Racketboy

Post here to share your progress or any high scores....

There are three codes that are somewhat famous for the game:
Icarus Fights Medusa Angels (in all caps)
Medusa Fights Icarus Angels (in all caps) Both start you in the first boss stage with different powerups
Quuuuuuuuuuuuuu - the rest is lowercase u's - this starts you out on the final stage with something or another (its been many years and I dont feel like googling/gamefaqs for it)

I've been playing this a lot lately before even knowing this was the next game focus.
I just beat 2-4 the other day but the lava looked like it turned into hotspring and I decided to heal myself but it killed me.

I thought the second boss was easier than the first but just takes longer... but maybe I don't know how any tricks for the bosses.

I must be getting soft because I'm stuck in 1-2 lol. I'll make it all the way to the top only to die right before the exit. Must... resist... urge... to use save states.

Got to 1-3 and kept dying at the end. I beat this game a few years back, but it's kinda whipping up on me right now.

So you only have one life and can insta-die by dropping out of the screen once it scrolls up. Niiice

Should I do a reset every time I lose? Because pressing start when I have the "Sacred Words" (password?) puts me back at the start (haven't made it through 1-1 yet!)... And I don't know if the game is keeping track of the times I die that way.

Ivo.

Yeah...it can be really frustrating. Especially when you've almost made it through the enite level without taking damage and collecting mad hearts.

You restart at the beginning of the current level you're on until you reset the game. When you are ready to quit, write down the password and you can continue next time.

Ok so having passed onto 1-2 (I was closer than I thought, kept getting killed at the two reapers with flame dudes that show up from floor) I figured the password thing (as said by ott0bot).

As far as score goes, I don't think it is meaningful in the game. I already figured a way to "milk" score that just takes grinding. In Defender that sort of delay would be punished, but here it seems that you're actually supposed to go slow if you want to survive, so I could probably max the score before Stage 2-1 if I had the patience.

Ivo.

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm cheating a bit. I'm using save states a good deal on my first run-through, seeing how the game works. Currently I'm sitting in Stage 3-4, wondering how much more difficult this fortress will be in comparison to the other two. I've discovered how to get health and arrow upgrades, and how to get and use the additional weapons as well. The manual explains most of it, but I'll add a little about what I've learned.

To get both health upgrades and arrow upgrades, you must reach certain points with your overall score. Your health bar jumps up by new slots every so many thousand points (I've currently got five bars, and a score over 200,000). These are rewarded when you finish a level and your level score is added to your overall. You can be awarded multiple health bars at one time. When I finished the first fortress, for instance, I was given two of them.

As for arrow upgrades, you must reach get certain overall score values, then enter certain rooms throughout the levels. If you have enough, you're given an upgrade (makes it more powerful), and you change colors. I've currently got the third level arrow. I'm guessing there are five, but I can't confirm.

As for your weapons, you must complete "challenges" where flying tiles are tossed at you. If you survive, you're given a choice of three items(a special bow, a fireball, and a wand). Each adds different effects to help you fight off the enemies, and once you unlock the three you get nothing else for beating further challenges. Also, certain enemies can steal these items from you, forcing you to buy them on the "black market."

Also, just in case any of you were wondering, enemies usually aren't infinite, they tend to come in waves of three. They have certain set places that they appear, but they will follow you and harass you as long as you're on screen. If you walk into a new area with the same type of enemy, and the old enemies are on screen, the new ones don't spawn. If none of the old ones are around, expect three waves again.

I can't really see a way to make this competitive for us, but if somebody comes up with a bracket based on how far we've gotten, I need to be excluded for using save state.

This game isn't suitable for competition in terms of score, at the very least. I could get the same score you have on 3-4 (or more) before entering 2-1, if I had enough patience, with little skill (some, but little), without needing save states.

Seeing who gets to the finish first isn't so good either, as people have different time schedules