SD: Warp zone in Zero Wing (AC)

[Ruldra]

There's a warp zone in stage 5. Get it and you'll be awarded 70k points and be sent to the last stage.

Here's how to find it:

- Play through the stage normally. Keep in mind when you come across the 2 powerup carriers, the warp gate is close.



- Get past the carriers and then one of those big blue enemies show up. After that, you'll see a rail near the top of the screen.



- Position yourself above the rail. Doing this anywhere else in the stage would get you killed, but not here.



- Now stay on the top left corner of the screen. Eventually a wall appears, and when you're about to crash on it, the screen will fade and you'll be sent to the last stage.

[TLB]

Very interesting, Ruldra! Did you discover this?

[Ruldra]

Actually no, I saw a replay at MARP where the player did this.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

I always thought of Zero Wing as a rather tedious game. Maybe cutting back 2 stages will help me change my opinion of it. (Provided it also works on the Genesis version)

[Mortificator]

No, this warp doesn't seem to work on the Genesis port. I was able to trigger it in the arcade version, though, following Ruldra's outline.

I don't know if you've been playing Zero Wing on PAL format, but the pace is significantly faster on NTSC. The poor conversion technique common back in the day could make already-leisurely games like Zero Wing and Pop'n TwinBee unbearable.

[MEGAMANXPERTSico]

True,i just checked the Genesis version,the warp....it aint there.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

No, this warp doesn't seem to work on the Genesis port. I was able to trigger it in the arcade version, though, following Ruldra's outline.

I don't know if you've been playing Zero Wing on PAL format, but the pace is significantly faster on NTSC. The poor conversion technique common back in the day could make already-leisurely games like Zero Wing and Pop'n TwinBee unbearable.

Ah, thanks for that. In retrospect, I feel like an idiot for using the PAL version all this time. Too bad the music sucks in either version of the Genesis port though. Also, while unrelated to the topic at hand, I want to mention that I somehow managed to get 10 extends once... I have a feeling this related to the shot power-up bonus you usually get, but I could be wrong. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

[MEGAMANXPERTSico]

Well,i never got close to 10,but i think i got 8 once.
You see,i think that once you enter the second loop,extends become available,but in the third loop,if you have sufficient points,33% of all power ups will turn into extends.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

But this was on the 1st loop. And on the 2nd stage. I'm still not entirely sure, but I recall getting it right after I got the homing power-up at the same time as passing the default high score. I imagine this trick would work wonders for score whoring if it is true.

[MEGAMANXPERTSico]

Hmm,then I'm really clueless,either that or you're the luckiest man on the planet.
ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT
*plays Zero wing*

[Ruldra]

The 10up is completely random. In one playthrough you can get either the 1up or 10up. If one appears, the other won't show up.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Okay, I have no idea where people got this crazy idea that the arcade version is harder than the Genesis port. For one, your rate of fire is way slower, so dying will fuck you over harder. Another thing is those giant blue things in the 5th stage. In the arcade version, they're harmless if you take out their cannons quickly, but you don't have that luxury in the Genesis version because they keep firing all their shots until you kill them, meaning it's very easy to get yourself point-blanked. And in hard mode, those homing missiles are just as horrifically fast and accurate as they were in the arcade, if not more, because I've never been able to dodge them with just one speed power-up. >_>

[Sumez]

I don't know if you've been playing Zero Wing on PAL format, but the pace is significantly faster on NTSC. The poor conversion technique common back in the day could make already-leisurely games like Zero Wing and Pop'n TwinBee unbearable.

Just flick your 50/60hz switch and be good


Is the warp in the PCE version?

[Ruldra]

Okay, I have no idea where people got this crazy idea that the arcade version is harder than the Genesis port.

Did you actually play all 8 stages of Arcade version? Because the last 3 stages are very hard if you don't know how to manage them. I got stuck in level 7 for a long time, while in the Genesis version I've beaten all stages with almost no practice.

EDIT: Oh right, if you're jacking up the autofire rate to absurd levels it does make the game easier. Put autofire delay 5 and I dare you to say the game is easy.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

The farthest I can make it on 1 credit is stage 5 because of the aforementioned reasoning on the Genesis' difficulty. I've used savestates to bump myself up to stage 7 and using your own replay as a reference, I haven't been able to spot any notable differences between stage 6 and 7. If you played the Genesis version after your arcade 1cc, then yeah, it would make sense that you were able to beat it with little practice. :V

EDIT: Oh right, if you're jacking up the autofire rate to absurd levels it does make the game easier. Put autofire delay 5 and I dare you to say the game is easy.

I didn't say the game was easy... And that's my point: autofire in the Genesis version can't be jacked up quite as fast. Level 1 power shots only allow 6 bullets onscreen at a time.

[Ruldra]

I haven't been able to spot any notable differences between stage 6 and 7.

The main difference is that enemies take much more shots to kill in the arcade version. I suggest you just keep trying to 1cc the Genesis version, and then jump to arcade version afterwards. You'll then notice the difficulty difference.

As for the blue enemies in stage 5, you can use your pods to take out the cannons quickly. Just practice a bit, they're not that hard.

(I got the Genesis 1cc before playing the Arcade version btw)

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

As for the blue enemies in stage 5, you can use your pods to take out the cannons quickly. Just practice a bit, they're not that hard.

Another thing is those giant blue things in the 5th stage. In the arcade version, they're harmless if you take out their cannons quickly, but you don't have that luxury in the Genesis version because they keep firing all their shots until you kill them, meaning it's very easy to get yourself point-blanked.

I made this post right after I got off from another failed attempt, so it's fresh on my mind; you can't shoot the cannons off. I even had the secret lvl 4 pods firing at their backs and still nothing was happening. The only thing saving me from being murdered by them every time is the occasional bout of slowdown, but of course that's unreliable.

[Ruldra]

Alright, I just played that part myself and now I see what you mean. Those guys can flood the screen with bullets and kill you fast if you don't know what you're doing. You can't destroy the cannons but fortunately the enemies can't take much punishment.

Don't move around the screen too much. Hold still and focus on the middle bullet, that's the one aimed straight at you. Tap to dodge that bullet and hold still again until the next wave comes. Repeat until the enemy dies.

It gets a bit tricky when two of them appear at the same time, but the tactic is the same. Hold still, focus on the middle bullet and move in small taps. Saving a bomb for this part will work wonders.

Here, I recorded this video. Hope this helps you out: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=021WABBH

(No sound, sorry. This new PC of mine for some reason isn't recording sound).

[GGA_HAN]

Does anyone know if this works in the US version of the game released by Williams?

I can see them removing the hidden taoplan guys, but it wouldn't make sense to me to remove things from gameplay.