Operation Ragnarok (Uncle Beard, Wave/A S/Wave, autofire) Clear
Played with autofire (normal)
Character : Uncle Beard
Shot : Wave
Missile : A S
Rear : Wave
Final score : 3 958 550
This weapon type is usually used by score players, as it is the one with the most potential. I wanted to do a clear with it, but figured it might be the opportunity to get a higher overall score in the game. I tried to see how far I could push the score with my current strats and knowledge of the game (I have seen top scoring replays but haven't studied them to the point of applying the most advanced strats). This score is far from optimal, I don't really score on the last part of the game. I am rather satisfied with it for the time being despite that I still have much more to uncover, something I may do in the future (despite the port gaving some issues for scoring). This ship type is not the easiest to handle : out of all the weapon combinations it is the one that leaves the most blind spots on the front. It is however a pretty powerfull weapon type with unique firing angles, and can be suited for some players even for survival.
Battle is Begun : The highest scoring stage in the game, and the one that has made its infamous reputation. It's really tricky to reach the perfect milking spots on the floor, so I didn't bother too much with that. Ideally you should never want to move out of the floor and only destroy the ennemies with the missiles. It's also possible to suicide to get more power-ups early on (with some memory manipulation for avoiding the bomb drop). Bombs can used for crossing the two cliffs while staying inside the floor (1:42).
Roc Carrier : I did not power-up as I should have in the stage (accidently took too one missile instead of a shot) which limited my scoring possibilites. Here you want to stay in the ground as much as possible and destroy zakos with missiles without dammaging the core.
Lunar : In this stage it's possible to shoot on the towers and structures (frame button seems to allows to have a perfect placement as the screen scrolls). The best way to milk the caterpillar ennemy (6:01) is to get underneath it, which is riskier than the spot I used. The ennemies firing with their arms (7:18) can also be milked more efficiently by going underneath the arms, there will be more of them later in the game. The last ennemies that can be milked are the mechas throwing grenades (7:53).
Moon Walker : Again I played it safe here and did not go too close to the boss to milk, you can go much closer.
Mars : As I still don't know how to deal with the crushing ennemy I use a bomb to pass it safely (12:11). The snake section at the end needs improvement, you can get much more points out of them.
Cosmic Slime : This boss can be tricky so I first use a bomb to weaken it before milking it (by trying not to dammage the core). It's best to start the fight at the bottom of the screen (not what I did so you can get to milk some bullets before hitting the slimes).
Asteroid : This is one of the few stages with some floors and ceillings you can milk, but as there's many ennemies and asteroids it's important to focus on those as well. I haven't studied the stage enough so I focus on the ennemies. The big ship firing rockets can be milked very easily by doing some sweeps (17:57). I milk the walls for a bit, but for better milking it's best to bomb without killing the weak point, pass the wall, and then milk with the rear wave.
Constrictor : This boss can be milked more effectively and longer. After a totally stupid death I decided to kill the boss pretty quickly.
Surface of Jupiter : No scoring done on this stage and any other later stages (aside from just shooting at things) . This type is really good for the end section with the snakes.
Loki : It's possible to milk the arms and the asteroids without taking much risks. The second phase drags out with this ship due to its innability to do precise and consistent dammage.
Frontier of Solar System : A pretty suited type for dealing with ennemies. A silly death at 27:43, no idea why I didn't just bomb.
Big Bill : One of the worst types for this boss fight because of the wave blindspots that aren't compensated by a forward-firing missile. Since I didn't hit the boss properly I died despite using two bombs, and even missed a power-up due to being a bit greedy.
Yggdrasil : A really effective type for this stage, I just ended up using more bombs than needed because I was powered-down
Insane Ship : This formation is effective on this boss due to the waves and missiles' firing angles.
Valkyrie : Not my best final stage, I died early on to a configuration I can regularly dodge without bombing (32:42), partly because I was a bit late on ennemy destruction (because of still being powered-down). Played it very safe when I was on my last life.
Played live on twitch on December 5th of 2024 :
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2242624870
Played on Arcade Archives port on Playstation 4