GD: Space Invaders Extreme

[gs68]

SIE, for a game where your movement is bound to one dimension, is a surprisingly deep title--there's many ways to score, whether it be chaining enemies a la DoDonPachi (though this only affects the Chain Bonus at the end), lightning up several consecutive COLUMN or ROW lights, destroying a wave without missing a shot, among other things.

Here is what I have so far:

Some tips:
- Wait until you get a BREAK, then do a Round. You'll get longer fevers (this is even mentioned in the manual).
- R button is your best friend. On top of saving special weapon energy, you can avoid hitting aliens you don't want to hit.
- Don't use lasers against Reflector aliens (the ones who reflect your shots), and likewise don't use bombs against Assault aliens (the ones who attempt to fly down when you hit them)
- If you shoot enemy shots or lasers, it won't add to your chain, but it does reset the chain meter. Take advantage of this to maintain a chain if there's little to shoot.
- On Stage 1, you can very easily get the ALL LIT bonus. Shoot the first wave row-by-row for all three ROW lights and SAME COLOR light; as you do so, you'll get CHANGE TO UFO which allows you to get SAME SHAPE light. Then on the next few waves, sweep the screen with the laser to easily get all 5 COLUMN lights.

Features

All of these were tested on Stage 2 wave 1 in both versions.
Red + Green = SHOOT SCRAMBLING ALIENS -> Bomb
- Aliens enter from both sides of the screen and fly to the other side. Destroy 32 aliens.
- You have a Bomb powerup in this round.
- Some of these aliens are Burst aliens, which can block your shots.
Red + Blue = SHOOT FALLING ALIENS -> Bomb
- Aliens slowly descend down the screen, sometimes making 90-degree turns to the left or right and then resume falling. Destroy 15 aliens.
- Your ship has no traction in this stage.
Green + Red = SNIPE COMMANDER UFOs -> Broad Shot
- UFOs in linear formations led by red UFOs descend at an angle. Destroy 8 red UFOs.
- Shooting down a red UFO destroys all of the UFOs it's leading as well.
Green + Blue = SHOOT UP FORMATIONS (DS) / SHOOT UFO (PSP) -> Broad Shot
- SUF: Aliens make a tightly-packed formation, some of which are Reflecting aliens or bomb aliens. Destroy 3 formations.
- SU: Three rings of aliens--some reflecting, some bomb, protect a single UFO. Destroy the UFO.
Blue + Red = SHOOT ASSAULTING UFOs -> Green right-angle laser
- UFOs fly in from one side, do several loops in one place for a bit, then fly off. Shoot ? UFOs.
- UFOs will attempt to fire shots and lasers.
- In the PSP version, some formations of UFOs will simply fly across the screen without stopping to do loops.
Blue + Green = SHOOT SHOWERING ALIENS -> Broad Shot
- Aliens fly in an arc across the screen(s), often falling to the bottom of the screen. Destroy 12 aliens.
- Some of the enemies are bomb aliens--take care if these aliens get close to you and you decide to hit them.

Because of where I tested these, I don't have all the possible Rounds yet (i.e. SHOOT POPPING ALIENS, SHOOT 10 HUGE ALIENS) and thus all the possible Fever powerups yet (blue laser shots, huge laser beam).

[spadgy]

Nice start here gs68. I'll be watching this thread with interest, and contribute where I can.

Perhaps there could be a little more detail in the list of Round's features. For example ship movement (like in the Round where movement left and right is 'slidey'). 'Panalties' could be listed too. For example in the Blue + Green there's a penalty for getting struck by a falling alien after it's shot I think.

Also, is the weapon you list at the end of each Round's details the weapon you get for fevertime, or the one you use in the round?

Only suggestions though, as you know a lot more about this game than me and have really helped me in the high score thread

[gs68]

Right. I'll go ahead and add that.

The weapons I mention are the ones you get in Fever mode.

Typically, the penalties are the same across most of the rounds: getting hit by a shot will remove 1 second from the timer, and getting hit by an alien adds 1 to the counter of aliens you have yet to destroy.

Thanks for the suggestions! Ultimately, I'm hoping we can get enough info on this game, right down to each wave in each stage, to turn this into an ST.

[TLB]

Nobody plays this anymore :/

I've found that in Stages 1 and 2, killing 4 invaders of the same color and shape for both features yields beautiful results, especially because killing 4 blue + 4 green nets you the Monster Laser of Death :)

However (and it may have something to do with me being on 3-A), no matter how hard I've tried to get a good weapon (meaning MLoD) on 3-A in Stage mode, nothing works :/ Anyone have any idea why this is?

I want to go through with a camera and diagram the formations and movement of every stage, but I've got so much stuff to do :/ So far, also having figured out the extra life trick in the original post, I've been able to squeeze 1.65 mil or so out of Stage 1, and 1.4 mil out of Stage 2 (in Stage mode, so default gun and no extra lives or additive no-miss bonus). Stage 3-A, however, is where I'm thwarted. I have no idea whatsoever to start a good scoring path through here, and my high score through random play is 1.1 mil.

It'd be cool to get some renewed interest in this game, especially with the sequel out so soon :)

[MathU]

Haven't played this in a while, but there's a pretty informative FAQ on GameFAQs. It has all the different rounds and corresponding weapons.

If you're playing for score, I personally think going for the mega laser as often as possible (during a Break) is essential. It's very easy to get UFO's with it, and you're given a lot of fever time to do it. By quickly swiping back and forth when you have it, you can get the most jackpot UFO's possible. You can even get one or two jackpot UFO's without the extended time gotten during a Break if you're quick enough. To go to the mega laser round, destroy 4 blue aliens of the same shape, then 4 green aliens of a different shape.