RQ: Sexy Parodius - triggering the Boss Rush stage

[Mero]

Has anyone worked out a definitive way to do this? I'm certain that two of the pre-requisites are:

1) No miss the first 2 levels
2) Have your power ups maxed out at the end of level 2

There must be more to it though, as meeting these requirements alone only works every now and again


Any help appreciated

[freddiebamboo]

I'm pretty sure all you need to do is pass every stage target to access special.

Bear in mind that failing the boss rush or letting it time out will count as a fail.

[neorichieb1971]

To open the first special stage you need to collect the grey/silver icon which gives you a token muncher to get all the hard ones you wouldn't normally reach.

I think this gives you the Ye ar kung fu level.

[freddiebamboo]

To open the first special stage you need to collect the grey/silver icon which gives you a token muncher to get all the hard ones you wouldn't normally reach.

I think this gives you the Ye ar kung fu level.

Ah, I assumed we were talking about the bonus level at the end of the game called special stage. If we're just talking about getting the kung fu stage 3 as opposed to the castle with the medusa boss, then you need to get over the 300 coin target in stage 2. Stage 3 and 4 are dependent on whether you passed or failed the previous stage target.

Video of someone passing stage 2 is on youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoQNvchMv8g

[Icarus]

To open the first special stage you need to collect the grey/silver icon which gives you a token muncher to get all the hard ones you wouldn't normally reach.

I think this gives you the Ye ar kung fu level.

Incorrect. While you're right in that collecting an Alex (the white bell) can help you in grabbing lots of coins (and Alex itself is good in some cases as it is almost invulnerable to bullets), the stage you're talking about isn't even a special stage, and calling it such is misleading.

Sexy Paro uses branching stage routes for stages 3 and 4, and the route you take is dependent on whether or not you pass the previous stage's target.

Quoting a big post from namakoHQ:

Hmmm. Let's see.

Code: Select all

          03a -> 04a
        /     \/     \
01 -> 02              05 -> 06 -> [Special]
        \     /\     /
          03b -> 04b

Stage List:
01: On The Farm (no targets)
02: Bathtub Speedzone (300 coins)
03a: Underwater Geisha House (200 geisha)
03b: Mouse Infested Castle (100 mice)
04a: Girls In Crates (50 girls rescued)
04b: Tanuki Mines (10 mining machines)
05: Sky Garden (300 coins)
06: Takocastle (final stage, timed >_<)

First thing to note is that you will always go down in the stage route if you fail any stage, while you'll always go up if you pass a stage. While you can probably get away with failing at select times to make the next stage easier, bear in mind that rank has a huge part in this game, as it does in the previous games, so the failing part won't always work.

Also, bear in mind that the floating boss-rush stage pops up occasionally after stage 2 and before stage 5. While I'm fairly certain that the trigger is to get 300+ coins BEFORE the Toilet Penguin boss (st2 boss), it might not always work.

Note you can only access Special if you ALL on the all up route.

Your best bet is to learn the stages themselves. The all-up route is the best scoring route to take, and both 03a and 04a are really easy to pass the required target for. 03a especially, as you can use Shooting Star's charged up laser to take out lots of raining geisha at once during the stage (especially at the big dragon, kill it when it's above you then quickly charge the Spark Laser and release, and watch your target counter shoot up) and when the boss dies.

The only true Special Stage is accessed by clearing all the stages of the main game, passing all stage targets along the way.

[Mero]

Oops. Reading the replies here makes me realise that i actually meant how to trigger the boss rush stage, i didnt realise there was an actual stage called 'special'. I havent had the game very long. Apologies for any confusion, I'll amend the thread title.

Also, bear in mind that the floating boss-rush stage pops up occasionally after stage 2 and before stage 5. While I'm fairly certain that the trigger is to get 300+ coins BEFORE the Toilet Penguin boss (st2 boss), it might not always work.

I can confirm that the number of coins collected does not effect if you get the stage or not, i've never got anywhere near 300 before the boss. I'm positive that two of the requirements are no missing the first 2 levels and being at full power at the end of level 2, but there must be another factor involved. Surely it cant just be random

[freddiebamboo]

I can confirm that the number of coins collected does not effect if you get the stage or not, i've never got anywhere near 300 before the boss. I'm positive that two of the requirements are no missing the first 2 levels and being at full power at the end of level 2, but there must be another factor involved. Surely it cant just be random

The boss rush is normally random, but the chances of it appearing after stage 2 (which is the best time for it to happen as the boss rush gets progressively harder the later it occurs) seems to be slightly higher if you do well at the coin collecting on stage 2.

No missing or being at full power are not real factors in triggering the stage, you should be no missing the first few stages regardless of wanting to get an early boss rush and being at full power is a moot point as most players use one of the auto-power versions which give you very little control on your power ups.

[Mero]

So it is random then, cheers for the info

And yeah, no missing the early levels isnt a problem. So is it recommended to play with auto power ups enabled then? I've been using manual up until now

[freddiebamboo]

I think most players use semi-auto, although manual is fine but noticably harder. For semi-auto, no restart points and a handful of bells when you lose a life make things easier, plus never having to worry about roulette power ups is nice.

If using semi-auto, make sure you go into the start of the speed run on stage 2 with your power up on the speed icon, as semi-auto only gives you the extra speed up needed to pass the coin target at that point.

It's also worth looking through the namako thread from STGT07 Icarus linked to earlier. Icarus and elbarto know what they're talking about when it comes to Konami and the thread has a ton of info on the parodius games along with quite a few video links.

[Icarus]

You mean Auto, freddie. ^_-

Auto gives you the freedom of lower progressive rank increase, no roulette powerups (which is a godsend), and instant respawn with a few free bells, but you completely lose the ability to power up (although the game is quite smart and picks decent weapons for you regardless). You have to be smart and "set up" for the second speed-up in stage2, like freddie suggests. Stage 2 is the only time you'll get a second speed-up, by the way.

Semi-auto gives you the ability to power up manually while still having the game do it for you when you need it, but you have to restart at checkpoints when you die, and there's a slightly higher rank increase too.

Manual is for experts only, as it gives you full control over bell usage and power ups, but you have to restart at earlier checkpoints and the game's rank is at it's most vicious.

[freddiebamboo]

You mean Auto, freddie. ^_-

Yet more proof you know what you're talking about

[Mero]

Ah, i wish I'd known about playing with auto sooner, i thought the difficulty was a bit brutal

I'll have a butchers at that thread you linked to as well, cheers for the help lads

[guigui]

You mean Auto, freddie. ^_-

Auto gives you the freedom of lower progressive rank increase, no roulette powerups (which is a godsend), and instant respawn with a few free bells, but you completely lose the ability to power up (although the game is quite smart and picks decent weapons for you regardless). You have to be smart and "set up" for the second speed-up in stage2, like freddie suggests. Stage 2 is the only time you'll get a second speed-up, by the way.

Semi-auto gives you the ability to power up manually while still having the game do it for you when you need it, but you have to restart at checkpoints when you die, and there's a slightly higher rank increase too.

Manual is for experts only, as it gives you full control over bell usage and power ups, but you have to restart at earlier checkpoints and the game's rank is at it's most vicious.

This game is actually the only Gradius/Parodius one that I can fully enjooy for now, as the Auto option disables those checkpoints. I cant stand checkpoints, especially because they means "no miss the boss or dont go further". Shienryu is nice too by the way.

Anyway, I play in auto with Yvan and cant complete stage 2 mission (get 300 coins). What do you mean by "be smart and set up for a second speed up" ? Is there a way to force the game to activate the second speed up at the beginning of that stage ?

Also, the medusa boss keeps killing me. This is another reason why I'd like to success in stage 2 mission. Any hints to take her down ?

[freddiebamboo]

Anyway, I play in auto with Yvan and cant complete stage 2 mission (get 300 coins). What do you mean by "be smart and set up for a second speed up" ? Is there a way to force the game to activate the second speed up at the beginning of that stage ?

Also, the medusa boss keeps killing me. This is another reason why I'd like to success in stage 2 mission. Any hints to take her down ?

Yeah, you can force the game to give you a second speed up but it will only work at certain points in the game. At the start of stage 2 make sure you have your highlighted power up on the speed up icon when the music fades out and the fast part of the stage begins. The game will always select a speed up for you at this point if it has the option to do it. This should make passing the stage much easier, just get a relatively simple route memorized and you should pass it everytime.

Always passing stage 2 means you'll thankfully never see the medusa boss, a good thing as she's hard as nails

[guigui]

Thanks, I'll try that.