, but don't bother with the ones that will obviously miss their intended mark (you). Subsequent to a small turn from Ofnir, you should see a ring off in the distance. Destroy this at all costs! I cannot stress how important it is that you eliminate this ring; if Ofnir flies through it, it will regain ALL of its health, forcing you to more or less restart the battle. Keep firing upon this worm and he'll bite the dust soon. Sub boss: Diodopure Lv2 (Episode 7) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= A perfect mirror of the earlier fight with Diodopure Lv1, apply the same tactics here to score a win. At first, blast away in Glide Wing form while dodging the laser cannon (which still cannot move diagonally). Once you've depleted Lv2's first Life Gauge, switch to the Heavy Wing and slam it with repeated lasers to end the fight. Easy! Abadd (Episode 7) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This battle begins with you facing backwards, your massive adversary right in front of you. Send him some good will with the Heavy Wing and he'll zip ahead of you; swing 'round frontside to face him. From this position Abadd will start firing white beams at you, so veer to the side (in Glide Wing form if need be) to evade them, returning fire of your own the whole time. Following this, Abadd pulls up right next to you, pausing for a moment before smashing you with his mighty fist. Do yourself a favor and dash out of the way as the Glide Wing. Pound on him for a while longer, then go back to the trusty Glide form to avoid another round of nasty white beams. He'll pull up next to you a second time, again preparing to whack you with his mighty fist of doom. Be sure to accelerate out of harm's way, eh? Now, Abadd will move in front of you, revealing a weak spot on his back (indicated by a handy flashing cursor). Aim for that point with your Heavy Wing. When he turns to face you and starts charging up an attack, boost twice to get ahead of him, at which point you can continue your assault. However, when he leans his head back you'll want to decelerate to escape any possible danger from laser fire. Accelerate back to the front once he stops firing. Eventually, (when he's got less than half his Life Gauge remaining) Abadd will shift behind you before lunging ahead to grab a triangle of small stones that have appeared in front. He'll then drop behind you again; be sure to keep him in plain sight. Soon enough, Abadd will send the three stones ahead, and they'll form odd shapes before blasting lasers at you. Use the Glide Wing to veer away from the blasts. Following about six or seven rounds of lasers, the stones will disappear, so take this opportunity to hammer Abadd with everything you've got (Heavy Wing lasers or Berserk Attacks, if applicable). From here on in, Abadd will repeat this process until either he kills you or you defeat him. Fortunately, the lasers shot out from Abadd's stones are insanely easy to avoid, so finishing off this battle shouldn't prove too difficult a task. Sub boss: Assault Carrier Vermana REVIVED (Episode 8) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Remember this not-so-friendly airship from the very first level? Well, its back, albeit in a slightly less-maneuverable form. As you pass beneath it, let loose a few blasts in Heavy Wing form, then change your target to the multiple sets of Hovertank Dahra on the deck as they enter view. Be sure to shoot down their missiles as soon as they are fired, since they'll be too overwhelming if you wait even a moment too long. Before long, you'll travel to the far side of Vermana, where two cannon platforms are positioned far below you. Fire away at them, stopping every so often to dispel the fired missiles with manual gunfire or via the Glide Wing's rapidfire capabilities. From here, you'll move to Vermana's side, prompting it to release several remote missiles. Just like the first time you did battle with this battleship, you can either accelerate out of the way or shoot them down as the Glide Wing. Whichever floats your boat. At this point, you'll return to the side of the ship with all the Hovertank Dahra and the battle will re-begin from the start. Keep up the same strategy, constantly blasting the ship with bio-lasers whenever you're open and the battle will soon come to an end. Imperial Defense Unit Bacharsuha (Episode 8) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Right off the bat, change to the Heavy Wing and start pounding the indicated target on the Bacharsuha's center. When you see the right arm (the one on your left) coming toward you, quickly duck down to avoid getting whacked; hold down for a few moments until the left arm (on your right) passed by, as well. Fire off a few more rounds of lasers before switching to Glide form to shoot down the incoming missiles fired by the Bacharsuha. Now, the massive battleship will turn around completely, so that its back faces you. Take this opportunity to destroy the two arms with blasts from your Heavy Wing. After making short work of those, accelerate twice in Glide form to take up your original position in front of the Bacharsuha again. Take down any missiles on the way while still in the form of the Glide Wing, then regress to the Heavy form and keep hammering the cursor- marked area of your foe. Once again, it will turn around 180 degrees, so slow down two times to catch up with it. Deliver some steady blows to the ship (now wouldn't be a bad time to fire a Berserk), and it will restore its two arms. Repeated its steps from the beginning of this battle, the Bacharsuha will swing its two appendages at you, first left (your left, that is) then right. Drive downward hard to evade this. Just a few more laser blasts and you'll enter stage two of this fight. Quickly jump into the Glide Wing form, as you'll need a highly maneuverable dragon to dodge this next bullet. As the various arms now surrounding your enemy charge up beams of blue electricity, you will need to dodge under or over each beam. Generally, all you need to do is rhythmically move the thumbstick up then down then up and back again. Once you get the timing down its a snap. Be sure to hold down A while doing this to fire at anything you can and cause a bit of extra damage. When the arms stop, quickly target them in Heavy Wing form and destroy them all. Make sure you watch out for an incoming salvo of missiles from above, however, otherwise you may be left feeling ambushed. Either way, once the missiles have all been destroyed/have detonated upon you, the Bacharsuha will begin to climb upwardly. During this ascension, each of its arms will fire massive balls of energy at you, so move around in a circle as the Glide Wing to dodge them. When you even out again, you will pull in right in front of the battleship. Cause some quick hell with your Heavy Wing on the three specified locations, only pausing when you notice spiraling red dots gathering in front of the ship. This signifies that it is about to unleash a devastating laser, so accelerate out of the way (you'll have to do it three times). Now then, when the laser stops firing, you should take the initiative and start blasting with your Heavy Wing lasers. Don't be afraid to fire off a Berserk Attack, also, as it would work wonders here, possibly ending the battle. Again the laser beam will start up, so slow down a few times to get out of the way, then repeat the previous steps. After a third round of lasers, the Bacharsuha will retreat to the bottom of the battlefield, where it will repeat its pattern, starting with the arms firing electricity. Hopefully it will have only a sliver of life remaining, allowing you to end the battle with a few more shots. If not, apply the same tactics you used earlier; you've seen everything this boss will throw at you by now. Dragonmare Squadron (Episode 9) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= This pack of angry winged beasts from Episode 4 have "wisen fwom their gwaves" (go go Altered Beast reference!) to haunt you once more. This battle is a near mirror of the aforementioned one, only a bit more difficult, and with a mixed up attack pattern. Unlike the first time you faced these guys, they'll immediately split apart and flying directly in front of you, leaving dangerous black trails of painful goo behind them. To avoid this, morph into Glide form and dodge out of the way, holding down the fire button as you go (in an attempt to dole out at least a small bit o' damage). Subsequently, the 'mares will congregate in front of you and unleash a barrage of razor sharp air blasts. As with the black trails, evade them compliments of the Glide Wing's sick tight maneuverability. When they've finished with those, the Dragonmares all move behind you, so quickly turn to face them and give 'em hell in Heavy form. Note that they will also pepper you with fiery projectiles during this point; shooting them down with Orta's handgun can be a wee bit tricky, so use the Glide Wing if you are having trouble. After a short round of fiery missiles, the 'mares will lure you into an upward climb (of doom). Accelerate through to avoid the debris left in your foes' wake, then turn to face them as they gather behind you. By now, it should go without saying that you're pounding them with Heavy Wing lasers at every possible opportunity. Now then, be ready for a few more shots of fiery projectiles before they move to your bottom left. From here, they'll let loose on your with many, many burning missiles. Shoot them down, preferably in Heavy Wing form (or at the very least as the Base Wing), all the while chipping away at their Life Gauge with constant laser shots. After a few moments, the pack will relocate to your upper right, where they'll repeat the same steps as before. No biggie--you know the deal by now. Following a quick maneuver behind you, the 'mares will dash ahead, still using the fiery missiles as their number one means of offense. After one or two rounds of the projectiles, they'll split up and take it from the top, starting again with the black trails of painful goo attack. Repeat the steps you took from the beginning of the battle and you'll end it in no time flat. Cool beans! Abadd, Stage 1 (Episode 10) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= As soon as this battle commences, change to the Heavy Wing and start smashing the spiky structure ahead with bio-lasers. However, when several green organisms appear in a circle around the spiky structure, quickly switch to Glide Wing form to shoot them down. If you let these green guys stick around for too long, they'll fire a nasty laser that's pretty much impossible to dodge, so you want to make sure you clear them all out. Following that, return to Heavy form to continue the barrage, only to change back to the Glide Wing again to dispel more green organisms. Repeat this pattern a third time and Abadd will toss something new in your direction. The orange spiky things arranged in a circle around the main structure will fire a powerful laser beam, so change to Glide Wing form and slow down once to avoid the first round of lasers, then a second time to evade still more beams of doom. After this, Abadd will launch a myriad of projectiles high into the air. Hastily shoot these down, then make the switch to Heavy form to end the battle. A single Berserker blast from your Heavy Wing is enough to deplete 3/4 of this beast's life, and basic lasers will finish things off right nice. Abadd, Stage 2 (Episode 10) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Start off hammering this dragon-like form with Heavy Wing lasers, pausing only when he ducks underwater to avoid the serious heat you're packin'. When he moves in front of you, he'll soon disappear into the void; this is your cue to switch to Glide Wing form and accelerate toward the water. If done correctly, you'll evade a nasty laser attack. Repeat this a second time when Abadd disappears again. As he reappears, he'll pull right in front of you, with his lengthy tail dangling behind. Use the Heavy Wing form to pound on him a bit, all the while weaving left and right, left and right to avoid getting smacked by Abadd's tail. Before long, you'll pull ahead of him, so switch to a smaller form, otherwise you might just collide with one his wings, taking on some unnecessary damage. At this point, he'll duck into the water above (the "sky") and move ahead of you; swivel around to face him as he reappears. Get a few quick blasts in using the Heavy Wing, then change to Base form and lock-on as many times as possible, but do NOT shoot yet. Doing so will leave you wide open for Abadd's most potent attack, a devilish bio-laser of his own that is your worst nightmare (even scarier than Gene Simmons!). So listen up, hold your locks until a green sphere encircles your Dragon and you hear a high-pitched beeping sound. When such occurs, let loose your lasers to negate his homing capabilities. Repeat this process until he ceases his attempts to use lock-on lasers. Now then, if Abadd still hasn't croaked yet, he'll disappear into thin air and blast a tricky laser beam at you. Fortunately, you've got this nifty guide sitting right in front of you, so you know exactly what to do! Using the Glide Wing (y'know, for the righteous maneuverability) and move in a clockwise circle. Doing so will allow you to dash around his blasts with the greatest of ease. When he makes his dreaded reappearance from the void, he'll move behind you, so swing the camera around and start blasting (with the Heavy Wing, of course). Very soon, he'll submerge himself and move quickly toward you. When he jumps out of the water at you, make a swift change to Glide form and boost out of the way. You'll be able to see his tail/wings sticking out of the water, so use that as a reference to know when to get out of the way. Following that, he'll do the exact same thing again, only this time he'll hide in the sky above you. You can avoid it the same way, however. Subsequently, Abadd will appear shortly behind you before diving underwater and plowing ahead. Fortunately, his wings stick out of the water, so target those to cause some damage. From here on in, he'll return to the beginning of his pattern. Basically what that means is this: if he isn't dead yet, start reading the first paragraph of this strategy again. Abadd, Stage 3 (Episode 10) =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Throughout the majority of this final stage, you'll want to remain in Base Wing form, as Abadd likes to use his lock-on lasers moreso than ever before. You'll be using the same tactics as before to destroy his lock-on capabilities: get as many locks as you can, but don't fire until you hear the shrill ringing sound and see the green sphere around your Dragon. You may also wanna note that a Berserk Attack from the Base Wing will work wonders in this battle, negating Abadd's lasers and causing insane amounts of damage. Let it go as soon as possible. From the start of this fight, you'll want to apply the laser-destroying tactics I mentioned above. When Abadd makes an abrupt turn, you should change to Heavy form and start pounding on him with bio-lasers, as he's going to take a break from his lasers for a moment. Before long, however, he'll revert to his tactics of old, so make the switch to Base form and continue the defensive work. Also, note that when your foe pulls right in front of you, you'll want to veer to the right to avoid being hit by that long tail of his. =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= VIII ---------------------------------------------------- UNLOCKABLES =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= Plenty o' things to unlock, and Jill, the master of unlocking, is nowhere to be found. Gonna have to do all the legwork yourself. ======================= ORIGINAL PANZER DRAGOON ======================= There are two ways to unlock a playable version of the original Panzer Dragoon game for the Sega Saturn. Either beat the game a single time on (regardless of the difficulty level--any one will work) or amass five total hours of play time. Both are relatively simple. Check out chapter IX for more in-depth information on this totally terrific game. =============== UNLOCK BOX GAME =============== Amass 15 total hours of play time (not including time spent on menus) or beat the main game on Hard mode to unlock Box Game, which allows you to play through any of the 10 main episodes with special conditions, such as increased or decreased statistics or different characters. =================== UNLOCK SUB MISSIONS =================== Found under the Sub scenarios heading in Pandora's Box, there are five extra missions to unlock and enjoy. Mission 1 - Beat the game on Hard mode Mission 2 - Beat Episode 4 on any difficulty level Mission 3 - Beat the game on Hard mode Mission 4 - Beat the game on any difficulty level Mission 5 - Beat Mission 4 (the one directly above this) And there you have it. ===================================== UNLOCK IMPERIAL BOY (IVA'S SCENARIOS) ===================================== Iva's first mission is unlocked after beating Episode 4: Gigantic Fleet. The remaining six missions are opened up as you progress through each respective level in Iva's scenario. =================== UNLOCK ENCYCLOPEDIA =================== In order to unlock the three subsections in the Encyclopedia found in Pandora's Box, you need to complete a few tasks. To unlock "Creatures", you must defeat 90% of the enemies in any episode. The "Empire" option is unlocked by destroying 90% of the Imperial enemies in an episode (try Episodes 1, 4, or 8). Finally, "World" is unlocked once you beat the game a single time, regardless of the difficulty level. ================= UNLOCK EVERYTHING ================= To unlock everything in Pandora's Box, simply accumulate 20 total hours of play time (time spent on menus doesn't count). The best way to do this is to choose Mission 3: Enemy Attack! (in the Sub scenarios) and leave the game on over night. This mission automatically restarts, so amassing the appropriate time will be easy. =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= IX ------------------------------- ORIGINAL PANZER DRAGOON "MINI-FAQ" =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= "Empire is seeking to harness the power of an ancient tower that houses a devastating arsenal of powerful weapons. With these weapons, Empire hopes to destroy the menace of the bio-weapons and unite the world under its rule. Your name is Kyle Fluge. You are traveling on the Great Plains as a member of a hunting party when you come across a ferocious battle between two great dragons. As you watch, the rider of the blue dragons is fatally wounded. He falls to your feet, but before he dies, he charges you with a quest; to take his place upon the blue dragon and prevent the Dark Dragon from reuniting with Tower..." - Instruction manual Unlocked after beating the game once on any difficulty setting or by amassing five hours of total play time, the game that began it all returns in all its glory. .----------. | CONTROLS \_______________________________________________________________ | ======== | | Start -------------------------------------------------------- Pause game | | Left Thumbstick ----------------- Move targeting reticle / Control Dragon | | A/B Buttons ------------------------------------- Gunfire / Homing lasers | | X/Y Buttons ------------------------------------------------- Switch view | | Left Trigger ----------------------------------------- Rotate camera left | | Right Trigger --------------------------------------- Rotate camera right | |___________________________________________________________________________| ===== CODES ===== The following codes work ONLY for the original Panzer Dragoon; don't bother trying to use them for Orta. Go to the original's main screen and enter the following codes to activate their respective cheats. By the way, L and R stand for the Left and Right Triggers, respectively. If left and right are written out, press that direction on the D-Pad. Everything else should be self- explanatory. Invincible Mode - Makes you invincible, duh! =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= L, L, R, R, Up, Down, Left, Right Rolling Mode - Activates Rolling Mode =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Up, Right, Down, Left, Up, Right, Down, Left, Up, Right, Down, Left, Up, Right, Down, Left Stage Select - Choose any stage to play =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, X, Y, White Play Stage 0 - Unlock a secret stage! =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, L, R Wizard Mode - The game plays much faster =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= L, R, L, R, Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right Watch Ending - Watch the game's ending without even beating it! =~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= Up, Up, Down, Up, Right, Right, Left, Right, Down, Down, Up, Down, Left, Left, Right, Left =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= X --------------------------------------------------------------- FAQ =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= Frequently Asked Questions... 1. JUST WHAT IS PANZER DRAGOON ORTA? IS IT AN RPG LIKE PD SAGA? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No, Panzer Dragoon Orta is a rail-shooter in the vein of the original Panzer Dragoon, as well as its first sequel, Zwei. By a rail-shooter, what I mean is that while you can freely move your Dragon about to evade enemy attacks, you are confined a one sole path. Other examples of rail-shooters include Ikaruga, Star Fox, Gradius, and Radiant Silvergun. 2. HOW DO I UNLOCK THE ORIGINAL PANZER DRAGOON? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are two ways to do it: either beat the main game once (on any difficulty level) or accumulate five total hours of play time (not including time spent on menus screens). 3. OKAY, SO I UNLOCKED THE ORIGINAL PD. CAN I GET ZWEI AND/OR SAGA? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nope. Unfortunately, neither Zwei nor Saga can be unlocked; just the game that started it all. 4. WHAT'S WITH THE DIALOGUE? WHAT LANGUAGE ARE THEY SPEAKING? CAN I CHANGE IT? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The language is an imaginary one referred to as "Panzerese" within the Panzer Dragoon community. From what I know, it's based somewhat off of Latin. Anyway, there is no way to change it to English, Japanese, or anything else. Too bad. 5. DO BOX GAME SCORES COUNT TOWARD MY FLIGHT RECORDS? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No, they don't. With the increased Berserk and Life options, attaining the high-end rankings would be far too easy, lowering the sense of achievement when someone actually receives a top five or so ranking. 6. WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO AMASS THE 20 HOURS NEEDED TO UNLOCK PANDORA'S BOX? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are two good ways to accumulate all 20 hours needed to unlock everything in Pandora's Box. Since pausing the game doesn't count towards your time, you will need to try something else. The best way is to simply play the game over and over. It's a good game, right? So why would you want to cheat yourself? Anyway, if you really want to accumulate the time cheaply, just select Mission 3 (Enemy Attack!) in Pandora's Box and let it play by itself. The mission repeats itself automatically, so you can leave it playing over night and enjoy your results in the morning. 7. WHICH DRAGON MORPH FORM IS THE BEST? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Truth be told, there is no "best" form. Each of the three really shines under very different circumstances. The Base Wing is the best choice for destroying an army of foes, where as the Heavy Wing is the perfect remedy for a tough boss or small pack of enemies. The Glide Wing, on the other hand, is a defensive form moreso than anything else--use it to shoot down incoming projectiles. For anyone who may be interested, though, I apparently use the Base Wing 38% of the time, whereas the Heavy Wing and Glide Wing have been used 36% and 26%, respectively. This information can be found within Pandora's Box, under the heading "Flight Records." 8. IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE SAVED GAME AT A TIME? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unfortunately, the answer to your inquiry is no. Only one saved game can be recorded at a time, so you either need to beat the game quickly (it's not too hard to beat it in one sitting, y'know) or make sure someone else doesn't save over your data. 9. WHILE FIGHTING THE FINAL BOSS, HOW DO I DODGE HIS HOMING LASERS? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is kind of tricky. When you get to the part where he is about ready to use his homing lasers, switch to your Base Wing form and get as many locks as possible, but hold them in, don't shoot yet. Wait until you hear a shrill ringing sound and a green sphere encircles your dragon. That's your cue to shoot. If done correctly, you'll take out the threat of his lasers. Rinse and repeat. =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= XI ------------------------------------------------- REVISION HISTORY =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= Care to take a gander at what can be found in this version of the FAQ? If so, this is the place to be! =============== CURRENT VERSION =============== Version 1.13 / March 13, 2005 Allowed and to host this FAQ. ============= PAST VERSIONS ============= Version 1.13 / February 6, 2005 Thanks to Cham for pointing out yet another Play Style that I missed. In addition to adding that in, I also made a few aesthetic changes. Version 1.12 / October 9, 2004 Thanks to Daniel Hoffman for telling me about a Play Style that I somehow missed. It is no longer missing. Version 1.11 / July 25, 2004 Spellchecked the entire document, making it easier for you readers to browse the guide without getting confused by improper spellings. Or something. Version 1.1 / July 20, 2004 The first, fourth, and fifth Sub scenario Missions have been completed, only leaving two more before the guide is entirely finished. Version 1.0 / July 16, 2004 The first version of this guide. The walkthrough is entirely complete, as well as the vast majority of the remaining chapters. All that needs to be finished up at this point are the Sub scenarios, where I must get to work on Mission 1-5. Look for them soon! =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= XII ------------------------------------------------ LEGAL DISCLAIMER =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= This document is copyright (c) 2003-2005 Chris Noonan (American Arsenal). It is not to be reproduced in any way, shape, or form. However, feel free to download it, print it out for personal use, or send it to your buddies, as long as you leave it unaltered and do not make a profit off of it. Doing so would be very illegal, so I suggest that you do nothing of the sort. One final note: this document should absolutely *NOT* be found on any websites with the exception of , , , and . Don't even bother asking for permission to use it, as the answer will always be no. =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= XIII -------------------------------------------------------- CLOSING =--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--=+=--= Shocking as it may be, it's finally come time for me to shut up and put an end to this madness. But first, allow me to give props to those who really deserve it. Fall to your knees and worship for the following people who made the creation of this guide possible. Worship, I say! --- CJayC Because he dedicates his life to upkeeping the best site in existence. If I was wearing a hat, I'd tip it to you. --- and For not stealing my FAQs. And also for hosting them after I said told them they could. --- Silverdragon2 S/he contributed the list of Rankings waaaaaay back at the beginning of this FAQ's lifespan. Thanks a million, guy/gal! --- Daniel Hoffman and Cham For informing me about a couple of Play Styles that I happened to miss (Gunner and Seeker). --- Thuyker Without his terrific guide, I never would've located some of the Gene Bases scattered throughout the game. And now, although you seem compelled to read these guide from start to end, I'm afraid I have nothing left to say to you. Sowwy. T H A N K S F O R R E A D I N G ! ! ----------------------------------------------------------- And that's the end! I certainly hope you found this guide helpful in some way, and if you did, please check out my CRP for numerous other guides of similar quality: -- http://gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/39691.html -- _______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright (c) 2004-2005 Chris Noonan. All rights reserved.