SD: Getting the ALL-Clear in Deathsmiles out of the way

[BER]

For anyone who wants to get the ALL-Clear in Deathsmiles out of the way, I have some tips that might help. I've learned these tactics from this web site:

http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~icewind/yuki- ... h/top.html

Character Selection. Choose Rosa. She can destroy enemies before they can spit out anything threatening.

Stage Order. This is what I used:

1. B-1 Lv. 1 (Forest)
2. A-2 Lv. 1 (Graveyard)
3. A-1 Lv. 3 (Harbor Town)
4. B-2 Lv. 2 (Swamp)
5. C-1 Lv. 2 (Lakeside)
6. C-2 Lv. 3 (Volcano)

This stage order provides an easy boss mix -- I've only used two bombs for the bosses -- and a Life Up in stage C-2 that fills one life block. And if something silly happened early on, the Life Up in stage B-2 that fills up a half-filled life block should be handy.

Of course, one should avoid the EX Canyon stage and go straight to the castle. The Canyon's there for maniacs. :)

Bomb Distribution. Admittedly, I panic-bombed throughout the final stage, but I do remember areas that I would usually bomb:

• Stage A-1 boss: the third big Deathscythe that creates rings of scythe blades.
• Stage C-1 boss: columns of cubes quickly moving from left to right.
• Final stage: the third and fourth Deathscythes
• Final stage: the two large red Cyclopes

Also, it's worth it to avoid using the bomb on Jitterbug to get the Life Up that fills two life blocks. With Rosa's firepower, I've only lost one life to his second barrage with the large, sweeping arc of bullets. Tyrannosatan can be nuked to death after this.

Power Up Distribution. There are only two critical areas. The first Power Up should be saved for stage C-2 with the large boulder in the middle of the stage. It spews rocks everywhere, but if Power Up is used at this point, then the player can pass through them and focus on the enemies. It's also a good way to get the extends from breaking 20 million and maybe even 45 million.

The second Power Up should be saved for Jitterbug. Use it right when the battle starts to kill him as quickly as possible.

Usage of the Auto-fire. Though not necessary, it is very helpful in killing anything quickly. On the Xbox 360 version, there are two additional auto-fire buttons for shooting. One can hold down, say, the auto-fire left button and tap the fire left button to make Rosa's option shoot both its usual shot and semi-homing roses almost simultaneously. I don't know if this is how auto-fire is supposed to be used, though...

What to do after this? Try clearing the game with all of the stages played at level 3. Death Mode isn't troublesome until the final stage, but after that, it's a nightmare. On one play-through I've lost all five of my lives there -- how embarrassing...

Anyway, I hope this gives you a general idea on how to clear Deathsmiles easily. I was amazed that these little bits of knowledge allowed me to clear the game on my third play-through (though I'm a tiny bit disappointed that I couldn't do it in one!). If you need some help on particular parts of the game, we can discuss that here.

[damakable]

I think it took me until my 4th or 5th try. Don't be disappointed -- a bit of knowledge is definitely necessary. Getting the Life Ups and correct stage order goes a long way to making this game easier. If you can make it to the end with a few lives you can bomb your way through anything that so much as looks suspicious.

I used Sakura (or whichever has two options) and she seemed mighty powerful as well.

Death Smiles is pretty easy unless you play all the stages at Lvl 3 -- then it feels more like normal Cave difficulty. I haven't had a chance to play since the day I got the ALL, though. Looking forward to giving it another go some time.

[dmauro]

Anyone have some tips for me on getting through the final level in death mode? I can get there without much of a problem, but once there, I die quickly. I can't even get to Jitterbug. I've just been doing it over and over in practice mode, but these suicide bullets just wreck me.