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A Comprehensive Walkthrough/FAQ by Thuyker
Version 1.4
E-mail: Thuyker AT aol DOT com
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===============================================================================
Table of Contents
===============================================================================
1. Introduction
2. FAQ
3. Gameplay Basics
A. Game Controls
B. Dragon Morph Forms
C. Leveling Up
D. General Strategies
4. Walkthrough
A. Episode 1: City in the Storm
B. Episode 2: Altered Genos
C. Episode 3: The Fallen Ground
D. Episode 4: Gigantic Fleet
E. Episode 5: Eternal Glacies
F. Episode 6: Legacy
G. Episode 7: Forbidden Memories
H. Episode 8: Imperial City
I. Episode 9: Showdown
J. Episode 10: The End of Destiny
5. Sub-Scenarios
I. Scenarios (Iva's)
A. Epeisodion 1: Death of my Father
B. Epeisodion 2: Imperial Military School
C. Epeisodion 3: Loneliness
D. Epeisodion 4: Friends
E. Epeisodion 5: Village of the Seekers
F. Epeisodion 6: Vengeance
G. Epeisodion 7: Inescapable Fate
II. Missions
A. Mission 1: A Shot in the Dark
B. Mission 2: The Fury of Mobo
C. Mission 3: Enemy Attack!
D. Mission 4: Quick Shooter 1
E. Mission 5: Quick Shooter 2
6. Glossary
7. Guide Information
A. Version History
B. Email information
C. Credits
D. Legal Stuff
Released in January of 2003, Panzer Dragoon Orta certainly did not set any
records for game sales. Then again, noone really expected it to; Panzer
Dragoon games, and rail shooters in general, are widely regarded as niche
games. Games that appeal more to the "hardcore," rather than the mainstream.
Nonetheless, I decided to give the game a chance, and I discovered that this
game is simply one of the best I have ever played. Months after it was
released, I find myself spending more time with it than I do with other, more
recent games.
Panzer Dragoon Orta simply does everything well, in regards to graphics, sound,
and most importantly, gameplay. It provides such a wonderful gaming experience
that it would be a shame for any gamer to miss it, whether they are "hardcore"
or "casual" when it comes to gaming. Having said that, I sincerely hope that
my walkthrough is a helpful source of information for any Panzer Dragoon fan.
Good luck!
A: It's a rail shooter. In other words, your path is, for the most part,
controlled automatically. While you can move your dragon around the screen,
you will still be moving towards a certain destination. One of the things
that makes Orta really stand out, however, is the ability to choose between
different pathways (although they still eventually lead to the same goal)
throughout the game.
---
Q: Wouldn't this be a better game if you could fly wherever you wanted?
A: In my opinion, no. While the definition of "rail shooter" sounds somewhat
limiting, the gameplay simply works. It provides non-stop action and a
gaming experience that is unmatched. A great deal of strategy is needed to
do well in this game, and with everything that is going on at once, pure
freedom would most likely result in only confusion and frustration. If you
still insist on pure flying freedom, however, you'll be able to do a little
of this in the sub-scenarios.
---
Q: What dragon form is the best?
A: There really is no one best form - it really just depends on your style of
play. In fact, the game will even categorize your style, depending on what
forms you use most (a "Specialist," for example, uses the Heavy and/or Glide
Wing more then 50% of the time). Each form has advantages and disadvantages,
as explained in further detail below.
---
Q: When should I use a certain dragon form?
A: I personally switch forms quite often, depending on the situation. For
example, I use the Heavy Wing almost exclusively during boss battles, with a
little bit of Glide Wing thrown in when I need some defensive capability.
Other timess, there are large numbers of enemies that are easily-killed;
thus, the extra power of the Heavy Wing is not needed, and the Base or Glide
Wing would suit the situation better. Having said that, it is absolutely
possible to go through the game using a single, favorite form, although this
would make things more difficult.
---
Q: What are the differences between the Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulties?
A: There are quite a few differences. As you progress to harder difficulties,
you'll find that enemies are oftentimes tougher, most notably the bosses.
Not only can they take more damage, but they often fire more projectiles,
forcing you to be on the defensive a greater percentage of the time. Also,
you'll notice, especially on Hard difficulty, that your health does not
regenerate completely from Episode to Episode, as it does in Easy.
Fortunately, the number of enemies you face, and the patterns they appear
in, do not change.
---
Q: I need help with (Boss' name here). How do I defeat it?
A: I describe strategies for each of the game's bosses (and mini-bosses) in
the walkthrough below. Of course, feel free to try different things. Note,
however, that in many battles, certain strategies are a must to succeed,
i.e. boosting to get into position. Also, try checking out the Boss FAQ by
"Lord Alan."
---
Q: I want to unlock everything in Pandora's Box, and I know that playing for
20 hours will do that. Can I just pause the game during an Episode and
leave it there?
A: First off, let me say that it is much more rewarding (and enjoyable) to
actually play for the whole 20 hours. Anyway, simply pausing the game
during an Episode will not work. SPOILER WARNING: However, leaving the
game running during Mission 3 in Pandora's Box will, as it repeats itself
over and over even without your input. I really suggest you not do this,
however!
===============================================================================
3. Game Basics
===============================================================================
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= 3A. Game Controls =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
-(A) Button-
Hold down while moving your targeting reticle over enemies to lock-on your
lasers (if in Base or Heavy Wing form). Repeatedly tap to fire Orta's
manual weapon.
-(X) Button-
Boost to move your dragon into position and/or ram enemies.
-(B) Button-
Slow down your dragon to move into position, etc.
-(Y) Button-
Change to the next morph form (from Base Wing to Heavy Wing to Glide Wing
and back around).
-(Black) and (White) Buttons-
Launch berserk attack (if the meter is full).
-(Start) Button-
Pause the game, bring up the game menu.
-Left Trigger-
Turn your view 90 degrees to the left.
-Right Trigger-
Turn your view 90 degrees to the right.
-Left Trigger + Right Trigger (at same time)-
Rotate your view 180 degrees.
-Left Thumbstick-
Move your targeting reticle and the dragon.
-Right Thumbstick-
Push in to launch a berserk attack (if the meter is full).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= 3B. Dragon Morph Forms =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
There are three morph forms that your dragon can take the shape of: the Glide
Wing, the Base Wing, and the Heavy Wing. Each has its own strengths and
weaknesses, and you'll find that each will have its uses, depending on the
situation.
+------------
- Base Wing -
------------+
This is the most all-around form, offering a good balance between attack
capabilities and defensive abilities. It can lock-on to quite a few more
targets at once than the Heavy Wing, yet it does not do as much damage with
each shot. It also has the ability to boost and/or slow down twice in a row
with a full glide gauge, and Orta's manual weapon fires quicker than it does
with the Heavy Wing. Finally, the berserk attack lets loose a countless
number of lasers that can absolutely decimate any swarms of smaller enemies
on screen.
+-------------
- Heavy Wing -
-------------+
While the Heavy Wing cannot lock-on to nearly as many enemies as the Base
Wing (at Level 1, it has a maximum of 3, compared to 8 for the Base Wing),
it does far more damage per laser shot. Obviously, this is the form to use
when there are only a small number of durable, powerful enemies on screen -
not when there are swarms of weaker enemies. This is especially evident
when using the berserk attack. The berserk must be manually aimed, and so
it is not effective on large numbers of enemies, but does massive damage to
a select few targets (i.e. most bosses). The Heavy Wing's defensive
capabilities are the weakest of the three forms: not only does Orta's manual
weapon fire slower, but the dragon does not have the ability to boost or
slow down. Fortunately, you can quickly switch to the Glide Wing to better
defend yourself.
+-------------
- Glide Wing -
-------------+
The Glide Wing is easily the quickest and most maneuverable of the three
morph forms. While it does not have the ability to lock-on to any enemies,
the manual weapon fires at an extrememly high rate. This makes it an ideal
form to use when you need to shoot down incoming projectiles, or for very
weak targets. In addition, the Glide Wing has the ability to boost and/or
slow down three times in a row with a full glide gauge. The berserk attack
is similar to that of the Base Wing in that it does not have to be aimed.
While it does not do as much damage, it has the added benefit of actually
healing your dragon! I haven't quite confirmed this, but it seems that you
gain more health if you destroy a greater number of enemies with the berserk
attack. For instance, if you use it on a swarm of Purnam, you'll gain quite
a bit of health back, as they are all easily killed by it. Use it on a
boss, however, and you don't seem to gain much health back.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= 3C. Leveling Up =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Leveling up in Panzer Dragoon Orta is rather simple. Each of the above morph
forms starts out at Level 1, and can reach a maximum of Level 5. Each requires
a certain number of "gene bases" before it gains a level; they all level up
independently of one another. For instance, if your Base Wing collects two
gene bases, it'll reach Level 2, but the other two forms remain at Level 1.
At Level 1, a form needs to collect 2 gene bases to level-up.
At Level 2, a form needs to collect 4 gene bases to level-up.
At Level 3, a form needs to collect 6 gene bases to level-up.
At Level 4, a form needs to collect 8 gene bases to level-up.
So where do you get these gene bases? Some people tend to think of gene bases
as "experience points," which is somewhat wrong. You collect gene bases by
destroying a particular enemy (or sometimes, a particular group of enemies) -
NOT by killing a certain number of enemies. In other words, you could kill
several dozen enemies in a particular battle, but if you miss just the one that
is carrying the gene base, you're out of luck. Conversely, you could not kill
a single enemy except for the one that is carrying the gene base, and still get
it.
Anyways, I make an effort to describe every location of gene base-carrying
enemies in the walkthrough below. If you're interested solely in these gene
base locations and none of the walkthrough stuff, however, please see my in-
depth Gene Base Location FAQ/Guide instead.
So, what are the advantages to leveling up? Cosmetically, the Glide and Heavy
Wings change their appearance dramatically, although the Base Wing retains the
same appearance throughout the game. More importantly, however, the dragon
forms become immensely more powerful in terms of combat effectiveness, in
addition to its increased life gauge. But in what ways?
+------------
- Base Wing -
------------+
At Level 1, the Base Wing can lock on to a maximum of 8 targets, and gains
an extra lock-on per level, for a maximum of 12 targets at Level 5. At
Level 1, the berserk attack lasts for about 3 seconds, and reaches a maximum
of about six seconds at Level 5.
+-------------
- Heavy Wing -
-------------+
At Level 1, the Heavy Wing can lock on to a maximum of 3 targets, and gains
an extra lock-on every two levels. For example, it can lock-on to 4 targets
at Level 3, and a maximum of 5 targets at Level 5. At Level 1, the berserk
attack lasts for about 3 seconds, and reaches a maximum of about six seconds
at Level 5.
+-------------
- Glide Wing -
-------------+
The Glide Wing can't lock-on to any targets of course, but the rate at which
its gun fires increases dramatically as levels are gained. As with the
other two forms, berserk attack length increases from about 3 seconds at
Level 1 to about 6 seconds at Level 5. In addition, the boost attack seems
to do more damage to enemies at higher levels, although I haven't confirmed
this.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= 3D. General Strategies =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
For the most part, lock-on to as many enemies as possible. First, this gives
you a bigger score bonus: for example, you get more points for destroying a
group of eight enemies all at once than you do if you destroy half of them
with one shot, and the other half with a second shot. Perhaps more crucial,
especially on harder difficulties, however, is that you'll end up taking less
damage in the long run. The quicker you take down your enemies, the less
chance they have to take shots at you. On the other hand, don't spend TOO much
time trying to lock-on to as many targets as possible.
---
Become very comfortable with morphing. Oftentimes, it is absolutely necessary
to quickly switch forms in order to kill certain enemies. For instance, you
may be facing large groups of weaker enemies, so use your Base Wing. But if
a lone, more durable enemy flies in, you may have to switch to your Heavy Wing
to do enough damage to destroy it before it gets away.
---
Know when to boost or slow down. Oftentimes, you simply don't have enough time
to lock-on to a group of enemies with your lasers. A well-timed boost may
destroy them before they get away. Other times, boosting is absolutely crucial
to avoid getting hit by certain attacks, especially during boss battles. And
finally, some enemies are invulnerable from certain angles: you'll need to
speed up or slow down accordingly to get into a position where you can target
their weak spots.
---
Don't forget about your manual weapon! Not only is it extremely effective
when used to shoot down incoming projectiles, it does extra damage. Don't
simply lock-on with lasers, wait for them to hit, and then lock-on again.
Instead, start firing with your manual weapon as soon as you let your lasers
fly, then lock-on again. Every extra bit of damage you do counts.
---
Keep a close watch on your radar. As soon as you see radar contacts, turn to
face the threat (unless they are approaching so rapidly that they will likely
overtake and pass you). The sooner you start attacking, the more likely you
will be able to destroy all of the enemies.
---
Conserve your berserk attacks. Don't use them as soon as your meter fills up;
rather, wait for a situation where using such a powerful attack would be more
efficient.
The following walkthrough was written while playing through the game on Hard
Difficulty, and to the best of my knowledge, every single one of the 1000+
enemies you'll encounter has been listed. Note that I'll often say which
direction you should be facing, in reference to a clock face. For example, 12
o'clock would be facing forward, 3 o'clock facing right, etc. Also, make sure
to read the general strategies above: there are certain things that you should
always be doing, even if I don't mention it below. For instance, when I say to
lock-on and fire lasers, you should always be using your manual weapon as the
lasers fire, before you can lock on again. Finally, while I will make
recommendations in regards to what morph form you should be in or what pathway
you should take, feel free to use whatever you are most comfortable with or go
wherever you choose. Have fun!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= A) Episode 1: City in the Storm =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
You'll start off facing backwards, in Base Wing form, with four Battleship
Bhout and two Dragonmares immediately present. Take out the initial group of
Bhout, as well as a second group that drops in behind and to your right (if you
are still facing backwards). Shortly thereafter, another group of four Bhout
quickly move from your front to your rear, and slightly below you. Destroy
them, another group of three that fall in behind you, and then quickly destroy
four that come from a gap in the canyon wall, at 9 o'clock. One of the four
that just emerged is a Carrier Bhout, and drops your first gene base. Directly
in front of you will be a Hovertank Dahra - destroy it and two more just a
little further behind it. Use your manual weaponry to destroy any missiles
they might have launched at you. Now, you should be flying over a gap again,
where three additional Bhout will be flying in front and below you. Also note,
there will be many times where a dragonmare will be in your general vicinity.
While they mostly do their own thing, and while you can't kill them quite yet,
it doesn't hurt to shoot them if there's no other enemies on screen, as every
hit you score builds up your berserk meter, which you'll want filled up soon.
Anyways, back to the walkthrough. Face backwards, as two Bhout and six
Hovertank Dahra will pull in behind you. Destroy them, as well as an
additional pair of Bhout that drop in, quickly. Now, keep a close eye out for
another four Bhout that rapidly move from your rear to your front. Try to take
them all out, especially the Carrier Bhout (it has green markings). Do so, and
you'll receive another gene base. Hopefully, you'll have leveled up one form
of your choice now. Still facing forward, destroy three more Dahra and Bhout.
Eight Battleship Bhout move in behind you, but keep facing forward; they'll
soon pass you and be in front. At the same time, another group should be in
view if you're facing forward, moving from the left to right. One of the ships
that came in from behind is a Carrier Bhout - destroy it for another gene base.
If you've been able to build up your beserk meter, get ready to use it - it'll
definitely make killing the next group of enemies much easier. A dragonmare
will appear from the right, but keep your eye out for eight Bhout that come
in at 12 o'clock, diving down from a higher altitude. If you can, take them
all out at once. A total of 16(!) Bhout will now appear: four from the rear,
the others moving from one side of the screen to the other (if you're facing
forward). This would be an excellent time to use your berserk, but if your
meter isn't full, don't worry about it. Just make sure to take out the Carrier
Bhout, which will be in a group of ships moving from left to right in front and
slightly below you - it drops another gene base. As soon as you're almost
right above the ground again, look slightly to the left. You should see four
Seeker Search Lights: one higher up on the wall, and the other three among some
rocks on the ground. Take out the last one for another gene base.
Two dragonmares should be in front of you at this point, but they'll quickly
speed away. Soon, however, another will appear to your front, and take a few
shots at you, while another that appears behind you does the same. Again, you
can't kill them quite yet, but use them to try and build up your berserk meter.
Once you enter the large, mechanical structure, you'll be facing backwards.
Keep doing so, as five Bhout will appear behind you. Another three follow
soon thereafter. After getting rid of them, face forward, and destroy another
two. Now might be a good time to switch to your Glide Wing, as you'll have to
avoid a few obstacles. You'll come upon a large, turning gear which will cause
some damage if you run into it. Move to the bottom left corner of the small
crevice below you, and maybe even use your manual gun to destroy the teeth of
the first one. Once you're past it, move to the bottom right to avoid the
second gear. There'll be two more gears - you should know what to do by now.
Once you're past the four gears, switch back to your Base Wing. Three Bhout
will quickly appear from behind, but don't turn around; they'll quickly
accelerate past to your front. Now, face backwards, and take out another three
that appear. Now, on to the Episode's Boss Battle:
-Short Cutscene-
+--------------------------------
- BOSS: Assault Carrier Vermana -
--------------------------------+
You start off at the Vermana's front. I like to use the Heavy Wing
primarily, but of course, feel free whatever form you're most comfortable
with. Destroy the two emplacements on the right, and the three on the
left. If you have a berserk available, now would be a good time to use it.
Otherwise, keep locking on to the emplacements and firing, but use your
manual weapon when missiles are fired at you. If you're not comfortable
with your hand weapon, you can always quickly switch to your Glide Wing,
take out the missiles rapidly, and then switch back.
Once you've destroyed the emplacements, you'll move to the right (towards
the Vermana's left). Quickly destroy the three round targets in the back,
and then turn to your left. Continue locking on and firing at as many
targets as you can. Three Battleship Bhout will soon drop - destroy them
and go back to targeting the ship. Shortly thereafter, you'll move under
the Vermana to it's other side, before moving above and to the rear. Here,
you can target the ship's hull, as well as a pair of gun emplacements, on
each side of the hull. I'd recommend ignoring the emplacements, and
instead focusing on the hull with your heavy wing. Simply shoot down the
missiles fired at you like you did at the start of the battle, and continue
battering the hull. Use a berserk if you can.
Soon, you'll move back down to the Vermana's level and then above and to
its right. Continue attacking it, and five homing mines will then be
released. There are several tactics you can try. One is to switch to the
Glide Wing, destroy as many as you can (you should be able to take out all
five if you're quick enough), and then continue attacking. Another thing
you can try is to continue to attack the Vermana until the last possible
moment, switch to Glide Wing, and then boost out of the way. If you time
it right, the initial boost will help you avoid the first few, and when
your dragon automatically moves back into position, you'll avoid the rest.
Time it wrong, of course, and it's a different story.
Soon enough, you'll move back to the ship's rear - continue attacking it.
By now, you should have another berserk, which will quickly take down the
rest of the Vermana's health. The above strategy usually gets me a time
in the mid 2:00 range, which qualifies for an S rank. Congratulations!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= B) Episode 2: Altered Genos =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This Episode starts off with Orta flying through a canyon, just above a river.
Flying alongside several Wormriders, your first radar contact comes in the form
of eight butterfly-like Purnam. Lock onto and destroy all of them, just as you
are passing underneath the first archway. As you approach the next archway
after the first set of Purnam, nine more will emerge. Destroy them quickly, as
well as another group of nine that appear right after you destroy them. An
alternative to locking onto them with your base wing is to boost through them;
not only is this easier, but it gives you a higher score.
Just as you fly over another archway, you should catch sight of eight Golegs
on the left wall. Destroy them with two rounds of Base Wing lock-ons, using
your manual weapon to destroy any acid balls they might launch at you. After
doing so, quickly destroy four Yarva that appear behind you and pass to your
front. 16 Purnam will then appear - 8 each from the left and right sides of
the wall in front of you. Another well-timed boost will make short work of
most, if not all, of them. Finish off any leftovers with your lasers, and
continue to face forward.
As you approach a large archway, you'll see four Goleg drop down from it.
Destroy them as you did before, facing backwards to get your second round of
shots in. If you're using the Heavy Wing, only one round of lasers is
necessary. Facing backwards as you pass under the arch, take out any acid
balls they fire, as well as six Yarva that fall in behind you. Face forward
again, and destroy another six Goleg hanging from another archway. Then,
another six Yarva attack from behind.
Very shortly thereafter, you'll pass another archway, with eight Goleg hanging
from it, and a lone on on the right wall (if you're facing forward). Take them
all out, especially the one on the wall, as that one drops a gene base. The
Wormriders and a Yondo-Worm will now make their appearance.
You now have your first pathway choice of the game. At the river junction,
the Yondo-Worm will turn left, while the Wormriders turn right. Turning left
will put you on Pathway B, while turning right will put you on Pathway A.
You're free to decide which you route you will take, of course, but I would
strongly recommend turning right, as this route provides a chance at another
gene base. Skip down to whatever Pathway you chose...
+----------------
- BA) Pathway A -
----------------+
Immediately after making the right turn, you'll see four Rokpur jumping out
of the water. Target them quickly, as you only have two chances at them.
Now, as you gain some altitude, four Yarva and a Carrier Yarva pass you.
Destroy them, especially the Carrier Yarva, as it drops a gene base. Turn
to your right, and you'll see a large herd of Baturn running on the ground.
If you've built up your berserk meter, go ahead and use your Base Wing's
berserk attack to destroy them all. Otherwise, lock-on to as many as you
can as quickly as you can. As the river meets up again, you'll be back on
the main pathway.
+----------------
- BB) Pathway B -
----------------+
After you turn left, continue firing lasers at the Yondo-Worm as it leaps
in and out of the water, in order to build up your berserk meter. Watch
out for the large bridge in front of you, as running into it will damage
you. Just as you pass underneath it, three Yarva fly into your front view
from the left side - quickly destroy them and any acid balls they might
have launched.
Fly over the next bridge, and another three Yarva will repeat the same
pattern, except that they come in from the right side this time. Then, as
you pass underneath the next bridge, another three Yarva come in from the
left side. Your dragon will then make a slight right turn, during which
another group of three Yarva drop down in front of you.
After taking care of the Yarva, move slightly to the left, to avoid a large
rock on the right side of the river. As you pass it, another three Yarva
drop down from above and slightly to the left. Quickly destroy them, then
move to the right side of the river to avoid another rock. As you pass
this one, another three Yarva drop down right in front of you. Take care
of them in the same manner as before.
Another rock on the right side, and another three Yarva from above and to
the left. After you kill this group, your dragon makes another small right
turn. As soon as you come out of the turn, move up and to the left, to
avoid another collision with the scenery. A final group of three Yarva
appears in front and slightly to the left of you. Kill them, then move to
the right to avoid another rock.
As soon as you pass this last rock, the Yondo-Worm comes back into view.
Go ahead and fire at it, even though you can't do any damage to it yet.
You'll have to avoid one final rock, by moving to the left and down. Once
you've passed it, the Wormriders will come back into view, and you all
follow the Yondo-Worm to the left, rejoining the main pathway.
+---------------
- Main Pathway -
---------------+
Back on the main path, take some shots at the Yondo-Worm, just to start
building up your berserk meter again. In the next area, you'll be in a large
tunnel-like area. Use either the Base Wing or Glide Wing here. On a ledge to
the left, you'll see two Shams and two hives - quickly destroy them and look to
a ledge just past the previous one, but on the right. Destroy another pair of
Shams and hives as soon as possible, as you'll then make a steep dive. During
your dive, you'll see four Yarva circling in front of you. Destroy them for
another gene base.
Once you've pulled out of the dive, quickly destroy four more Shams and their
hives, before going into a second steep dive. Once again, four Yarva will be
circling in front of you, and destroying them and a second group of four yields
another gene base. As you pull out of the dive, get ready to destroy four more
Shams and hives on the left, and another two of each on the right. Unless you
are extremely quick at locking-on, boosting might make destroying them a little
easier. Be quick, as you don't have much time before automatically moving to
the next area.
+-------------------------
- MINI-BOSS: Yondo-Worms -
-------------------------+
You'll start off facing backwards. Switch to your Heavy Wing, and continue
firing your homing lasers as quickly as possible. The Yondo-Worms will
each fire several acid balls at you, which you should take down with your
manual weapon. After a little while, you'll see both Yondo-Worms leap up
and close in on you - quickly switch to your Glide Wing and boost forward,
before they dive into you. After avoiding the collision, switch back to
your Heavy Wing and fire more lasers. The worms will them pass you to your
front.
Quickly face forward, firing with your manual weapon, as they fire more
acid balls as they pass you. After doing so, they move back to your rear,
so you should continue attacking them in the same manner as before. You
may want to use a berserk if you have on ready, but it's not necessary,
especially since this battle isn't timed. Of course, by the time the battle
is over, you'll probably have built it up all the way again. Anyways, once
they've passed you a second time (be ready for more acid balls!), they move
back to your rear, and then split and move in separate directions. If
you've been hitting them quickly enough, one should soon be dead, while the
other moves back and forth among the sides. It'll then be back at your
rear, where you should then finish it off. Once you've done so, you
automatically move into the next area.
As soon as you're in, turn slightly to the left and lock on to the Morli with
your Heavy Wing. You can't lock on if the waterfalls are directly in between
you, so try to target it before the waterfall gets in your way. Note, however,
that you can still FIRE through the waterfalls - you just can't target through
them. Anyways, take out the Morli as quickly as possible...before you've done
so, however, a group of eight Yarva will appear towards your front, and move to
the left. Quickly take them out, and go back to the Morli. Once you've killed
it, continue facing towards the left.
Six Yarva will appear from that direction - quickly take them out, as well as
another group of six that appear at 12 o'clock. At the same time, five more
Morli should now be on screen, all to your left. Attack them as quickly as
possible, using the Heavy Wing. Shortly thereafter, a much larger Yondo-Morli
should then rise into view. Hopefully, you've been able to build up your
berserk meter again. If you have, use it on the newest enemy, as destroying it
will give you another gene base. Once it's dead, continue attacking the other
Morli. Be aware, however, that they leave the screen before the Yondo-Morli
does, and that the time you have to kill everything is very limited. After a
little while, you automatically move into the next area, where you face:
+----------------
- BOSS: Ikrakav -
----------------+
You'll start off at the Ikrakav's front. Switch to your Glide Wing, and
slow down twice, to move to its rear. A white flower-like object should
now be visible - switch back to your Heavy Wing, and target it. After just
a little while, the Ikrakav will leave the river and fly up into the air.
Continue attacking it with your Heavy Wing's lasers, but if it turns
around, switch back to your Glide Wing and boost twice, to get back into
position. Also, keep an eye on the Ikrakav's large sacs...about this time,
a purple one should be swelling up to your right. Get ready to use your
manual weapon, as the sac bursts and lets loose a huge amount of acid
balls. A second purple sac, also to the right, will also start swelling up
and let loose more acid balls when it bursts.
The Ikrakav should soon turn around again - slow down twice to move back
into position. Also, keep an eye out for another swelling sac. This time,
however, it's a blue sac, which releases six Yarva that circle the Ikrakav
once before making a kamikaze run at you. Use your Heavy Wing's berserk
on the flower if you can. The Ikrakav will probably turn again, releasing
another purple sac of acid balls. Continue doing what you've been doing,
boosting and slowing down as necessary to get into position. After another
two acid ball sacs burst (making a total of three since the blue one
burst), another blue one will start to fill up. Again, just keep doing
what you've been doing, and the Ikrakav should fall really soon. The above
strategy usually gets me a time of about 1:45, which once again, is good
enough for another S ranking. Congratulations!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= C) Episode 3: The Fallen Ground =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
As soon as the Episode starts, look slightly to the left and high up into the
air. While it does not appear on your radar, there should be a lone Seba
flying up high - quickly destroy it for a gene base. Seba take two Base Wing
lasers (or one Heavy Wing laser) to destroy. Anyways, as soon as you've killed
the lone Seba, get ready" a total of about 30 Seba will start popping up out of
the ground in front of you, at various distances - some right in front of you,
some further away. Not all at once, fortunately, but enough that they can be
quite a nuisance. Use either the Heavy or Base Wing to destroy all of them as
soon as possible. After the short cutscene...
+-----------------------------------
- MINI-BOSS: Mobo and 3 Wormriders -
-----------------------------------+
Mobo and the Wormriders will quickly pass to your front, and then
immediately turn left, to circle you in a counter-clockwise direction. Use
your Heavy Wing to fire lasers at them as they circle. After a little
while, you'll hear Mobo say that he's going to use a smoke bomb. Continue
firing, but get ready to use your manual weapon to destroy the bombs he
and the Wormriders launch at you. They're relatively harder to shoot down
than the acid balls you're probably used to, so if you're having a little
trouble shooting them down (there are six launched in this first salvo),
try switching to the Glide Wing to intercept them easily.
The four will now be circling you in the opposite direction: clockwise.
Once they're back at your 12 o'clock position, they'll launch six more
smoke bombs - be ready for them. After you've shot the bombs down, the
Wormriders will move back to your rear, where you should continue firing
Heavy Wing lasers at them. They'll then close the distance between you,
still remaining at your rear, and then each will fire several purple acid
balls at you. These are easy enough to take down without having to switch
back to a Glide Wing. After a second round of purple acid balls, they'll
pass over you and start circling again, in a counter-clockwise direction.
Mobo will notice that you're a little tougher than he expected. Continue
punishing him as they circle, and they should decide to stop their attack
in no time at all. Switch to either your Glide Wing or Base Wing before
you move on to the next area.
Immediately, you'll see three Kuru, as you start into a dive. Target them all
with your Base Wing (if that's what you're using), making the top-most, middle
one a priority, as that one is only in view for a little while. As you turn
left, you'll see another three Kuru, one behind the other. Use either your
lasers or a well-timed boost to destroy all of them.
As soon as you're past the last of the three Kuru mentioned above, you'll make
a small right turn. You'll initially only see one Kuru, but don't be fooled -
there are two others that move out to either side. Destroy all three of them,
before your dragon makes another right turn. You'll encounter two more trios
of Kuru side-by-side. Don't let the last three Kuru take too much of your
attention - above them is a Seba just sitting there. Destroy it for another
gene base. Remember - they take two Base Wing lasers, or one Heavy Wing laser,
to destroy.
Once you've collected your gene base, you'll start a steep dive. Switch to
your Glide Wing, if you haven't already, and as you level out at the bottom of
your dive and make a quick right, three Kuru will be present, arranged in a
vertical row (on top of each other). Destroy them quickly, and as you start
to make another dive, be ready for several more groups of Kuru. If you'd like,
boost through the groups of three, and use your Base Wing to target the group
of five. You'll them level out shortly thereafter, and move on to the next
area.
Three Seba will come in from the right and hover in front of you - destroy them
quickly with either the Base or Heavy Wing (I prefer the latter). Three more
will do the same thing, only they come from the left, before hovering in front
of you. Six Seba will then move directly in front of you; quickly destroy
them. You should be rapidly approaching a tunnel in front of you. Above it is
another stationary Seba, which you should destroy for another gene base.
As you enter and move through the tunnel, avoid the beams of electricity,
switching to a more maneuverable dragon form, if you feel the need to do so.
Once you've exited the tunnel, however, you'll want to be back in Heavy Wing
form. Three Seba appear from the right, and another three from the left, all
six stopping in front of you. Then, another six appear and hover in front of
you. Quickly destroy them, and decide which pathway you will now take.
By boosting to the right, you'll take Pathway A (continue below with Section
CA). Otherwise, you will automatically take Pathway B - skip down to Section
CB if you decide to take that route. Personally, I'd recommend taking Pathway
B, as it has more gene bases that you can acquire than Pathway A does.
+----------------
- CA) Pathway A -
----------------+
Move through the tunnel, avoiding the electricity beams as before. At the
end of the tunnel, however, are several rows of them, which you can't fly
around. Use a well-timed boost to move through when the beams are off.
Once you're through the tunnel, you'll soon encounter two large, jellyfish-
like Churmachum. Use your Heavy Wing to destroy them. If your berserk
meter is full, feel free to use it as well.
You'll soon move to the next area, a narrow canyon-like place. There is
only one enemy in this area: a Carrier Seba. Use your Heavy Wing's lasers
on it as it trails behind you for most of the route. It'll then move in
front of you, very briefly, before moving back to your rear. Continue
firing at it, and destroy it as soon as possible, as you automatically
leave the area after a short while. If you're able to kill it, you'll be
rewarded with another gene base.
+----------------
- CB) Pathway B -
----------------+
As soon as you enter the left tunnel, turn around and face backwards. A
group of three Seba will be chasing you. Quickly destroy them, a second
group of three Seba, and finally, a third group of three Seba that drops
down from above. Then, face 3 o'clock as you exit the tunnel. Mobo
should be in view, as well as another three Seba. Destroy the Seba near
Mobo to receive another gene base.
After Mobo decides that you must love him, face 3 o'clock again. Two Seba
will fly in, followed by another four Seba. After destroying the four,
turn 180 degrees, so that you are now facing 9 o'clock. The same pattern
occurs: two Seba, followed by a second group of four Seba. However, keep
a close eye out. Immediately after the group of four Seba appears, another
lone Seba will quickly rise and lower back down, slightly to the right of
where the other Seba are (you should still be facing left). Destroy the
lone Seba to claim two gene bases!
After picking up your gene base, face forward. You'll see three Ramjanaki,
protected by small, green forcefields. Switch to your Glide Wing and
boost through them. If you time it right, you should be able to destroy
them. If not, simply face backwards and target the now unprotected
creatures. Still facing backwards, another three Ramjanaki will fall in
behind you. Slow down to get into position, and kill them. You'll now
pass through a tunnel that puts you back on the main pathway.
+---------------
- Main Pathway -
---------------+
You should now have rejoined the main pathway, where you will encounter another
Churmachum. Destroy it, using the Heavy Wing again. Sometime during the
battle, Mobo will come under attack from two Seba. Quickly destroy them to get
another gene base. After Mobo tells you how beautiful you are, another
Churmachum flys in for you to kill. Watch out for the large laser it fires
from its rear, using a boost to dodge out of the way. Once you've destroyed it
and once Mobo has told you that the area was once the site of a Elder War, turn
around and face your rear. A large group of Seba will emerge from behind you;
destroy them as quickly as possible, because you'll soon move on to the boss
battle:
+----------------
- BOSS: Catharp -
----------------+
You'll start off in front of the Catharp, facing backwards at it. Use your
Heavy Wing to destroy the armor protecting its head. You'll also have to
use your manual weapon to destroy the green, spinning projectiles it fires
at you. Soon, it'll leap over you, sp simply turn around 180 degrees to
face forward, switch to your Glide Wing, and boost twice, to get back in
front of it. Be careful of the blue projectiles the Catharp will fire as
soon as he leaps over you. Continue the above steps, boosting as needed
to get in front of him, and then switching back to your Heavy Wing to fire
at his weak spot. Use your berserk if you wish, but most likely, he won't
catch the full brunt of the attack, as he'll leap over you.
Once he's down to less than half of his health, you'll see a very brief
cutscene where he sheds some more of his armor. After another shot or two
he'll disappear, and you'll hear Mobo say that the Catharp will destroy the
area if he isn't killed. Once it is back in sight, boost forward with your
Glide Wing, so that its head is once again in view (it'll be standing on
it's back legs). Fire at the head with your Heavy Wing, but as soon as you
see the Catharp raise its arms, either boost forward or slow down to avoid
his fists.
Once you've dodged its attack, get back into position and attack. It'll
probably start speeding off on all four legs again, so catch up, boost once
to get back into position, and switch back to your Heavy Wing to attack.
The Catharp should pretty much be dead by this point; just continue the
above strategy until you get to see his nice death scene. Congratulations!
You start the Episode facing right, with three Assault Hovership Taishak in
plain view. I like to use the Heavy Wing for these, focusing on the large,
curved part extending down from the front of this ship. After a few lock-ons
each, they should be destroyed. Another three will likely have pulled in by
now, so kill them as well. Even ff you have a berserk attack ready, it's not
necessary for these - I'd save it for a little while. After destroying them,
switch to your base wing as you go into a dive with the Wormriders.
Six more Assault Hovership Taishak should be in view, along with a Homing
Airship Ajati, but ignore them for now. Six Battleship Bhout fly into your
front view - three from the left, and three from the right. Eight more Bhout
then fly in, four from each side. Destroy them with your laser, and then
quickly destroy the Taishaks, before focusing on the Homing Airship Ajati. Use
your Heavy Wing for this floating platform, making sure to target each of the
corners. Successfully destroy it, and you'll receive a gene base. Now, you
will climb straight up.
As you climb, you'll see four more Taishaks, but keep a close eye out for eight
Airship Kartha that fly in. Hopefully, you have your berserk meter full, as
it will make this next battle much easier. If you do, use your Base Wing's
berserk attack after the Kartha fly in. Four fly in from the left, four
from the right. Once those are dead, another group of six will fly in, three
from the left, three from the right. One of the ships on the right is actually
a Prototype Kartha (it trails a green flag, instead of a red one). Destroy it
for another gene base, and then focus on the Taishak. If you timed your
berserk right earlier, both groups of Kartha and a couple of the Taishak should
have been destroyed, so just focus on the ones that are left. You'll zoom
right past where the Taishaks are (or were), and then level out.
Mobo will tell you to forget about the little guys and concentrate on the
mothership. Ignore him, and destroy four pairs of Airship Kartha. The last
pair includes a Prototype Kartha, which drops another gene base. You have a
very limited time to get this one, so be quick. You should see it just as
some Wormriders come into view in the far distance (you should be facing
forward), just before another Homing Airship Ajati appears right next to you.
Get the Kartha before they speed off in the direction of the Wormriders. As
soon as you've destroyed them, focus on the Ajati, using the same strategy as
before. This one is alot closer, though, so be especially careful of the
projectiles it fires at you. Once you've destroyed it, you should receive
another gene base. You probably won't be able to destroy them, but go ahead
and fire shots at the large number of Taishaks in the area, just to build up
your berserk meter.
-Short Cutscene-
Flying towards the wall of the huge Imperial Warship, switch to your Base
Wing and destroy the Ceremonial Turrets that pop out, using your manual weapon
to take down any missiles they might have launched. After you turn a left and
start flying parallel to the wall, be ready for two Battleship Bhout in the far
distance and another two rows of Ceremonial Turrets that pop out. After
destroying them, keep an eye out for two lattice-like cranes, which extend out
horizontally from the side of the wall. The second you see, which should be in
between the second and third platforms you fly over (after you turned left)
carries a gene base. Target it near its base, where it meets the wall, to
destroy it. At the same time as you pass it, another two rows of Ceremonial
Turrets will have popped out. Destroy them as well.
On the next platform you fly over, turn right - two more rows of turrets will
pop out as soon as you pass. Destroy them quickly, and face forward again.
In front of you is a conveyor belt-like scaffold, which rolls out about eight
Airship Kartha. Destroy them quickly, and then focus on the wall to your
right. You'll see four rows of four missile launchers each. Take them out as
quickly as possible with your Base Wing, using your manual weapon to destroy
any missiles they launch. Face forward again, as four Battleship Bhout soon
fly right over you, meeting up with a Shielded Warship Shaiha to your front.
Destroy the Bhout quickly, because as soon as you make a small dive to the next
level, you encounter four Airship Kartha. One of these contains a gene base.
Boosting, if it doesn't kill the Shaiha outright, will at least put you in
position to target its vulnerable spots. Do so.
After the previous encounter, you'll come across four more Airship Kartha,
flying from left to right, towards the Imperial Warship's wall. At the same
time, that very same wall they're flying towards has four rows of five missile
launchers each. Now wouldn't be a bad time to use a berserk, to quickly get
rid of them. If you don't feel like using one, make sure to use your manual
weapon to destroy any missiles they launch.
As you pass the missile launchers, face backwards, and you'll see a large
number of Airship Kartha being rolled out on some conveyor belt-like scaffolds.
Target them as quickly as possible, release your homing lasers, and then swing
back around to face forward. Eight Airship Karthas will fly straight down
right in front of you, and your dragon will dive down after them. Quickly lock
on with your Base Wing, and fire - one of these ships contains another gene
base.
Shortly thereafter, you'll level out again, and a Shielded Warship Shaiha will
climb straight up across your view. Your dragon will climb right behind it;
boost through it to destroy it, and then quickly target four more Kartha.
After you level out again, six Floating Mine Mardai will emerge from the wall.
Destroy them quickly to avoid any damage. After the first six, another group
of five will appear, and you'll hear the Imperial commander make an order to
prepare the defense forces for combat. Shortly therafter, another group of
five Mardai will emerge - again, destroy them quickly.
Switch to your Glide Wing. Two Shaiha, one just above the other, will come
into view. Boost through them, and if either survives your boost, simply use
the Glide Wing's rapid fire to destroy it. Once you're past the first pair,
you'll see another pair of Shaiha, but this time, arranged side-by-side. No
matter, just do the same thing as before. Finally, you'll see four more
Shaiha. Again, boost when you're close to destroy some, and use your Glide
Wing's weapon to destroy the others.
-Short Cutscene-
Once you're outside again, you'll see the large statue atop some stairs to
your front. In Glide Wing form, stay to the middle or right side, as a pink
laser is fired to your left. Then, move to either the left or right, as the
next laser is fired right down the middle. As you continue to ascend, three
more lasers are fired down the middle. You should have no trouble avoiding
them. Once you get close enough, you'll face:
+-------------------------------------
- BOSS: Guardian of Imperial Warship -
-------------------------------------+
Switch to your Heavy Wing, and fire a few rounds of lasers at the large
spot right in the middle of the chest. As you see the Guardian's arms
raise, watch out for the pink laser, which fires out of the eye. Quickly
switch to your Glide Wing, and boost out of the way. Three laser shots
are fired, after which you should move back into position, switch back to
your Heavy Wing, and continue firing. Of course, whenever you can, use
your berserk attack on the weak spot.
After a short while, the Guardian's left arm (to your right) will lower.
Switch to your Glide Wing and boost out of the way, when large boulders
start flying out at you. After the last one is fired, move back into
position while the arm raises back up. Again, switch to your Heavy Wing
and continue firing. You'll receive word that the Dragonmare squadron
will be arriving shortly.
The Guardian will then swing his left arm (on your right) towards you, so
boost to avoid it. Continue inflicting more damage, and the anti-laser
system will then activate, masking the weak spot you've been firing at.
Switch to your Glide Wing, and boost twice. You should now be above the
Guardian. Use either your Glide Wing or Base Wing to destroy the rotating
circles. Once they're all gone, the anti-laser system will be deactivated,
so slow down twice to get back to the front. The Guardian will again
attempt to fire its pink eye laser at you, but hopefully, it shouldn't take
long to finish it off. After it keels over, you'll then face:
+------------------------------------
- BOSS: Evren's Dragonmare Squadron -
------------------------------------+
I like to use the Heavy Wing for this battle as well, since there are only
five targets. They all pull in behind you, where you should be battering
them with homing lasers. After a little while, they'll fire some flaming
missiles at you. Use your manual weapon to intercept them - it wouldn't
be a bad idea to use your Glide Wing to do so. After firing, the five
dragonmares will move slightly to the left (if you're still facing
backwards), before quickly moving to the other side and far below you. As
soon as they do so, they'll fire more flaming missiles, which you should
destroy as before.
Use your berserk whenever you have the chance against the dragonmares.
Anyways, they should then move to your right (if you're facing forwards),
but above you this time. Fire a few rounds of Heavy Wing homing lasers at
them, but be ready for more flaming missiles. After a short while, they
will then move back to your rear, fire more flaming missiles, and then
close in on you. Once you hear them roar, switch to your Glide Wing (if
you haven't already done so) and boost forward, to avoid their attempts
to ram you. They will then fall back, and then quickly pass over you and
move to your front.
While in front of you, some will fire some bluish-colored bolts, while
others will launch flaming missiles. Avoid/destroy these, and continue
firing at them. They will then dive, and then rapidly climb, with you
right behind them. During the climb, they'll fire more flaming missiles,
so be ready. Once you've all leveled out, they will be back in front of
you, firing blue spinning discs. Move constantly in Glide Wing form, with
your hand pressed down on the trigger the whole time, to still do damage
while avoiding some to yourself.
After five rounds of the spinning discs, they'll dive, with you following
again, and fire another round of flaming missiles. The dragonmares will
then split off, and then each will try to fly right across your path, with
a rainbow-colored trail that damages you. You should still be in Glide
Wing form, and taking care to avoid their trails, continue firing.
After a little while of this, a few dragonmares will move to your front,
but then they will all regroup to your rear. Switch back to your Heavy
Wing and fire more homing lasers. Most likely, a few of the dragonmares
will have already been killed, making your task easier. They now repeat
the same pattern as the very beginning of the battle. Again, use your
berserk whenever possible, and the rest will all be dead in no time.
Congratulations!
As you make your way over a few small hills, look a little bit to the right
and beneath the sun, which should be directly in front of you. As soon as you
see the Pussa Bubo, lock on as much as you can, as quickly as you can. Repeat
with several salvos, locking on to as many targets as possible each time.
After a little while, it'll fire about ten large blobs at you, which you should
take down with your manual weapon. Just after doing so, it'll leap over you to
your rear (if you're quick enough, it won't even have the chance to do this).
Quickly swing around, as one more round of lock-ons should destroy it. At the
same time, a herd of twelve Didar will be closing in on you from the rear at a
high speed.
Again, lock on as quickly as possible with your homing lasers, while using your
manual weapon to destroy any green acid balls they fire at you. You should be
able to take down a good number of them before they run past you. After they
run past, simply face forward again, and destroy the rest, before they run off
to the left. Just after you kill them, you should spot another Pussa Bubo in
the distance ahead of you. Kill it as quickly as you can, as another one comes
in, and starts bouncing to your right. Turn to face him and repeat as before,
but be ready for a third one that comes in next to him. The third one will
probably fire a number of large blobs at you, so just use your manual weapon
to avoid being hit. Once he's dead, face forward again.
You should be coming up on some stone ruins, and here, you can choose between
the Episode's two pathways. There isn't a huge difference, although I find
that Pathway B is a little easier, at least for me. First, kill the four
Urimasan near the ruins, and then move as far right as you can to take Pathway
A, or to the left to take Pathway B.
+----------------
- EA) Pathway A -
----------------+
You'll have turned right just before the ruins, and after a little while,
will come upon another Pussa Bubo that leaps across your path from the
right side, ending up to your left. A second one will do the same, ending
up right next to the first. Almost immediately, another two will jump in
from your left, ending up behind the first pair. Continue pummeling on
one Pussa Bubo at a time until it dies, before moving to another one. The
less of them are around, the less you'll have to deal with the large blobs
they fire. You might have to switch between your left and front views to
track them. Anyways, try to kill them quickly, before they are obscured
by a large hill to your left and before you automatically move to the next
area.
It looks like night has fallen in the next area. Look slightly to your
right, at the mountain range. About halfway up the mountain, you'll see
a ledge. Watch the right side of the ledge closely, for a large of Didar
to appear. As soon as they come into view, start firing your homing
lasers, and using your manual weapon to shoot down any green acid balls
they fire. As you pass them, you'll have to turn to your right, and then
face backwards after some leap from the ledge. Keep in mind that some of
them remain on the ledge, even after some leap down behind you. Once you
have gotten rid of them, quickly face forward.
You should see some shark-like "fins" moving through the snow, right past
you and to your rear. Face backwards, and wait until the two Erkist leap
out of the snow and dive at you. A few shots with your manual weapon works
well against them. After the first two, another three come in from the
rear. Repeat the above strategy for dealing with them. The one to the
right (if you're facing backwards) leaps first, followed by the middle one,
and finally, the leftmost one. You should then see another three coming
from behind, but they quickly pass you, so face forwards again. As you
near a small canyon, they leap out at you - the rightmost one first, then
the middle, then the leftmost.
Continue facing forward as you pass through the canyon, as three Didar
from the right and two Didar from the left leap down in front of you. Fire
as quickly as possible, as they are then joined by another six Didar that
also leap down in front of you, closer to you than the first group. These
are then joined by three Madidar, which look just like the Didar, but are
a darker color. If they're still alive as you exit the canyon, they turn
and run to the left, so face that direction and quickly finish them off.
Once you've killed the Didar, another three Erkist approach from the rear
before moving to your front and leaping at you. You'll soon be entering
another canyon, where you should see about five Didar leaping back and
forth above you. They don't jump down like the previous ones did, so be
quick when locking-on to them. After they're dead, four Madidar do the
same thing, starting from the left side and jumping to the right. If you
missed any, look the the right after exiting the canyon. You should see
them climbing to the top in the distance.
At the same time, be ready for five Erkist that move to your front, and
leap at you one after another. Again, use your manual weapon to easily
take them down. As soon as you've killed them, you'll move over one last
hill, and head down towards a bridge, towards the Episode's boss battle.
+----------------
- EB) Pathway B -
----------------+
Moving past the ruins (which should be on your right), look straight ahead.
On a small hill in front of you, eight Urimasan should pop out of the
ground. Quickly lock on to all of them at once and fire. If you're quick
enough, they won't be able to launch any green acid balls at you. If they
do, however, simply use your manual weapon to avoid getting hit. After
you pass where the first group was, another eight pop out of the ground,
slightly to the left. Repeat as before.
After your dragon moves slightly to the right, another eight Urimasan will
pop out of the ground a little bit right of straight ahead, followed by a
group of four right in front of you. The group of four appears way too
close to quickly lock-on and destroy, so use your boost to destroy them.
You'll move into the next area, where it is nighttime and where there are
tons of pillars everywhere. To the left of you, about twenty Yarva-Maum
appear, before moving directly in front of you and then to the right.
They only take one laser each, so simply lock on to as many as you can,
fire, lock on to more, etc. After you've gotten rid of the first group,
turn and face right. Another group of Yarva-Maum, smaller than the first,
appear. Lock on and fire homing lasers as they move toward your front.
Still facing forward, look high up into the sky. You should see a large
Vont-Morli above. Try to destroy it as quickly as possible, as it drops
four Didar and then attempts to speed away. Once you've taken care of it,
focus on the enemies it dropped on the ground. After the Didar have been
killed, look back into the sky, still looking forward (but very slightly
to the right). Another Vont-Morli carrying Didar flys in - once again,
kill it before focusing on the ground enemies.
Now, face left. A final Vont-Morli appears, but this one is carrying six
Didar. Again, destroy the Vont-Morli first, and then the Didar. Face left
again, keeping an eye out for a lone Madidar. Watch out for the green acid
balls it launches. Once it's dead, you should face forward again, where
another Madidar appears, as well as four Urimasan that pop out of the snow.
Boost to destroy them, while focusing your lasers on the Madidar. Another
three Madidar then appear in front of you, and another four Urimasan pop
out of the ground. Repeat as before, using your boost to take care of
them effortlessly. Finish off the Madidar (if you haven't already), and
shortly thereafter, you'll move on to the Episode's boss battle.
+------------------
- BOSS: Els-Enora -
------------------+
This boss battle is split into two parts, and the first is relatively
straightforward. As you run along the bridge, look just to the left of it.
You'll soon see the Els-Enora rise up, and as it does, lock-on as much as
possible. Do so for several rounds, and you'll see it fire green blade-
like projectiles at you. Either shoot them down with your manual weapon
or boost just before they hit you to avoid them. Continue firing your
lasers, and it'll speed away and cross over to the right side of the
bridge. After a few more salvos, it'll speed up until it is directly over
the bridge, and then decelerate, so that you're now in front of it. Turn
around to face it, shoot down the four rounds of four projectiles each it
fires, and continue your attack. The Els-Enora will move to your right
for a little while, fire a few more rounds, and then move out of view,
underneath the bridge and behind you.
When it reemerges, it'll do so on the right side of your bridge (to your
left, if you're still facing backwards), and then cross over to the other
side. Be ready for more projectiles, and continue attacking while it moves
to your front. Once you've damaged it enough, you'll move to the second
phase of the boss battle.
All your dragon forms, along with their berserk attacks, are not available
for you to use. For the most part, you want to use either your Base or
Heavy Wing here. While the extra number of lock-ons that the Base Wing
has is wasted, as there aren't a large number of targets on the boss, it
fires its manual weapon faster, making it easier for you to shoot down
the projectiles the Els-Enora fires. The Heavy Wing does more damage
per round of lock-ons, but again, might have a slightly more difficult time
avoiding damage. Choose whatever form you prefer, and go to work on the
Els-Enora's back targets. Most of the projectiles she fires at you miss,
by the way, so don't worry too much about them, unless they're coming
straight at you (usually the middle one). Once you've taken care of those
targets, switch to your Glide Wing.
Boost to either side of the Els-Enora, and turn to face it. Under each of
the large wings is four targets, which you should use your Heavy or Base
Wing to attack (again, use whatever form suits your playing style better).
Be aware that almost as soon as you move to the side of the wing, she will
fire over a dozen purple acid balls at you, one right after another. Take
them down quickly to avoid damage, and fire at the wing targets as soon
as you've done so. Once you've destroyed all four, you'll see the wing sag,
and the Els-Enora will slow down so that it is right behind you. Quickly
switch to your Glide Wing, and slow down to move out of its way.
As you slow down, move to the wing that you hadn't attacked before. Again,
you'll see another four targets underneath. Repeat the same strategy as
above. This time, though, your task will probably be a little more
difficult than it was for the first wing. The Els-Enora may decide to get
behind you for another ramming attempt (just switch to your Glide Wing and
slow down to get back under the wing), and then speed far ahead. If it
does the latter, you'll see it pirouette, releasing countless white
feathers. Switch to your Glide Wing, and point yourself in the direction
of the wing you had been working on.
As you head in that direction, keep your finger on the fire button, to try
and destroy any feathers in your path. If you're not firing at a feather
close to you, release the button and quickly press it again - you should
automatically target the closest feather. Anyways, once you're through
the feathers, boost to get back to wingside, switch to the Base or Heavy
Wing, and continue attacking until the targets are destroyed. It wouldn't
hurt to use a berserk if you have one ready. You'll find that the Els-
Enora will repeat the speed-up-and-release-lots-of-feathers process quite
rapidly from now on. Just repeat the above strategies if that's the case.
As the wing finally sags, switch to your Glide Wing and slow down, so that
you're once again behind the Els-Enora. Keep your finger on the trigger
button, firing at the endless stream of projectiles she is now spitting
out. I never really understood why, but shooting them down now damages
her. You'll have to adjust your aim slightly every once in awhile, but
just keep at it, and she'll go down. You can even try boosting to get
right in front of her to shoot down the projectiles, which works just as
well, if not better. Congratulations!
+-------------------
- MINI-BOSS: Atish -
-------------------+
Upon immediately starting the Episode, you'll begin a "boss" battle. Your
dragon will be facing the onrushing Atish - switch to your Heavy Wing, and
lock-on and fire as quickly as possible. If you see the blue exhaust of
the rockets it launches, quickly shoot them down. I'm not quite sure, but
I believe if you destroy them right after they launch, they help damage
the Atish. Obviously, use the Heavy Wing's berserk as soon as you can. If
you see it start closing in on you really fast (it'll come really close to
you), quickly switch to your Glide Wing and boost away, putting more
distance in between you. At this point, he should have less than a quarter
of his health left. Switch back to your Heavy Wing, and continue firing
until he's dead.
You'll now be in a rather strange-looking tunnel. Once you get to the end of
it, you should enter a small room with a large green blob in the middle. As
you pass it, you'll encounter two Kot-War (blue) and one Gat-War (red) - they
fly in a circle right in front of you. Only target the Gat-War, using any
form you wish. Once it is destroyed, the two Kot-War are destroyed as well.
In these corridors, watch closely for eye-like structures near the ceiling.
These can also be destroyed, but cannot be locked on to, so use your Glide
Wing.
A short while later, another trio emerges. The Gat-War will emerge from right
underneath you to your front, and the three will circle around you (as opposed
to in front of you, as the first trio did) in a clockwise direction. Once
again, destroy the Gat-War to get rid of all three. Just a little while after
this encounter, you'll meet up with a third and final trio. This time, they
circle around you in a clockwise direction, but then reverse and circle around
you counterclockwise. No matter - just kill the Gat-War, and you'll receive
a gene base! Quickly destroy the eye-like structures, and then switch to
your Base or Heavy Wing. Destroy a group of four Nayak in the distance (they
fire a green laser at you). As soon as you do so, swing around and face your
rear to destroy another three Nayak. Turn 180 degrees to face forwards again,
and you'll see a door closing from left to right. It might not be necessary,
but go ahead and boost through the gap to be safe.
Once you're through, there will be two Nayak that emerge from the right wall,
and then two from the left wall. Destroy them with your homing lasers, then
move to the left wall, as another door is closing, from right to left. Even
before you're past the door, however, you'll see three Nayak in a vertical
line along the left wall - kill them and boost through the gap.
As soon as you're through that door, you'll see another door closing, from
left to right. Boost through this gap as well, and quickly destroy three more
Nayak, before moving to the left wall. Another door will be closing from
right to left. Beyond this door is another door that closes from floor to
ceiling, so try to time your boost so that you can get through both gaps at
once.
As soon as you're through the vertical door, four Degla will appear. Boost
through them and under a door that is closing from ceiling to floor. As soon
as you're through, you'll see Abadd drop down in front of you, and the two of
you will enter the next area.
You and Abadd will be in another small tunnel, where he'll talk to you for a
little while. In this tunnel, you have your first choice of tunnels. Right
after a small dive, you'll both level out, and Abadd will make a quick left
turn. If you move to the far left and follow him, you'll take Pathway B. If
you continue straight ahead, you'll take Pathway A. I recommend Pathway A:
while it is quite a bit harder to kill every single enemy, that route offers
the possibility of two gene bases that Pathway B does not.
+----------------
- FA) Pathway A -
----------------+
After a series of quick turns, you'll enter a pinkish-colored room. You
will probably want to be using your Base Wing for a little while. As
soon as the short cutscene is over, a large number of Degla will enter.
It's not that Degla are hard to kill; it's just that the view is rather
disorienting, making them harder to locate than normal. At any rate, the
first group of Degla lines up side-by-side. Without moving your view too
far up or down, move your targeting reticle left to right. You should be
able to target all nine in one round. As soon as you kill those, another
group of about five Degla rapidly fly up past you. Turn to face them and
target them as quickly as possible; meanwhile, eight more Degla zoom in
from above. Try to take them out before they pass you.
You want to keep facing in this direction, as five more Degla then rise
into view. Destroy them as soon as possible. Now, get ready. Hopefully,
your berserk meter is full and ready to use. Still facing up, towards the
direction you came from (your radar will be facing 6 o'clock), you'll
see your dragon speed through a series of bluish-colored tunnels, before
you once again reemerge in a second pinkish-colored chamber. As soon as
you enter, Degla will start swarming in. A few groups from the direction
you're facing, then a small group from the other direction (don't turn
around - they rise into view), and finally, a huge swarm of them. Use
your Base Wing's berserk attack to hopefully get them all, and you'll be
rewarded with two gene bases! Shortly thereafter, you'll once again speed
through some more tunnels and rejoin the main pathway.
+----------------
- FB) Pathway B -
----------------+
As you exit the tunnel, you enter a white corridor in which the walls start
closing in on you. Face forward, and get ready to destroy two groups of
four Degla that pass you to your front. Use either your lasers or a well-
timed boost to easily take them out.
After a brief dive, your dragon slows down, almost to a complete stop.
Face forward, as five Churook under the ground pass you and pop out of the
ground ahead of you. Destroy them all at once with your Base Wing's
lasers, and then a second group of five that pop out of the left wall.
Five more do the same from the right wall, and then another five from the
ground ahead.
Another group of five Churook pops out of the left wall, and finally, a
last group of five out of the right wall. As soon as the last group is
destroyed, a door ahead opens up and your dragon starts speeding up again.
You'll enter another corridor in which the walls close in on you.
Continue facing forward, and be ready for two groups of four Degla each.
They pass from behind into your front view, one group slightly to the left,
the other slightly to the right. Use lasers, boosts, or a combination of
both to destroy all eight.
Your dragon will slow down again, and you'll see five Churook burrowing
underneath you as they pass to your rear. Swing around 180 degrees to face
them, and destroy them in the same manner as before. Another five appear
out of the left wall (if you're facing backwards), then five out of the
right wall, another five out of the ground, then five out of the left wall,
and finally, a last group of five Churook out of the right wall.
Once you destroy the last of the Churook, your dragon starts speeding up
again. Continue facing backwards, however. As you start climbing, four
Degla appear from behind - destroy them with your Base Wing's lasers. A
second group of four Degla then appears, also from behind, as soon as the
first group is killed.
Turn and face forward again, as your dragon reaches the end of the corridor
and slows once again. You should know what's coming next - this time,
however, things will be slightly harder, as they locate themselves on two
surfaces at once, not just one. Three Churook pop out of the ground, and
another three out of the left wall, at the same time. Destroy all six
quickly, then immediately target another two trios that pop out of the
ground and the right wall. Then, another two trios pop out of the ground
and the left wall, and finally, two more groups of three that emerge from
the ground and the right wall. Once they're dead, you rejoin the main
pathway.
+---------------
- Main Pathway -
---------------+
The main pathway joins up in a large, gold room. As soon as you enter, ten
Nayak come in from the front, and start firing green lasers at you. Quickly
destroy them. Switch to your Heavy Wing, and get ready for four Degla that
drop down from the ceiling. Destroy them, and then you'll a large circular
object in front of you. This is a lock, and the color of it depends which
Pathway you will take. It changes color as you fire at it; I strongly
recommend that you change it to blue, as doing so unlocks either Pathway A or
B, which you choose between at the next lock.
After you fly over the first lock, four Degla will pass you and enter your
front view. Destroy them before they can release their green bombs, and you'll
come upon a second lock. Once again, I'd recommend changing it to blue,
putting you on Pathway A2 (if the first was also blue). You take Pathway B if
the first lock was blue, but the second isn't, and Pathway C if the first was
not blue.
+------------------
- FA2) Pathway A2 -
------------------+
As you were firing on the previous lock (the one that put you on this
Pathway), you'll probably have noticed some radar contacts at 6 o'clock.
Turn around and quickly destroy them (they do pass to your front view, but
drop their green bombs when they do, so kill them before they have a chance
to). After you make a left, you'll encounter two Carrier Nayak, which fire
a reddish-colored laser at you. Quickly destroy both (still using the
Heavy Wing) for two gene bases.
Switch to your Glide Wing as some horizontal black and gold beams come into
view. Keeping your fire button pressed, weave up and down to avoid them.
Some Degla should pass from behind to your front, and be automatically
targeted by your Glide Wing's weapon. As soon as you're through the beams,
switch back to your Heavy Wing, and destroy another two Carrier Nayak.
Once again, you'll receive two gene bases for destroying them both!
During your battle with the previous two Carrier Nayak, you may have noted
that your view changed. So, instead of horizontal black and gold beams
ahead of you, they are now vertical. Switch back to your Glide Wing, and
weave left and right to avoid them, once again keeping your fire button
pressed, to destroy the Degla that pass you.
Once you're through the vertical beams, you'll come upon a third circular
lock. Again, I'd recommend you changing it to blue (use your Heavy Wing),
which allows you to choose between A or B for the third pathway, at the
next lock.
As soon as you've changed the lock to blue, turn around and face your rear,
as another group of four Degla is approaching. Destroy them quickly, then
face forward as you fly under the lock. You'll get a message that the
security wall is opening. A final circular lock is in front of you - yes,
you guessed it: turn it blue, and you'll take the third Pathway A.
+------------------
- FB2) Pathway B2 -
------------------+
To enter this pathway, the first circular lock should be blue, the second
any color but blue. Just before you start flying under the second lock,
turn around and face your rear. Quickly lock on and destroy four Degla
that approach at a high speed, then turn around and face forward (you
should be in Heavy Wing form still).
As you make a left turn, destroy three Carrier Nayak with your lasers, then
switch to your Glide Wing. Keeping your finger constantly on the fire
button, bob under and over five black and gold horizontal beams. As you
do so, four Degla should pass you, but they are easily taken care of if
you were firing with your Glide Wing.
Immediately after you pass the last beam, switch back to your Heavy Wing
and destroy another four Carrier Nayak. Once they have been disposed of,
get back into Glide Wing form and weave left and right past six more black
and gold beams, which are vertical this time. Again, keep firing your
weapon at all times, to destroy another four Degla that pass. You'll then
come upon another circular lock (the third you've encountered). Turn it
blue to open either the third Pathways A or B; otherwise, you'll unlock
Pathway C.
Turn around and face your rear as soon as you're finished changing the
color of the lock, and destroy another four Degla with your Base Wing.
After you fly under the lock, you soon see the fourth and final circular
lock. If you turned the third lock blue, turn this one blue as well to
take Pathway A (skip down to Section FA3), or leave it any other color to
take Pathway B (skip down to Section FB3). If you didn't turn the third
lock blue, you end up on Pathway C no matter what (Section FC3).
+------------------
- FC2) Pathway C2 -
------------------+
At the second lock, face your rear. As you start to pass underneath, four
Degla come from that direction, so take them out with one round of Heavy
Wing lasers or two rounds of Base Wing lasers. After they are dead, turn
around and face forward. As you come out of the left turn, destroy four
Carrier Nayak before switching to your Glide Wing.
Firing your weapon at all times, bob under and over six black and gold
horizontal beams, destroying the four Degla as they pass. Immediately
after you clear the last beam, switch back to your Heavy Wing and destroy
another four Carrier Nayak.
Switch back to Glide Wing, and weave left and right past the now vertical
black and gold horizontal beams (six total). After you bypass them, you
should see the third circular lock straight ahead. Turn it blue to open
either the third Pathways A or B; otherwise, you'll unlock Pathway C.
Once you're finished changing the color of the lock, turn and face your
rear. Switch back to your Heavy Wing if you haven't already done so, and
destroy four Degla that approach from that direction. Turn and face
forward as your dragon flys under the lock - directly ahead of you is the
fourth and final lock.
If you turned the third lock blue, turn this one blue as well to take
Pathway A (skip down to Section FA3), or leave it any other color to
take Pathway B (skip down to Section FB3). If you didn't turn the third
lock blue, you end up on Pathway C no matter what (Section FC3).
+------------------
- FA3) Pathway A3 -
------------------+
You'll fly over the lock, make a quick right, and then encounter several
groups of Degla. Destroy them as quickly as possible, before you come
across another set of horizontal black and gold beams. Repeat as you did
before, switching to your Glide Wing to bob up and down past the beams,
and keeping your fire button pressed to take care of the Degla. Once you
are through the beams, switch back to your Heavy Wing.
Another pair of Carrier Nayak await, and once again, destroying both yields
another two gene bases. Also, there will also be a few Degla in here that
you need to take care of as well. Congratulations, you've reached the end
of this Episode!
+------------------
- FB3) Pathway B3 -
------------------+
After you fly over the fourth lock (which should not be blue), you make a
quick right turn. As quickly as possible, destroy a group of Degla near
the ceiling, before they release their bombs. Almost immediately, another
group of six Degla pass you from behind and fly into front view. Destroy
them as well, then switch to your Glide Wing.
Bob over and under another five black and gold horizontal beams, killing
the four Degla that pass you with your Glide Wing's gun. Once you are past
the beams, quickly switch back to your Heavy Wing. Destroy the six Degla
(in two groups of three) that pass you from behind, and then a second group
of six. You've now reached the end of the Episode!
+------------------
- FC3) Pathway C3 -
------------------+
After you fly over the lock and turn right, you'll meet three groups of
four Degla each. On this pathway, the corridors are extremely narrow, so
destroy them before they release their bombs - if they succeed, you will
certainly be hit.
After the Degla have been taken care of, switch back to Glide Wing, and
fire constantly as you bob over and under more black and gold horizontal
beams. Destroy the four Degla that pass while you're doing so, then get
back into Heavy Wing form. Once again, destroy another three groups of
four Degla each, before they can release their bombs. Once they're dead,
congratulate yourself: you've reached the end of the Episode!
As you can see from the walkthrough above, I strongly recommend that you choose
Pathway A for each of the three routes, the main reason being that there are a
great number of gene bases that are only available this way. In case you are
interested in taking different routes, for variety's sake, here is how you
would go about doing so:
First route:
Pathway A: In the tunnel with Abadd, continue straight ahead, rather than
following him to the left.
Pathway B: In the tunnel with Abadd, move to the left, and turn right after
he does.
Second route:
Pathway A: Turn both the 1st and 2nd circular locks blue.
Pathway B: Turn only the 1st circular lock blue, leave the 2nd one any
other color.
Pathway C: Do not turn the 1st and 2nd circular locks blue.
Third route:
Pathway A: Turn both the 3rd and 4th circular locks blue.
Pathway B: Turn the 3rd circular lock blue, leave the 4th any other color.
Pathway C: Do not turn the 3rd and 4th circular locks blue.
As soon as you start out (you should be in Base Wing form), lock-on to the four
Interception Program ver 1.00s and fire your lasers. As soon as you've fired,
turn around and face your rear. Two more will form a vertical row on the left,
two more will do the same on the right, and three more will fly in just after
them in a horizontal row beneath them, making a "U" like shape. Lock-on to all
seven at once and fire, then turn around and face forward.
As you fly through the tunnel, four more ver 1.00s will fly in from the rear
and pass to your front. Quickly destroy them as before, then face backwards
again. Six more will appear (three appear slightly after the first three), in
two horizontal rows. As soon as you've destroyed them, face forward and switch
to your Heavy Wing.
An Interception Program ver 2.00 will appear right in front of you. It has
three targets you can lock-on to: the central "eye," and a small point to each
side of the eye. Three rounds of Heavy Wing lasers should destroy it, but be
quick, as two more ver 1.00s appear in front of you as well. Shortly after you
destroy them, you should exit the tunnel, and see a large golden door in front
of you. The door soon opens, and you'll face:
+----------------------------
- MINI-BOSS: Diodopure Lv 1 -
----------------------------+
Note that the outcome of this battle determines what Pathway you will take
next. Destroy the Diodopure, and you'll be placed on Pathway A; fail to
do so, and you'll take Pathway B. I'd recommend killing it - switch to
your Glide Wing.
You'll see a jagged sensor moving over its surface. Keeping it within your
targeting reticule, keep your fire button pressed while you bob and weave
to avoid the big green laser that fires. If there's a pattern to where it
fires, I haven't figured it out yet. Anyways, just keep firing at the
sensor until the health bar is depleted.
Once the first health bar is gone, you'll see it refill, and the circular
field around the Diodopure disappear. Now, switch to your Base or Heavy
Wing, and lock-on and fire as rapidly as you can, while avoiding the blue
lasers that it fires. Once you've destroyed it (it doesn't take long),
you'll receive two gene bases and a message that "the analyzation was
successful." You'll now take Pathway A (if you killed it, of course).
Otherwise, skip down to section GB.
+----------------
- GA) Pathway A -
----------------+
You'll enter the Memory Cell, a bluish-colored corridor. Look for a blue,
spinning object ahead of you, slightly to the right. Destroy it to receive
a message. You'll see a second ahead of you, but slightly to the left.
Once again, you receive a message for destroying it. Shortly thereafter,
you enter the next area, where you'll encounter:
+-------------------------------------
- MINI-BOSS: Central Data Unit Ofnir -
-------------------------------------+
Look for glowing, white orbs beneath the "water" ahead of you. Using your
Heavy Wing, wait for it to pass behind you. Swing around to face it, and
then lock-on quickly once it jumps out. You'll see the health bar appear
just as it does. Try to get off your lasers before the Ofnir dives back
into the water.
After a couple of rounds, the Ofnir will move back to your front. A few
more shots later, you'll pass it again, so swing back around to face it.
Try to be quick and fire some more lasers, but note that the Ofnir will now
try to ram you, so you'll have to switch to your Glide Wing and boost away
to avoid taking damage. It'll probably repeat the attack again, before
leaping over you to your front. Now is a perfect time to do a lot of
damage, as it stays above the water in front of you for a little while.
Be ready for some spinning, green projectiles he fires at you, however.
Most seem to miss regardless, but go ahead and destroy them with your
manual weapon if they get too close. The Ofnir will then dive, move back
behind you, and then leap again from your right side to your front. You
will see four Interception Program ver 1.00s joining to form a ring ahead.
Quickly destroy them before the Ofnir passes through, or he'll regain some
of his health back!
Hopefully, you'll prevent that from happening, but if he still lives, you
may see him jump out to either your left or right side, and then swerve in
an attempt to ram you. Boost out of the way, and continue attacking him
as before until he's dead. You'll automatically move to the next area
as soon as he is, where you'll now be on the main pathway.
+----------------
- GB) Pathway B -
----------------+
Once the Diodopure reaches the end of the corridor (you'll have passed
through about seven of the large, golden doors), you'll get the message
that "more data is required." Switch to your Base Wing if you haven't
already. You'll be in a small, white, square-shaped room (it kinda reminds
me of those padded rooms mental patients are locked up in). This next
sequence is somewhat random...keep an eye on your radar, and as soon as
you see contacts, turn to face that direction.
Destroy three ver 1.00s in a "V" pattern. Get used to quickly targeting
them when they're arranged like this, because that's all you'll be seeing
in this room. As I mentioned above, the direction that each trio appears
at is randomized, so simply repeat until you've destroyed a total of ten
groups. Destroy them quickly enough, and you'll get a message that the
"analyzation was successful." Otherwise, you'll get a message that the
analyzation is aborted. I'm not quite sure what effect this has, however.
You are automatically sent to a Memory Cell. A spinning object will appear
in front of you, slightly to the right. Destroying it yields a message,
as does a second spinning object that appears shortly thereafter, slightly
to the left. Also note that towards the sides of the rooms are "pillars"
of blocks stacked upon one another, which can also be destroyed. Switch to
your Heavy Wing before you move on to the next area.
Quickly destroy the Interception Program ver 2.00 directly in front of you,
as well as two ver 1.50s that appear just above it, then move to your rear.
After you destroy the first ver 2.00, swing around 180 degrees and destroy
a second ver 2.00 and the 1.50s, if you haven't already. The ver 1.50s
fire and then quickly leave, so take them out first.
Face forward again, and destroy another two 1.50s that pass you from the
rear. As you start into a dive, another ver 2.00 appears. Again, destroy
it with your Heavy Wing. As soon as it is dead, turn and face 6 o'clock,
where another three ver 1.50s appear, followed by a second group of three.
Swing around and face forward again, where a ver 2.60 appears. Destroy it
with a few rounds of Heavy Wing lasers, and you'll receive a gene base as
a reward. Just before you get to the large, golden doors, you rejoin the
main pathway.
+---------------
- Main Pathway -
---------------+
As soon as you're back on the main pathway, you have another opportunity to
choose what route you will take. This plays out just like the first choice,
where destroying the Diodopure will put you on Pathway A (recommended), and
failing to do so will put you on Pathway B.
+----------------------------
- MINI-BOSS: Diodopure Lv 2 -
----------------------------+
There is really no difference between this battle and the first one. Go
ahead and switch to your Glide Wing, and fire at the sensor the whole time,
while you are dodging the green laser. As soon as the circular field is
gone, switch to your Base or Heavy Wing and finish him off. You'll receive
another two gene bases, and another message that "the analyzation was
successful." You'll now be put on the second Pathway A. If you decide not
to kill it, however, skip down to Section GB2 below.
+------------------
- GA2) Pathway A2 -
------------------+
Once again, you'll find yourself in a Memory Cell. Strangely, it's had
a different appearance during some of the many times I've played through.
Sometimes, it'll look like the first Memory Cell, except that it is a
whitish corridor. In that case, it also has two spinning objects that
you can shoot for messages. Usually, however, I'm in a large room, with a
gold, star-shaped oject in front of me. It'll talk to you for a little
bit, and then you'll move to the next area.
This next place is an expansive purple landscape - you'll see a large,
floating object in the far distance ahead of you. Switch to your Base
Wing, and quickly lock-on to four Sealance Images ahead of you and slightly
to the right. Do the same for another four slightly to the left, and then
a group of six that pulls in ahead of you. Note that one is pinkish-
colored, while the others are blue. The pink one is a Carrier Sealance,
and it drops a gene base.
As soon as you've destroyed these, another two groups of six Sealance
Images each appear. One comes in from the left, the other from the right,
meeting directly in front of you. Destroy them quickly - you may need to
face backwards, if any get by you.
If you're not already doing so, face forward again. A large group of
Sealance Images will appear in front of you, arranged in a circle. Make
sure to get the Carrier Sealance, located in the middle of the circle, for
another gene base. As you continue facing forward, below the large
floating object I mentioned earlier, you'll see a huge group of Sealance
Images appear.
Just after you can see them, a group of about fifteen of them appear right
in front of you. Now would probably be a good time to use your Base Wing
berserk attack, if you have one saved up. Take out as many of the near and
far Sealance Images as you can - you should be able to destroy all of them,
actually. In the far group, somewhere near the left side, is another
Carrier Sealance, which drops another gene base. Shortly thereafter, you
automatically move on the the Episode's boss battle.
+------------------
- GB2) Pathway B2 -
------------------+
If the Diodopure moves through the seven large, golden doors before you
destroy it, you'll find yourself transported to a room exactly like the
one in this Episode's first Pathway B. As with that chamber, the location
where the enemies appear is randomized - the key is to keep a close eye
on your radar, and immediately turn to face any threats that appear.
I prefer using the Heavy Wing here, as the Base Wing lasers are not
powerful enough to destroy the enemies that appear with one hit. The
first group to appear consists of two Interception Program ver 1.50s, side-
by-side. You'll face a total of seven pairs (including the first one),
followed by a lone one. Once you've destroyed them all, you receive the
message that "the analyzation was succesful," and are transported to a
Memory Cell.
The Memory Cell is a narrow and short corridor, which should be pretty
familiar to you if you took the first Pathway B. Two spinning objects
appear, first to the slight right, then to the slight left, and release
messages if destroyed. Also, there are stacks of blocks piled upon one
another that can also be destroyed. You're only in this room for a short
while, so be quick if you want to try and get everything. Switch to your
Base Wing before you enter the next area.
Immediately, five Interception Program ver 1.00s appear, in front of you
and in a straight, horizontal line. Destroy them quickly, and then another
four that appear (two slightly left, two slightly right). After those are
destroyed, another four appear, in the same pattern. However, they appear
much closer to you, so you'll probably have to swing around and face your
rear in order to target them all at once.
Keep facing your rear, but switch to your Heavy Wing. As quickly as you
can, destroy a ver 2.60 that appears, and then a ver 2.00 that appears
right above where the ver 2.60 was. Turn 180 degrees and face forward
again, as five ver 1.50s (arranged in a "U" shape) fly in. Destroy them,
as well as another ver 2.60.
Once the ver 2.60 has been destroyed, a group of eight ver 1.50s appear,
also to your front, but in a square pattern. Finally, another ver 2.60
appears to your front. Destroy it, and shortly thereafter, you are
automatically transported to the Episode's Boss Battle.
+--------------
- BOSS: Abadd -
--------------+
You start the battle facing backwards. Switch to your Heavy Wing, and fire
a few rounds of lasers at him. He'll quickly zoom past to your front, so
turn 180 degrees to face him and continue firing. Watch out for some white
bolts that drop down before speeding towards you. When you see them, you
should probably switch to your Glide Wing to avoid getting hit. If you
boost, you'll move back in front of Abadd, where you should switch back to
your Heavy Wing and continue attacking.
Shortly after you do so, he'll move up alongside you, to the right of your
dragon (to the left, if you're facing backwards). Once he does, switch
back to your Glide Wing, boost forward, and get back into Heavy Wing form
to fire more lasers. He'll then zoom past you to your front and slight
left again, where he'll drop more of the white bolts.
In Glide Wing form, boost past him again, switch to Heavy Wing, and fire
more lasers. He'll now pull up alongside the dragon's left side, so once
again boost out in front of him. After a couple more shots, Abadd should
fly over you and stop in front of you - you'll notice that there is now
a conveniently highlighted target in the middle of his back.
Fire at the target with your Heavy Wing until he turns around and faces
you; he almost looks like he's just lounging. Once he does, switch to your
Glide Wing and boost to his side. You might have noticed that his head is
also a target as well, now. Boost again to get in front of him (he'll be
facing away from you), and fire Heavy Wing lasers as quickly as possible.
Watch for any big movements by him, however. He'll move his torso and try
to ram you with the back of his head. Once you see him start to move,
quickly switch to your Glide Wing and slow down (not boost) to get back to
his side. Then, boost to get back in position and continue your attack.
Use your Heavy Wing's berserk attack on the large target if you can. After
a little while of attacking his back and/or head, he'll change position and
then explode into tiny pieces.
He's not quite dead yet, however; he reappears behind you, where you should
fire more lasers, and then quickly passes you. In the distance ahead of
you, you should see three objects arranged in a triangle. Abadd will grab
them, and then fall back behind you (the objects he picked up will now be
circling him).
Abadd will then move back to your front, slightly to the right, and release
the objects directly in your path. It quickly spreads out into a big row
of spiky blocks, that are about to fire some bolts at you. Switch to your
Glide Wing and avoid the first round of bolts, which are arranged in a
vertical row (move to the side). The second round is in a curved pattern
(think an "S" on its side), and the third another "S." The next few shots
are fired in a circular shape, so try and stay in the middle of the bolts.
Once they've stopped firing, the spiky blocks will disappear and Abadd will
be back behind you. Fire at him, until he speeds forward, grabs some more
spiky blocks, and then moves behind you again. Continue attacking him with
your Heavy Wing, until you see him release a large, black spiky block. The
block will release three smaller blocks, which you can shoot down with your
manual weapon. This will happen twice more, until the large block moves
back to Abadd.
Abadd will then move back in front of you, in the lounging position he was
in earlier. Boost forward twice to get in front of him, and attack him as
you did before. Hopefully, you'll be able to finish him off while he's in
this position - giving you an S-rank time. Congratulations!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= H) Episode 8: Imperial City =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
As soon as the Episode start, switch to your Heavy Wing. In your front view,
just to your right is a Transport Tank Emden train. Destroy it as quickly as
possible with your homing lasers. You may have to turn right to finish it off
and shoot down any missiles it launches with your manual weapon. As soon as
it is destroyed, however, face front.
Another Transport Tank Emden train is in front of you. Quickly get off some
shots before you pass it, then turn around and try to finish it off before you
get too far away. Continue looking backwards, and up above you. You should
see a third train speeding along - quickly destroy that one as well. As you
are attacking it, you will probably find yourself turning, and eventually
facing right and then forwards. Once you're facing forwards (the last train
should be destroyeed by now), you'll see a fourth train. It is initially
stopped, but soon starts speeding off. Quickly destroy it, then switch to
your Base Wing and enter the next area.
You'll be traveling through some narrow tunnels - turn around and face your
rear. As soon as you're through the first tunnel, you'll see three Battleship
Bhout (that are soon joined by a fourth). Quickly lock-on and destroy them.
Continue facing backwards, and you'll come across another four Bhout. Destroy
these as soon as possible, as at least one will try to ram you. Another two
Bhout follow you, but are easy enough to destroy.
As soon as you exit this tunnel, still facing backwards, you'll see another
four Bhout give chase. Destroy them as you did the others. Now, face forward
and take out a lone Bhout firing at you - you need to be quick to get this one.
In the next large room, you'll notice a large number of contacts on your radar.
Switch to your Heavy Wing, and turn to your right. You'll see three rows of
ten Dragonmare Embryos each. In this room, you decide what Pathway you will
take next. Destroy all of the Embryos, and you'll take Pathway A. Fail to do
so, and you'll take Pathway B. Anyways, start firing and destroying them as
quickly as possible. Focus first on the row closest to you, and use your
berserk attack if you desire (you'll have to change your view to the left as
you fly alongside the first row).
As you move between the first and second row, you should have already gotten
rid of most of the Embryos hanging from the first row. If you haven't, do so
now. Each row yields two gene bases, by the way. Be on the watch for a large
statue that rolls in quickly to the left. This is a Patrol Airship Vayu -
destroy it with your Heavy Wing's lasers, and then continue working on the
second row (which is now to your right). A second Patrol Airship Vayu appears
on the right as well; quickly destroy it and continue.
As you move in between the second and third rows, you should have destroyed
the entire second row by now, and collected your two gene bases. Attack the
embryos to your left, until your dragon circles around. Another Patrol Airship
Vayu appears to your right, and then to your left. Destroy them before they
hit you, then finish off the last row, collecting another two gene bases.
You'll now take Pathway A if you destroyed all of them. If not, skip down to
Section HB below.
+----------------
- HA) Pathway A -
----------------+
As you enter another tunnel, you should hear a message that all of the
Embryos have been destroyed. Switch to your Base Wing; after a series of
quick turns, you'll enter an open room, where you'll appear to slow down
a bit. A large number of Floating Mine Mardai appear, so quickly lock-on
to as many as you can, fire, then repeat for the rest. Boosting won't get
all of them, so rely on your weapons.
As you enter the next series of tunnels, a lone Airship Vahra will join
you. Destroy it with your Heavy Wing, and you'll claim another two gene
bases. Switch back to your Base Wing, and face forward, if you're not
already doing so. As you exit the tunnel, you'll see four Airship Kartha
fly towards the middle and then veer off to the sides. Quickly lock-on to
all four and fire before they get away.
In the next tunnel, two more Kartha appear, zooming past you. Lock-on and
destroy them as quickly as possible, before they drop their bombs. You
should now be back on the main pathway.
+----------------
- HB) Pathway B -
----------------+
As you fly through the tunnel, you'll hear a message that "the enemy is
in the laboratory." Switch to your Base Wing, and as you exit the tunnel,
quickly lock-on and destroy four Airship Kartha before they veer off to
the sides. After entering the next tunnel, continue facing forward.
Another two Kartha zoom past you to your front, so quickly destroy them
before they drop their bombs.
After exiting the tunnel, you'll see another four Airship Kartha that
repeat the same pattern as the first four, veering off to the sides. Get
them before they escape. Once again, another two Kartha will pass you in
the next tunnel - repeat as before. You'll then exit, and then enter
another tunnel, where another two Kartha pass. You know what to do.
After exiting this tunnel, quickly lock-on and destroy a third group of
four Airship Kartha, that repeats the same pattern as the other two. You
will then enter another tunnel, destroy another pair of Kartha that zoom
past you, and here rejoin the main pathway.
+---------------
- Main Pathway -
---------------+
You now find yourself in large, open room. Switch back to your Heavy Wing,
and face approximately 7 o'clock. You'll see two Hovertank Dahra on the
ground, and they start firing at you almost immediately. Quickly destroy them,
using your manual weapon to intercept any incoming projectiles. At the same
time, be on the lookout for three Battleship Bhout that fly out towards the
left side of the screen (when facing the Dahra). Destroy them quickly, then
finish off the Dahra if you haven't already done so.
As you pass a large pillar, you'll see several more Hovertank Dahra on the
ground, at about 9 o'clock. Destroy them and the missiles they fire, as well
as another three Battleship Bhout. As you continue circling the room, you'll
probably have noticed a Catharp standing in the middle of the room. For now,
though, worry about the Hovertank and a couple more groups of three Bhout that
attack.
Once the Hovertank Dahra and Bhout have all been taken care of, focus on the
Catharp. While you can target a lot of different targets, pay particular
attention to the head. You'll remember from Episode 3 that you had to destroy
the armor protecting his head. Look for every chance you have to target the
head, and fire on it as quickly as possible - you don't have many chances. If
you're able to destroy the armor a second time, you'll be rewarded with another
two gene bases! Switch to your Base Wing before you move to the next area.
You'll now enter another tunnel. Shortly after entering, you'll see a radar
contact. Boost to destroy the Floating Mine Mardai, and then use your lock-ons
to destroy a group of four Airship Kartha. In the next tunnel, another two
Kartha will pass you - destroy them before they drop their bombs.
The same pattern repeats. Exit the tunnel, destroy four Kartha, enter another
tunnel, destroy another two that pass. Once you're through this tunnel,
however, you'll then encounter a group of about eight Floating Mine Mardai.
Quickly lock-on to some of them and fire before they have a chance to damage
you, then boost through the rest.
In the next tunnel, another two Kartha pass you, so quickly destroy them once
again. Soon thereafter, you should get a message that "the enemy is making its
way to the airship production area." You'll now have to face:
+-------------------------------------
- MINI-BOSS: Assault Carrier Vermana -
-------------------------------------+
You've met this ship before, in Episode 1. Switch to your Heavy Wing, and
fire a few rounds of homing lasers as you pass underneath it. Once you're
above the Vermana, destroy as many of the Hovertank Dahra as you can. You
will then start to move to the other end of the ship and higher above.
Watch out for a large number of missile that fire from below, slightly to
the right. Switch to your Glide Wing if you need to, then go back to your
Heavy Wing and continue attacking as you start to dive closer to the ship.
While passing it and climbing, turn around to face the Vermana once again
and fire more lasers at the hull. Use a berserk if you have one ready.
At this point, the Vermana will likely fire five homing mines, which you
should remember from before. If you switch to your Glide Wing and start
firing early enough, you should be able to shoot them all down. Othewise,
boost out of the way. Continue the same strategy of focusing on the hull,
and the Vermana will soon be destroyed.
Switch to your Base Wing, and face behind and slightly to the right. Five
Battleship Bhout come in and start attacking - quickly lock on and destroy
them. As you enter a tunnel, five Airship Vahra will pass you to your front.
Switch to your Heavy Wing and destroy them as quickly as possible. At one
point, they'll most likely drop behind you. Simply turn 180 degrees and keep
firing, until they move back to your front. One of them drops another gene
base.
Now, switch to your Glide Wing. You'll be passing through a tunnel that has
small fires along the side. Boost past a door that is closing from the bottom
up, another one closing from right to left, a second one closing from right to
left, and finally, one closing from left to right. You'll now face:
+-----------------------------------------
- BOSS: Imperial Defense Unit Bacharsuha -
-----------------------------------------+
Switch to your Heavy Wing, and immediately start firing at the highlighted
targets, using both your lasers and your manual weapon (while you wait for
the lasers to hit). Move down as you see the arm to your left swing in
your direction, then move up when you see the right one do the same, to
avoid getting hit.
Go ahead and destroy the arms that just swung at you, with a couple of
rounds of homing lasers each. Watch out for missiles that fire from the
Bacharsuha, however - they fire straight up, before speeding towards you.
Use either your manual weapon (or Glide Wing, if you feel the need) to
destroy them. After both arms are destroyed, go back to work on the
highlighted target.
The Bacharsuha will then turn around 180 degrees, so switch to your Glide
Wing and boost twice to get back into position. Switch back to your Heavy
Wing and continue attacking until you hear them say "you won't be able to
dodge this!" You'll see some blue electricity charge up, so get back into
Glide Wing form, and boost out of the way of the laser. Once you're back
into position, more missiles will fire, so take care of them the same way
you did before.
After a little while, you'll see the Bacharsuha start turning again, in a
clockwise direction. Slow down (not boost) twice to get back into view of
the weak spot. Continue attacking with you Heavy Wing, and you'll soon
see two large pink orbs where the arms were. They get bigger, and then
dissipate, and you'll note that the arms are now back. The left arm will
again swing at you first, then the right arm. By this point, it will only
take a few more shots, and the Bacharsuha will transform.
"Damn you!", he yells. Once you hear that, switch to your Glide Wing, and
get ready to do a little bobbing and weaving. Fire continuously, as the
eight arms start turning clockwise. Once you get the timing for moving
over and under the eletrical beams down, this part isn't too hard. If you
are feeling a little brave, try using your Base Wing instead of the Glide
Wing! This will allow you to fire homing lasers at the arms as they pass
you, doing extra damage!
Once they've stopped turning, the arms will arrange themselves in two
groups of four, one to the left, one to the right. Use your Heavy Wing to
destroy them, but be mindful of more missiles that fire. After a little
while, any remaining arms will rotate around, and the Bacharsuha will start
climbing. Continue attack, but as soon as you hear "take this!", switch
to your Glide Wing. Move in a large circle, as you keep your fire button
pressed. If you keep moving, you'll avoid the large orbs that fire at you.
Once you pull up to the same level as the Bacharsuha, you'll see the three
targets highlighted. Try to build up your berserk meter to full again (if
you've already used it this battle - otherwise, it should already be full).
Don't use it just yet, however...use it when you see a vertical row of
three lasers form and a bright pink flash. This will keep you from getting
damaged, while you dish out quite a bit yourself.
The Bacharsuha will now start turning clockwise again. Boost to the left
twice (don't do it so fast that you run into the lasers!). The pink lasers
should have stopped firing, and you can continue to work on the targets
with your Heavy Wing. You'll then see the trio of lasers start charging
up a second time. This time, they'll rotate counter-clockwise.
Most likely, you haven't been paying any attention at all to your radar
screen during this battle. Now would be a good time to start. You should
be facing your 6 o'clock position - in other words, your rear. This means
that you want to slow down, not boost to avoid the lasers! Do it once,
and then again a second time when the lasers get close again.
Back in front of the three targets, continue attacking with your Heavy
Wing. You'll see the lasers charge up a third time. Switch to your Glide
Wing, and boost twice to get out of the way. After you attack it a little
while longer, you'll fly over the Bacharsuha, as it descends. Once you're
level again, face forward, and switch to your Glide Wing. You'll have to
bob over and under any remaining arms, but it should be much easier this
time, as most of the arms should be destroyed. Again, feel free to use
your Base Wing to do a little extra damage to the arms as they turn.
Once they've stopped, more missiles will fire, and you'll see the large
pink orbs again. The arms will be repaired as soon as the orbs disappear,
and the Bacharsuha will start climbing again. Repeat as you did the first
time, target the arms as you climb. Hopefully, you'll have your berserk
meter full as you level out. The enemy will be charging up another trio
of lasers, so use your Heavy Wing berserk attack just before it fires.
This should finish it off. Congratulations!
This is perhaps the hardest Episode to write a walkthrough for - it's pretty
much just one massive, frantic dogfight. Hopefully, you'll have both your
Heavy and Base Wings at Level 5, as it'll make getting an excellent score here
much easier. Don't worry if they're not, however, as you get quite a few gene
bases during this battle. Feel free to use your Base Wing's berserk attack at
any time during this battle - there's always a lot of enemies around, so you
won't be wasting it.
As soon as you start the Episode, you'll be in Base Wing form, with the Cradle
in the distance ahead. Four Dragonmare Embryos will already be out, and are
soon joined by another two. Lock on to as many as possible (each Embryo has
several targets each), and fire as soon as you've done so. If you don't kill
all four in the first round, lock-on to any leftover as well as more that are
dropping down. Including the groups that drop down and the ones that were
present at the start, there will be a total of twelve Embryos directly ahead of
you, and two of them (in the last and second to last groups that leave the
Cradle) drop gene bases. Quickly destroy them before they get past you, as it
will make things much easier.
Once they're dead, turn to your left and look down. From a lower altitude
comes another group of Dragonmare Embryos. Three will be visible initially,
but another four soon come from the same direction. One of the Embryos in this
group of seven drops, in particular one of the latter four to appear, drops
another gene base. Once they're all dead, swing 180 degrees to face your right
side.
In the distance, you'll see another group of Embryos, this one numbering about
five. Again, quickly lock-on and fire as soon as you see them, and repeat as
soon as you can to finish the survivors off. These Embryos are spaced pretty
closely together at the start, but one of the leftmost and last ones to appear
drops another gene base.
As soon as that group has been taken care of, face your rear. There are seven
in this group, and they arrange themselves in a formation behind you. The
first stops directly behind you, the others to the sides and below. Destroy
them all quickly, but one on the left side (if you're facing backwards) drops
another gene base.
Now, face forwards. A total of ten Embryos start attacking - two initial ones
to your front (one slightly left, one slightly right) and one each to your back
left and right. You won't have time to kill all of these before the rest of
them come in and swarm you from all directions. You might get the temptation
to keep swinging around in all directions, trying to get them all. However, I
think things are easier if you just keep facing forward. All of them will
eventually enter your front view as they circle around you. Be careful not
to miss them when they do, as this strategy won't give you many second chances.
Anyways, if you succeed in killing all of them, you'll have been rewarded with
an additional two gene bases!
+--------------------
- BOSS: Dragonmares -
--------------------+
This battle is almost identical to the boss battle from Episode 4. This
time around, however, there are a total of ten enemies you'll have to deal
with. I like to use the Heavy Wing for this encounter, but if you prefer
the Base Wing, go ahead and keep using it. Anyways, the ten of them zoom
past you to your front. Go ahead and start attacking them, even though you
aren't doing much damage (note, the health bar hasn't appeared yet); you'll
still build up your berserk meter. Use it whenever you have the chance
during this battle, except for when they're using their rainbow trails.
Once the health bar appears, they'll split off into different directions.
Change to your Glide Wing, keep your finger pressed on the fire button at
all times (to do a little extra damage to any that cross your path), and
get ready to dodge the rainbow-colored trails again. Once they're done
with the trails, the Dragonmares will regroup in front of you. Quickly
switch to your Heavy Wing and start hammering them.
The Dragonmares will start releasing spinning discs at you. If you're low
on health, you might want to switch to your Glide Wing, to more easily
dodge them. However, I find that if you just keep weaving back and forth,
while you're still locking-on and firing lasers, they'll miss you. After
a little bit of this, they slow down and you pass them. Face your rear,
and continue attacking.
One Dragonmare on the left side (if you're facing backwards) will release
four flaming missiles - shoot them down with your manual weapon. Continue
firing your lasers, but be ready for another one (towards the right) that
also fires flaming missiles. The Dragonmares will then fly over you, so
swing around and face forward again.
As soon as they do so, they drop some type of weird mines or something.
Whatever they are, they're quite easy to avoid. Once you're through them,
the Dragonmares will have moved back to your rear, so turn around and face
them again. Continue your attack, but beware of the green bolts they fire.
Also, some of the ones on the right will fire more flaming missiles. A
short while later, they move to your 9 o'clock position, far below you.
While they're down there, continue attacking with your Heavy Wing. They'll
fire a large number of flaming missiles, however, so you may want to switch
to your Glide Wing to shoot them down. The Dragonmares then move to your
3 o'clock position, but far above you. Again, continue attacking with your
Heavy Wing, but they'll fire another large salvo of flaming missiles, so
switch back to Glide Wing if necessary.
The Dragonmares will then drop to your rear, where you should be able to
get a few rounds of lasers off, and then quickly move to your front. Three
of them will now fire four flaming missiles each, and then they will all
split off in different directions again. Now, the battle pretty much
repeats itself from the beginning, with them using their rainbow-colored
trails again. Just keep doing what you've been doing, using your berserk
when you can, and they'll soon all be dead. Once there are only a few
left, however, I'd recommend saving your berserk for the next and final
Episode. Another S-rank time! Congratulations!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= J) Episode 10: The End of Destiny =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This is it, the final boss battle...good luck!
+----------------------
- BOSS: Abadd Form II -
----------------------+
Quickly switch to your Heavy Wing, and start attacking the large, spiky
crystalline object directly in front of you. As soon as you see six
glowing, green, star-shaped objects form a ring around it, however, start
targeting them with your manual weapon. If you don't destroy them, they
fire a laser that's pretty much impossible to dodge. Alternatively, you
could wait until they're just about to fire (they very briefly flash), and
then use your Heavy Wing berserk on the crystalline object, damaging it
while avoiding taking any yourself.
A second set of the green, laser-firing objects appears, but this time
there are eight. Repeat as above, and then again for a third set of twelve
that appears. By this time, the health bar should be almost all the way
down. Don't relax yet, though...the golden-colored ring circling the
crystalline object stops in front of you, and is about to start firing
lasers.
Quickly switch to your Glide Wing and slow down (not boost) to the right.
Do so again after the first round of lasers, and you'll find yourself at
the other side of the crystalline object. Continue attacking with your
Heavy Wing, and it'll soon be destroyed. Watch out for a large number of
projectiles that start flying at you from above, however, using your
manual weapon or Glide Wing as need be to destroy them. You also may have
to boost twice again to get back to the other side, if you notice that your
shots aren't doing much damage. After witnessing the miracle of birth,
you'll then face:
+-----------------------
- BOSS: Abadd Form III -
-----------------------+
You start off in front of him, facing backwards. Using your Heavy Wing,
quickly fire your homing lasers before he dives into the water. Anticipate
where he will emerge, and fire another round of lasers as he rises out of
the water. He'll then dive back down, rise out again (fire lasers each
time he does so), and repeat until he is in front of you. As soon as he
is in front, you'll see him disappear. Quickly switch to your Glide Wing.
Dodge the green laser he fires (a boost can make it easier, but isn't
necessary). He'll reappear and then disappear again to fire a second
laser. After you dodge the second one, switch back to your Heavy Wing and
continue to attack. You'll close in on him, so watch out for his tail -
it can hurt quite a bit. Of course, use your berserk attack if you have
one ready. Soon, you'll pass over Abadd and move to his front. Turn
around and face him, while continuing your assault.
After he suddenly rises and disappears, he'll reappear in front of you.
Switch to your Base Wing and lock-on as much as possible around the white
dragon's head. Now, WAIT. This probably isn't something used to, as all
along, I've been telling you to lock-on and fire as quickly as possible.
Resist the urge to fire, until you hear a high-pitched beeping sound and
see a green glow around your dragon. NOW fire!
Doing what I recommend will definitely help you avoid alot of frustration.
Otherwise, you'd have to try and lock on to expanding magenta circles that
fire lasers at you - this is much harder than simply targeting the dragon
and then releasing after you hear the noise. Keep repeating the process,
locking-on and then waiting for the beeps. After several times doing this,
you'll close in on Abadd - now, switch back to your Heavy Wing and go back
to firing as quickly as possible. Use a berserk if you can.
Once you see him disappear again, switch back to your Glide Wing, and get
ready to dodge a series of green lasers. Simply moving in a huge rectangle
will keep you from getting hit. After two rounds of four green lasers
each, Abadd appears ahead of you. Quickly switch to your Heavy Wing and
fire a couple salvos of homing lasers before you pass him. After you pass
him, continue firing, but watch out when he dives into the water.
You'll see his tail moving towards you while he is underneath. Switch to
your Glide Wing, and when you see him leap out and hear him roar, quickly
boost forward to avoid getting hit. He'll then leap up and disappear into
the ceiling (?), and repeat the same attack. Once again, boost when he
leaps down at you and roars. Now, switch back to your Heavy Wing as he
dives back down into the water and swims past you. His wings will be
jutting out of the water, and you can target him. Be careful not to run
into them as you pass, however, as this will damage you.
After you pass him, he'll speed up and move to your front again. Repeat
the attack on his wings, again moving out of the way of the wings as you
pass him a second time. Facing your rear again, he'll pop out behind you.
At this point, he should be nearly dead (well, this form at least). After
a couple of rounds of Heavy Wing laser fire, you'll now face:
+----------------------
- BOSS: Abadd Form IV -
----------------------+
I hope you got the hang of the strategy I gave you before, for avoiding
the magenta lasers - you'll have to use it quite a bit again. Change to
your Base Wing and lock-on as much as possible around the white dragon's
head, and wait for the high-pitched beeping and green glow. You'll have
to do this a total of about ten times. Don't get impatient and fire your
lasers early! After the last round of magenta lasers, you'll see the
dragon turn away from you and fly further away.
Take this opportunity to switch to your Heavy Wing and fire a few rounds
of homing lasers, but after he passes you to your rear, switch back to
your Base Wing. You'll have to shoot down three more rounds of magenta
lasers. He'll then pass you, so face forward again. He doesn't do much
for a little while, so now is an absolutely perfect time to use your
Heavy Wing berserk attack. If you do so, he shouldn't have much health
left at all. Avoid the whipping tail, and fire a few more rounds of
lasers. It shouldn't take much more than that to kill him. Now, sit back
and relax - you've just beaten Panzer Dragoon Orta! Congratulations!
===============================================================================
5. Sub-Scenarios
===============================================================================
Before you begin these sub-scenarios, take a little bit of time to get used to
the controls:
-(A) Button-
Hold down to rapidly boost your pod up. It's much safer and efficient,
however, to simply repeatedly tap (A) at varying speeds, as need be. This
way, you retain much more control over the pod.
-(X) Button-
Fire your gun rapidly.
-(B) Button-
Hold down to lock-on missiles, release to fire (starting in Epeisodion 3).
-(Y) Button-
Reload
-Left Trigger-
Turn your view 90 degrees to the left.
-Right Trigger-
Turn your view 90 degrees to the right.
-Left Trigger + Right Trigger (at same time)-
Same as the (A) button.
-Left Thumbstick-
Move your targeting reticle and the pod.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= IA) Epeisodion 1: Death of My Father =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Those of you who insisted on complete freedom during flight should have a
little fun with these missions. The mission starts with you in mid-air, with
your pod starting to drop. Try to get the hang of controlling your craft, by
repeatedly tapping (A). Tap a little faster to rise, or slow down the pace if
you'd like to continue falling, but with a little more control.
To proceed, simply point your pod up and to the right of where the mission
began. Using controlled taps of (A), make your way to the gap where the red
arrows are pointing. Avoid hitting any pipes, as you will have to restart
the mission. Start dropping as soon as you move through the gap (or even just
before), following the red arrows to another gap above the floor.
Tap (A) relatively slowly, to allow your pod to fall at a controlled rate. As
you pass through the gap above the floor, however, quicken the pace to start
rising again. Turn slightly to the left and rise quickly to move through the
third and final gap high above, once again using the red arrows as a guide.
Once you are through, you should see the landing zone far below you. Point
your target towards it, and using controlled taps of (A), aim for the outer
red ring. The more controlled your descent is, the less chance that your pod
will slide too far over the center.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= IB) Epeisodion 2: Imperial Military School =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
While I suggested tapping the (A) button to control your pod's movement in the
previous mission, you should probably start getting used to using the Left and
Right Triggers together instead. The same strategy of using controlled taps
still applies - however, you'll need your thumb to control your weapon now.
If you can't quite get the hang of using the triggers (i.e. you keep turning
instead of boosting), feel free to keep using the (A); just be careful to not
neglect it and crash into the ground while firing!
As the mission starts, move slightly up and to the left. Get ready for a group
of eight Yarva that fly in from behind and pass to your front, where they
arrange themselves in a "U" pattern. Your pod's weapon works much like the
Glide Wing's, although the targeting reticle is much smaller and aiming isn't
so automatic. Quickly destroy the eight Yarva and continue facing forward.
Another group of Yarva, this time numbering 20 of them, appears to your front.
The Yarva fly in and arrange themselves in a "E" pattern - quickly destroy
them, starting at the top right. Be mindful of any green acid balls they may
fire at you. As soon as you destroy them, another group of Yarva flies into
your front view.
This group of 21 Yarva arranges itself in a "W"-shaped pattern. Destroy them
starting with the first to appear, in the top right. Once they are dead, your
pod should automatically start rising. You may get a little disoriented, but
continue facing forward.
As you level back out on the floor above, make sure to start boosting again,
to avoid hitting the floor. A single Seba flys into your front view, moving
from right to left. Quickly destroy it, then turn and face 3 o'clock. A trio
of Seba appear, arranging themselves in a triangle pattern. Kill them the same
way as before.
After they are dead, turn and face your rear (still boosting to avoid hitting
the floor). Another trio of Seba appears, arranged in a "V" pattern. Try and
kill them in this view, before they move to your 9 o'clock position. 56/56
and an S rank! Congratulations!
This mission is similar to the previous two missions, but your pod now has the
ability to lock-on and fire missiles! Of course, with this new feature, you'll
have to face tougher enemies, but no matter. As soon as you start, four Seba
will fly into your front view from behind and to the left, and form a diagonal
line. Destroy them with a combination of missile and gunfire, then turn and
face right.
Four more Seba fly in, and also arrange themselves in a diagonal line. Repeat
as above, using missiles and your manual weapon. Once they have been killed,
turn and face forward. A Morli flies into view, with a pair of Yarva on each
side. The Yarva are easily destroyed by your manual weapon, so don't waste
missiles on them. Quickly destroy them with your gun and then focus on the
Morli, using a combination of missiles and rapid fire. Make sure to keep your
pod boosting, so that you don't crash into the ground as well.
After the Morli and Yarva have been taken care of, your pod will start to climb
automatically. It can get a little disorienting, but face backwards - as your
pod starts to level out, another Morli and six Yarva appear. Again, use your
manual weapon to destroy the Yarva, and a combination of your manual weapon and
missiles to destroy the Morli. As soon as it has been taken care of, turn 180
degrees and face forward. Three Seba pass you from behind, in a horizontal
line - quickly destroy them with your missiles.
Once the Seba have been killed, turn 180 degrees to face your rear. A group of
about eight more Seba fly in, and arrange themselves in two horizontal rows.
Lock-on and fire missiles, while using your manual weapon while waiting for the
missiles to hit. That's it, congratulations!
Admit it - Mobo can get on your nerves after a little while, when you're going
through the main game. In this mission, you get to pilot a Battleship Bhout
and take out your agression on him and his friends. Unlike the dragons or pods
you've been piloting, however, the Bhout doesn't have a manual weapon - only
missiles. Thus, you'll have to be careful not to waste any lock-ons, as you
won't be able to make up for mistakes with rapid fire.
First, you'll have to destroy a total of 13 Wormriders, but since they appear
only one at a time, this is rather easy. Stratei will call out a direction
(i.e. front, behind, left, right), and you'll have to quickly turn and face
that direction and destroy the lone Wormrider. Keep in mind that they can
appear from above or below - they aren't necessarily level with your Bhout.
Unfortunately, the direction they appear from is random, so you'll have to
react quickly, as soon as Stratei shouts the location.
If you're having trouble turning to face the Wormrider, you might want to turn
and face front after every encounter. This can be a little less disorienting
than if you just kept facing the last direction an enemy came from. At any
rate, after you destroy the first 13 Wormriders, Stratei will ask if you want
him to take over. Of course, you're not going to let him have any of your fun.
You'll then have to do the same thing as before, for 10 more Wormriders.
Once again, the Wormriders will appear from random directions, so you'll have
to listen and react quickly. This time, things can be a little bit harder, as
they seem to fly away faster, as well as fire purple acid balls at you earlier.
If you recall, we don't have any manual weapon to shoot them down, either!
Solution: shoot them before they shoot you. Once you've destroyed a total of
23 Wormriders, the last one will appear, and it looks like it's Mobo! You'll
have to be much quicker with him, as it'll take four rounds of missiles before
he goes down. It'll all be worth it, however - congratulations!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= IE) Epeisodion 5: Village of the Seekers =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
COMING SOON
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= IIA) Mission 1: A Shot in the Dark =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Over the course of the game, you've probably destroyed hundreds of Battleship
Bhout, playing as Orta. Now, you have the chance to try and protect them!
Controlling a Hovertank Dahra, you will have to make your way through Yelico
Valley (from Episode 1), destroying any anti-aircraft turrets you come across.
Your vehicle controls much like the Glide Wing (without morphing, gliding, or
berserk attacks, of course), with a rapid fire weapon. A very good strategy
is to keep your weapon firing at all times; however, do not let your ammo run
completely out. While it automatically reloads, it takes longer than if you
reloaded (B Button) manually, which you can do at the same time as you fire.
As the mission starts, immediately start firing at a group of three turrets and
a second group of two turrets in front of you. Slightly past them and to the
left is another turret, in a brightly lit area. Destroy it, then continue
firing ahead (as you pass the rocks, you may have to turn slightly right),
at five more turrets. Shortly thereafter, another two turrets will be found
slightly to the left, near the base of the cliffs.
As soon as you've destroyed the last pair, you should see a domed building
to the right coming up. Directly left of it, but obscured at first, are four
more turrets that will already be firing, as they come into view. Destroy them
as quickly as possible to keep your Bhout alive, then immediately turn right
and destroy a lone turret just past the dome. Face straight ahead and shoot
another five turrets arranged in a straight line. As you're doing so, you'll
probably see some anti-aircraft fire coming from the right and a little bit
above, on a ledge - destroy them as soon as they come into view.
Keep firing straight ahead, strafing from side-to-side. Oftentimes, you'll be
able to destroy some turrets before they even come into view. This is the case
with about four turrets ahead, and another five located slightly to the right
after those four. Now, get ready: start firing as you come across another
brightly lit alcove to the left, and as soon as the turrets there have been
destroyed, fire straight ahead. Strafe side-to-side constantly, destroying
several rows of turrets. You'll start to see people running on the ground in
your path.
As you see another dome come into view on the right side, destroy the turrets
directly across it on the left, then focus your attention at more rows of
turrets directly ahead. Again, continue strafing side-to-side to destroy them,
then look high above on a ledge directly ahead. Several more turrets are based
there, as well as several in a nook to the left before you pass underneath.
Destroy the ones high above, then quickly turn left and destroy the ones in the
nook, then face forward. More turrets will be arranged straight ahead in a
row, with a couple more just before them in a small nook to the left. That's
it! Hopefully, you'll have destroyed all 74 turrets and kept your Bhout alive!
At least until they meet Orta, that is...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= IIB) Mission 2: The Fury of Mobo =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I always wondered what Mobo was up to after he was shot down by the Guardian
and before he meets Orta again in a later Episode - now, we get to find out.
In this Mission, you will be pursuing Orta far ahead, but unfortunately, quite
a few obstacles are in your way. Each time you're hit, your "worm" slows down,
decreasing your chances of succeeding. In addition, you'll want to run over
soldiers scurrying along the ground at the same time; you will literally have
to run them over, as your weapon is ineffective against them, for some reason.
Of course, there will also be flying enemies, so you will want to use a
combination of lock-on smoke bombs and manually fired acid balls to destroy
anything in your path.
As the Mission starts, immediately destroy a Battleship Bhout that appears
slightly to the left, and then another two that appear just afterwards. You
should already see soldiers running, so stay as low to the ground as possible,
to try and run them over. Another two Bhout will appear, followed by a group
of six Morli. Note that it is not necessary to destroy all of the flying
enemies you face to get a high score - just make sure to clear a path and avoid
getting hit. Against the Morli, I find that rapidly firing purple acid balls
works better than using lock-ons, dishing out more damage in a shorter time.
Destroy a couple (if not all) of the Morli before you pass them, making sure to
shoot down any green acid balls they fire at you. Three more Morli will then
fly from right to left into your front view, so repeat as before. Shortly
afterwards, two more Bhout pop out and start firing missiles - use your purple
acid balls to make short work of them. Throughout all of this, you should
still be trying to fly low and run over soldiers if you can.
After the pair of Bhout, a group of four Morli will appear in your front view,
moving from left to right and stopping directly in front of you. Fire purple
acid balls as quickly as possible to clear a path, or you will run into them.
Then, another four will appear, only from right to left, repeating the same
pattern - again, quickly fire purple acid balls to clear a path.
As soon as you're through, continue firing straight ahead with your purple acid
balls. A couple waves of four Battleship Bhout arrive and fire missiles. Try
to destroy them before they spread out to your sides, as it'll make avoiding
damage much easier. Once the second wave has been destroyed, five Morli fly
into view directly ahead. Quickly destroy the middle one to avoid running into
it.
Five Battleship Bhout will then fly over you into your front view, arranged in
a straight horizontal line. Destroy them before they fire their missiles with
a combination of smoke bombs and acid balls. As soon as they're gone, another
three Bhout fly in from above, one after another. Once again, destroy them
before they can get off any shots.
You'll then encounter five more Morli, but don't try to take them all out.
Simply use your purple acid balls to clear a path and focus on three Bhout that
drop into your front view from above. A second group of three Bhout flys into
your front view from the right, just after the first trio that dropped is taken
care of.
Again, you should be ramming soldiers whenever you have the opportunity. Be
on the lookout, however, as several waves of Bhout are heading on a collision
course. They don't even try to fire missiles, just fly straight through you.
Use both smoke bombs and acid balls to clear paths through their formations.
Now, another five Morli fly into view, so start firing your purple acid balls
as fast as your finger will allow. Focus on the middle one, and fly through
the gap you created, continuing to fire at a huge swarm of Bhout. These Bhout
are like the previous group, trying only to ram you. Simply fire straight
ahead to clear a path - don't worry about the ones on the side.
Once you've passed the huge swarm, four Bhout fly in, fire missiles, and try
to fly away. Quickly destroy these (before they fire, if you can), but the
main thing is to avoid getting hit, so focus on any missiles they launch first
and foremost. Shortly thereafter, a lone Shieled Warship Shaiha should come
into view. It'll start off on the ground, but quickly launch and try to
escape.
Fortunately, it exposes its weak spot by doing this, so fire salvos of lock-on
smoke bombs and purple acid balls as fast as you can. It should only take a
few hits before it explodes, sending soldiers through the air like confetti!
And look, there's Orta ahead! Congratulations!
This Mission consists of seven levels, and in each, at least 80% of the enemies
encountered must be destroyed to progress to the next level. Retrying missions
is allowed, but since the number of trys is graded, this will have to be kept
to a minimum to obtain an S Rank.
+----------
- Level 1 -
----------+
As soon as the Mission starts, turn and face your rear. A lone Ramjanaki will
move into view, slightly from above. You'll recall that during the main game,
we made use of our glide gauge to get into position to destroy these enemies.
Don't bother with that here - instead, lock-on and wait. Each Ramjanaki you
encounter in this Mission starts out shielded for a few seconds, unshields for
a very brief time, then reshields itself. After you've locked on, wait for a
couple of seconds and then fire as it moves towards your 3 o'clock position.
Your laser should hit just after the shield goes down. Now, get this timing
down, as you'll have to repeat it quite a few more times. Still facing your
3 o'clock position, two more Ramjanaki appear, one atop the other. Lock-on,
wait a few seconds, then fire just as they get to about your 1 o'clock
position. As soon as they have been destroyed, turn 180 degrees to face your
rear. Four more Ramjanaki appear, slightly below you - as before, wait a few
seconds and then fire as they move towards your 9 o'clock position. Hopefully,
you've got the timing down by now.
Now, two pairs of Ramjanaki will appear, one pair at 9 o'clock (which you
should be facing, from the previous encounter), and one at 3 o'clock. Lock-on
to the first pair, then quickly swing around 180 degrees to lock-on to the
second pair. Now, wait until they move into your front view, then fire. Now,
two groups of four Ramjanaki each will repeat the same pattern. Lock-on to all
four on one side, turn 180 degrees and lock-on to the remaining four, then fire
as they approach 12 o'clock. Don't wait too long, however, or they'll reshield
before your lasers hit. 19/19, good job!
+----------
- Level 2 -
----------+
Face behind and to the left. Lock-on to the lone Ramjanaki that appears there
briefly, before moving counter-clocwise around you. Again, wait a few seconds
and fire. Face forward, and lock-on to three more arranged in a relatively
horizontal line. They'll be moving left, and then suddenly change direction
towards you in an attempt to ram you - fire as they start in your direction.
Face forward again, and three more Ramjanaki will appear, slightly to the right
and below you. Repeat as before, locking-on and firing after a few seconds
(they should be at about 3 o'clock), when they're about to start heading back
towards you. As soon as they've been destroyed, face forward and look up high.
Three more Ramjanaki appear, then quickly move to your rear - fire when they
are in back of you, then face forward. Two groups of three Ramjanaki each will
appear, one to the left, one to the right. However, they are circling you in
opposite directions, so all six will cross your front view. Quickly lock-on to
all six, then fire as they circle and enter your back view. 16/16! Good!
+----------
- Level 3 -
----------+
If you're not already doing so, face forward in your Base Wing. A group of
eight Interception Program ver 1.00s appear, and arrange themselves in a large
circle. Try to target as many of them as you can as the circle expands, then
fire as soon as you lock-on to all eight. Then, turn to your right view and
repeat with another circle of eight ver 1.00s.
As soon as the second group is destroyed, swing around 180 degrees to face your
9 o'clock position. Another eight ver 1.00s will appear, but this time, they
are arranged in a "X" shaped pattern. Quickly lock-on and destroy them all,
then turn left to face your rear. Once again, eight ver 1.00s, but this time
arranged in a backwards "Z" pattern. Turn 180 degrees and face your front,
then destroy a final group of eight ver 1.00s arranged in a hexagon-shaped
pattern, with two in the middle. Congratulations, 40/40 enemies destroyed!
+----------
- Level 4 -
----------+
Face forward, in your Base Wing. A group of 16 Sealance Images will appear,
arranged in a large circle. Destroy eight quickly with your lasers, then the
final eight with a second round of lasers. Immediately, an Interception
Program ver 2.00 appears where the middle of the circle was, so quickly switch
to your Heavy Wing and destroy it.
Quickly switch back to your Base Wing and face 9 o'clock. Eight ver 1.00s
appear in a more spread-out hexagon pattern, with two in the middle. After you
destroy them, turn and face your front again, and destroy another eight ver
1.00s, arranged in a circle pattern with one in the middle. Turn 180 degrees
to face your rear, and destroy yet another group of eight ver 1.00s, arranged
in a large square pattern. Finally, turn and face directly ahead, and destroy
a last group of eight ver 1.00s, arranged in a large diamond, with one in the
middle. Good job, on to the next level.
+----------
- Level 5 -
----------+
You'll have to do some quick morphing in this level! You'll be facing waves of
either a trio of Interception Program ver 1.50s or a group of eight ver 1.00s,
in various patterns. Keep in mind that as soon as you destroy one type of
enemy, the other type will appear immediately afterwards, so switch quickly!
As you continue facing forward, switch to your Heavy Wing. Destroy the trio of
ver 1.50s, arrange in a small triangle pattern. With the Heavy Wing, they fall
to only one round of lasers, so fire and forget: as soon as the lasers are on
their way, quickly switch to your Base Wing. Quickly lock-on to the eight ver
1.00s that appear, in a large circle. The key to getting them all is to lock-
on as soon as you see them appear, before they expand fully. Anyways, after
firing, switch back to your Heavy Wing and destroy another trio of ver 1.50s,
arranged in an upside-down triangle.
Switch back to your Base Wing and face your rear. Another eight ver 1.00s in
a circle, followed by an upside-down triangle of ver 1.50s. After taking care
of the last trio, switch back to your Base Wing and face forward. The next
group of ver 1.00s appear in an "X" pattern, followed by three ver 1.50s in a
vertical line. Once again, switch immediately to your Base Wing, then turn to
face your rear. The ver 1.00s appear in a backwards "Z" pattern, and are
followed by the ver 1.50s in a diagonal line (left down to right). Morph back
into your Base Wing and face forward, and destroy the final group of ver 1.00s,
arranged in a hexagon shape, with two in the middle. Finally, the last trio of
ver 1.50s arrange themselves in a horizontal line. Good work.
+----------
- Level 6 -
----------+
If you're not already in Base Wing form, switch to it and face right. A large
swarm of fifteen Sealance Images appear, so quickly lock-on and destroy them,
in two salvos of lasers and manual weapon fire. Turn and face your rear, then
lock-on and destroy eight ver 1.00s arranged in a square. Keep facing that
direction, but look below you: another large mob of Sealance Images appears and
starts flying straight up. Once again, destroy them with a couple rounds of
lasers and manual weapon fire.
Turn and face your 9 o'clock position, and destroy eight ver 1.00s that appear.
This time, they're in a pattern you haven't really seen before: think of a
backwards "Z," except that the top and bottom horizontal lines are also
slightly diagonal, rather than straight across. Also, while you're targeting
them, you probably noticed a jumbo size ver 1.00 that quickly flies to your
front. As soon as you fire at the ver 1.00s, switch to Heavy Wing, face
forward, and destroy it.
Quickly switch back to your Base Wing and destroy another eight ver 1.00s, in
a large diamond pattern, then switch back to Heavy Wing and face forward to
kill a second jumbo ver 1.00. Very good work - on to the last level.
+----------
- Level 7 -
----------+
This is actually one of the easier levels in this Mission, at least for me. No
more frantic morphing and weird formation patterns! All you have to face are
nine Shielded Warship Shaiha...not too bad, huh? Unfortunately, it's not as
simple as it sounds, as most of the time, their vulnerable spots are blocked,
and we can't boost through. So, switch to your Heavy Wing to do more damage in
a shorter amount of time.
For the sake of simplicity, I'll number them. Think of the buttons on your
telephone. The top row is 1, 2, 3 from left to right, the second 4, 5, 6, the
third 7, 8, 9. So, for example, if I am referring to Shaiha 8, I'm talking
about the one in the bottom row, in the middle.
Anyways, let's start. In the first sequence, all of the Shaiha start out
unexposed. Lock-on to Shaiha #1, then wait until it starts turning. As soon
as you see it start to do so, fire your laser and try to get a few more lock-on
shots in. Of course, you should be using your manual weapon as well. After
you get about three lasers in, Shaiha #1 will turn back around and Shaiha #2
will expose its weak spot. Repeat as above for it, then do so for all the
remaining ones (they expose themselves in numerical order). Once you're at
work on Shaiha #9, as soon as you get your last laser shot in, the entire top
row will expose their weak spots.
Since your Heavy Wing can lock-on on to three targets, target the entire top
row and fire about two rounds of lasers. Then, the second row turns around, so
repeat as above, and then again for the bottom row. Hopefully, you will have
destroyed at least a few of them by this time. Once the bottom row hides their
weak spots again, Shaiha #1, 5, and 9 will expose themselves (if they're not
already dead). Continue attacking them, until they hide and Shaiha # 3, 5, and
7 expose themselves. Repeat until all nine Shaiha are dead. Hopefully, you
will have received an S rank - Congratulations!
Those of you who took the "B" Pathways in Episode 7 will find this Mission very
familiar. Your dragon is stationary in a small, square-shaped room, in which
enemies appear at either 12, 3, 6, or 9 o'clock - nothing in-between. The Baby
Dragon you're riding is a cute little guy, but don't be fooled: he can dish out
quite a bit of damage.
Unfortunately, this Mission is extremely hard to write a walkthrough for, as
the enemies appear at random locations. Each group consists of a quartet of
Interception Program ver 1.00s, arranged in a tight diamond pattern. They will
basically be touching each other, so you will barely have to move your reticule
to lock on to all of them. While keeping in mind that time is limited, don't
be too hasty to fire. Never, ever fire unless you have all four locked-on at
the same time. Destroy all 24 groups of four, and you'll obtain the S Rank.
This Mission is very similar to the previous one and the "B" Pathways traversed
in Episode 7, though it can be quite a bit more difficult. You'll recall that
in Quick Shooter 1 and Episode 7, changing your dragon's morph form was wholly
unnecessary. Not so here: you will face three different types of enemies, in
varying numbers and strengths, and as usual, from random locations.
The three types of enemies you will face are:
- 8 Interception Program ver 1.00s arranged in a small circle
- 1 Interception Program ver 2.00
- 13 Sealance Images arranged in a large diamond
You'll want to use the Base Wing for the ver 1.00s, the Heavy Wing for the ver
2.00s, and the Glide Wing for the Sealance Images. Keep in mind that you will
never see the same type of enemy appear twice in a row. So, as soon as you
destroy one group, switch forms and turn to face the new threat. Depending on
the new enemy, you may have to switch forms once again.
The radar is your best friend in this Mission. Not only does it let you know
which way to turn as soon as enemies appear, you can also tell by the size of
the radar contacts which enemies you'll be facing. A lone red dot is the ver
2.00, obviously, while a large mass represents Sealance Images. Destroy 24
groups of enemies to obtain the S Rank.
===============================================================================
6. Glossary
===============================================================================
The game's Pandora's Box feature is an excellent resource for anyone interested
in the Panzer Dragoon universe. The encyclopedia, for instance, features an
amazing wealth of information on all of the creatures, enemy units, etc. that
you will encounter during the course of the game. However, all of the entries
are not necessarily unlocked for everyone quite yet, and since I refer to each
of the enemies in the walkthrough by name, perhaps some will still be unsure of
what enemies I'm talking about. While this is by no means a comprehensive
guide, I hope that it makes your task a little easier. Of course, there is no
substitute for simply playing the game and experiencing the enemies firsthand.
-Airship Kartha-
These flying aircraft are easily distinguishable, as they trail a long, red
flag from the rear. Be on the lookout for Prototype Kartha; these have
green flags, rather than red ones.
-Airship Vahra-
These large, durable aircraft have red wings and gold propellors extending
from the rear. It features a very prominent gold crest in the front (the
crest is a half-circle with five spikes extending from it).
-Assault Carrier Vermana-
This enemy unit is hard to miss; it is the boss from Episode 1, and
encountered again in Episode 8.
-Assault Hovership Taishak-
These are the first battleships encountered in Episode 4. They have a
large, perfectly horizontal hull, with a curved, organic-looking bulb
extending down and backwards from the front.
-Atish-
An Atish is encounted immediately upon starting Episode 6. While it is in
pursuit of Orta and the dragon, most of the body is obscured. What is
visible, however, is a large "mouth," four appendages that fire rockets, two
narrower appendages, and two white appendages.
-Battleship Bhout-
These flying aircraft have a slightly curved fuselage, two brownish/
orangeish-colored wings, and a cannon in the very front.
-Baturn-
Found in Episode 2, the Baturn are brown creatures running on two legs and
featuring two prominent, curved tusks.
-Carrier Bhout-
These are exactly identical to the standard Battleship Bhout, except that
it has green markings on the wings, rather than the brownish orange.
-Carrier Nayak-
The Carrier Nayak are large, whitish/grayish-colored creatures, with a pair
of "wings" that extend into three feather-like appendages each. Perhaps the
most noticeable feature is a long tube extending from the head, that loops
back into the creature's body.
-Carrier Sealance-
These are identical in body structure to Sealance Images, but are instead a
pinkish color, rather than bluish.
-Carrier Yarva-
Carrier Yarva are very similar to standard Yarva in appearance, in terms of
body structure, although they are much greater in size and a reddish color.
-Catharp-
Catharp are large, skeleton-like creatures, capable of moving at high speeds
on four legs, but also capable of attacking on its two hind legs as well.
They have a large, circular disc extended from their backs, and another
smaller one at the head. Catharp are hard to miss; one is the Episode 3
boss, and the other is in the Imperial City.
-Central Data Unit Ofnir-
This is a long, centipede-like enemy, with a great number of gold-colored
segments. It'll dive in and out of the "water," and occasionally heal
itself by passing through a ring of four Interception Program ver 1.00s.
-Ceremonial Turrets-
These platforms pop out of the walls of the large ship in Episode 4, usually
in pairs. Each platform has three turrets atop it.
-Churmachum-
These are large, flying, jellyfish-like creatures, with eight tentacles that
are dragged behind them. The head is covered in armor plating, and the
creature can fire a laser-like weapon from its posterior.
-Churook-
Churook are easily distinguishable, with their short, squat body, orange
"belly," and pulsating, blue rod extending from its anterior. They are
often seen burrowing underneath the ground and/or walls, and release an
electrical attack after emerging.
-Degla-
The Degla are grayish-colored flying creatures, with two appendages that can
open up into four pulsating blue "wings" during combat.
-Didar-
Didar are light-colored creatures with two legs, which they use to run along
the ground. They have a long tail, a brownish-colored fan on their back,
a short horn extending from their head, and a larger hook-like appendage
extending forward from their abdomen. Didar also have the ability to fire
acid balls,
-Diodopure Lv1-
This is a hard enemy to miss; although not technically a boss, they do
display a visible health bar. It consists of a gold-colored central orb,
surrounded by pulsating blue crystal-like structures. Three worm-like
objects can be seen moving around it, along with a sensor that occasionally
fires a laser-like weapon.
-Diodopure Lv2-
Very similar to the Diodopure Lv1 in appearance, although the central mass
is a red color, rather than gold. It too displays a health bar, making it
hard to miss.
-Dragonmare-
Dragonmares are large brown dragons with purple wings, two legs, and a long
tail that can be used as a whip. They are first encountered immediately
upon starting Episode 1.
-Dragonmare Embryos-
These resemble the full-grown Dragonmares, but have blue wings, rather than
purple, and are not capable of taking nearly as much damage.
-Els-Enora-
The boss of Episode 5, the Els-Enora is a gigantic flying creature. It is
mostly white, with three wings on each side: a relatively short one, a
very long and narrow one, and a long, broad one. Each of the broader wings
has several targets, which can fire acid balls. In addition, the Els-Enora
can fire blade-like projectiles from its front.
-Erkist-
Erkist are easily recognizable by their shark-like fin, seen while they
swim underneath the snow. While submerged, the rest of the body, which has
two large fins on either side, a tail, and a horned head, is out of view -
that is, until it leaps out of the snow to attack.
-Floating Mine Mardai-
These enemies resemble flying barrels, with four explosive spikes protruding
from them. Inside the "barrel" is a lone pilot, who will attempt to ram his
craft into you. Floating Mine Mardai are usually found in large numbers.
-Gat-War-
Accompanied by a pair of Kot-War, the Gat-War is much the same in
appearance, albeit reddish-colored. Of the trio, they are the only targets
vulnerable to weapons fire, and destroying it will destroy all three.
-Goleg-
Goleg are large, plant-like monsters encountered in Episode 2, commonly
found hanging vertically from overpasses or extending horizontally from rock
walls near the river. They have a long, extendible, green stalk that opens
up to a "flower," consisting of a purple center and five tentacle-like
appendages.
-Guardian-
This large statue is found in Episode 4. It has two arms, the left capable
of firing large boulders. The Guardian has a single eye that is able to
fire a damaging pink laser, and is protected by an anti-laser system.
-Homing Airship Ajati-
These large, square-shaped floating platforms are hard to miss. Each
corner of the square has a slightly curved pylon extending from the bottom.
-Hovertank Dahra-
These are platform-like ground units, with a large weapon in the front and
four legs.
-Ikrakav-
The boss of Episode 2, the Ikrakav is hard to miss. Its weak spot is a
white "flower" surrounded on the front and sides by a plant-like "cage."
The Ikrakav has two smaller wings, a large tail, and six large sacs hanging
beneath it. The purple sacs release large amounts of acid balls, while the
blue sacs release Yarva - both types regenerate after bursting.
-Imperial Defense Unit Bacharsuha-
The boss of Episode 8, the Bacharsuha is impossible to miss. Though it does
not really use them, it has two short legs, as well as two long arms in its
first form. Later, the unit can extend a total of eight arms, and fire a
trio of powerful lasers from its "head."
-Interception Program ver 1.00-
These are gold-colored enemies, consisting of a central orb that extends
three "arms," each ending with a gold half-circle and two pairs of short
antennae.
-Interception Program ver 1.50-
These greatly resemble the ver 1.00 in appearance, although they are reddish
in the center and have bluish half-circles and antennae, rather than gold.
-Interception Program ver 2.00-
These are gold-colored enemies, with a large central "eye." Extending from
the eye on each the left and right sides are a smaller antenna and three
large tentacle-like appendages.
-Interception Program ver 2.60-
These resemble the ver 2.00, with the same number of appendages. Rather
than gold, they are bluish and purplish in appearance.
-Kot-War-
Found in pairs and accompanied by a lone Gat-War, the Kot-War are
bluish-colored creatures that release an energy field around themselves,
while circling their target. Firing upon them only increases the amount of
electricity released.
-Kuru-
Kuru resemble opened clam/oyster shells, that release a circular electric
field around themselves when threatened.
-Madidar-
Madidar are almost identical in body structure to the Didar. The most
noticeable difference is a darkish purple color, as opposed to the light
color of the Didar.
-Morli-
Morli are bluish-colored creatures, resembling flying manta rays. They have
two eyestalks, a long, thick tail, and six smaller, prehensile tails
-Nayak-
Nayak are almost identical in body structure and color to the Carrier Nayak,
although they are smaller. In addition, Nayak have a long spike protruding
forward from their heads, whereas the Carrier Nayak do not.
-Patrol Airship Vayu-
These are large statue-like machines, with a large, curved base and two
short arms that extend from the sides and fire lasers. The "head" of the
Vayu is a sun-shaped structure which displays some type of message.
-Purnam-
Found in Episode 2, Purnam are found in large swarms, usually near Golegs.
They resemble butterflies, with a grayish body and two bright, rainbow-
colored wings.
-Pussa Bubo-
These absolutely enormous creatures are Hershey's Kisses shaped blobs, with
four tentacles extending from the very top. They have the ability to leap
great distances, as well as fire large numbers of damaging blobs.
-Ramjanaki-
These flying creatures' most distinguishing feature is a large flower-like
head, with six "petals." In addition, they use a greenish-colored
forcefield, so it is necessary to either speed up or slow down to target
their vulnerable side.
-Rokpur-
Rokpur are found in the river of Episode 2, leaping in and out only briefly.
They have a long, slender body, with two pairs of brownish-colored, spiky
fins on both the left and right sides.
-Sealance Image-
These countermeasures are a pulsating gray and blue color. They have three
flapping wing-like appendages near the head, and four small legs extending
from the posterior.
-Seba-
Seba are flying creatures, with whitish-gray armor and brownish tail. They
appear to have armored plates along the sides of the tail, but their most
distinguishable feature is a large, long, curved armor plate extending from
their black heads.
-Seeker Search Light-
These are found in Episode 1, and are brownish in color. They easily give
away their position by shining a very bright spotlight into the sky.
-Shielded Warship Shaiha-
These are large, cube-shaped aircraft, with one side of the cube protected
by a massive disc-shaped armor plate. Only this one side is protected; all
others are vulnerable.
-Transport Tank Emden-
Found in the Imperial City, Transport Tank Emden are usually found in trains
of about five cars. As the train moves along the tracks, the four rear cars
are capable of firing missiles.
-Urimasan-
Urimasan usually pop out of the ground in groups, and have a large base of
what appears to be ice. Protruding up out of the ice base is a tall purple
body with six small tentacles on the sides and an extremely large head. The
head has two appendages extending from either side, as well as a large cone
extending from the back.
-Vont-Morli-
Vont-Morli are similar in body structure to the Morli and Yondo-Morli, but
are instead a white and yellowish color, with purplish-colored tails. A
very distinguishing feature, however, is that they usually carry several
Didar, which they drop on the ground before retreating.
-Wormriders-
Mobo's fellow people ride on large, brownish-colored creatures, that
prominently feature a large mouth with a massive underbite. Each worm
carries three riders.
-Yarva-
Yarva are smaller, flying creatures with a longish, slender body and two
pairs of wings, one larger than the other. Usually a purplish and bluish
color.
-Yarva-Raum-
Yarva-Raum have almost the same appearance as the related Yarva species,
but have a reddish-brown body and white/gray wings, instead of purple and
blue.
-Yondo-Morli-
The Yondo-Morli is much larger than a standard Morli, although they have
similar body structures. They are bluish-colored and resemble gigantic
manta rays, albeit with six prehensile tails in addition to one longer,
thicker tail.
-Yondo-Worm-
Yondo-Worms are gigantic creatures, with a segmented body and massive jaws.
One worm first appears jumping in and out of the river in Episode 2, and a
pair of them are later battled as a mini-boss.
===============================================================================
7. Guide Information
===============================================================================
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= A) Version History =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Version 1.4 (May 07, 2003) - More sub-scenarios were completed: only three
more need to be written, but those may take a few days. Some cosmetic
upgrades were made as well.
Version 1.3 (May 06, 2003) - More sub-scenarios were completed, and very minor
formatting problems were fixed.
Version 1.2 (April 30, 2003) - ALL pathways in the game have now been finished
and described. More information was added to the "Leveling Up" subsection,
which was separated from the "Dragon Morph Forms" subsection (it seemed too
long as one subsection). Added more FAQs, and finished two of the Sub-
Scenarios.
Version 1.1 (April 27, 2003) - All enemies listed in the walkthrough are now
described in the glossary, and another two pathways were completed. Also,
various typos were fixed, and the section headers were slightly changed, to
make navigating the guide easier.
Version 1.0 (April 24, 2003) - The walkthrough can be followed from the start
of the game to the very end. It doesn't quite cover every miscellaneous
pathway variation just yet, but will do so in future versions
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= B) Email information =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If you have any questions regarding this guide, feel free to email me at
Thuyker at aol dot com. Make sure to put something in your email subject, so
that I don't mistake it for spam.
Also, if you have any suggestions, comments, or information that might be
useful, please let me know! I'll definitely give credit where credit is due.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= C) Credits =~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Thanks to Smilebit and Sega for such a wonderful gaming experience!
Thanks to GameFAQS and CJayC for putting this up!
Thanks to IGN for hosting this.
Thanks to "jackle r" for letting me know about the gene base in the Seeker
Search Light (Episode 1).
Thanks to "jack veneno1" for correcting my mistake regarding gene base 5 in
Episode 4.
Thanks to "Lord Alan" for his Boss FAQ and his helpful comments on my own FAQs.
In addition, as I mentioned above, I would greatly appreciate anyone who has
any further information that might be useful for this guide. Your name will
go here!
