I'm mostly wondering how the powerups work (sometimes they even seem to change type from the trail shot to the quad shot a few shots after picking up the bonus?) and how the scoring system works (if it's something other than non-linear point values for enemies farther along). Though I guess any info at all would be greatly appreciated
Yes I've played this game. I figured out how to counter stop it not long after its release.
If you look closely at the photo, you'll see my 9,999,990 score at the top. The score rolls over once you reach the CS. So my score on that credit is shown twice on that ranking screen:- The CS at the top and the 361600 in 5th.
As for strategy advice Just make sure you take the full golden stars firepower and be aggressive with the hidden ground targets. Once you reach the black area you'll know you're near the end of the Mission.
The five star homing missiles are the best weapon IMHO. Use your ground weapon all the time on every piece of land in the game, as even the smallest islands can hold hidden blue power up pods.
DEL: I guess you've milked those high speed shooting helicopters for score to get that high a score? If I remember correctly, you can rack up just enough points 'round them to suicide over and over, with the life stock at a status quo. I've not put enough time into the game, even though I own the PCB.
I think the highest we've gotten is three stars, but I'm not sure if it's gated by where you get the bonus or just some small percentage chance... Chance of a better powerup seems to go up the farther you get though...
We also can't seem to figure out what exactly controls where the powerups are on a specific chunk of land... Almost seems like you just have to hit a (somewhat big) area over a certain number of times to have the bonus appear, as opposed to having it just show up if you bomb the right spot...
Mostly we're just not very good at the game I think... too many stupid deaths
DEL: I guess you've milked those high speed shooting helicopters for score to get that high a score? If I remember correctly, you can rack up just enough points 'round them to suicide over and over, with the life stock at a status quo. I've not put enough time into the game, even though I own the PCB.
Yes exactly. All you've got to do is be good enough to 1 credit it to the black area and suicide on the seventh golden helicopter. It takes over 3 hours to counter stop it from there .
kyuzo wrote;
Mostly we're just not very good at the game I think... too many stupid deaths
Just make sure you keep shooting the power ups until you get the max stars one then grab it. The game is a lot easier with this full firepower. I'm sure you'll do well.