Pink Sweets: Ibara Sorekara/Strategy

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Lace specific scoring / strategies but generally applies

Stage 1 Boss: Caramel & Maple Pink

  • Damage distribution strategy in favor of getting Shot Kill when the boss times out which includes the score gain from reaching Time Out.
  • Phase 1 & 2 share the same HP pool.


Phase 1 (8 Cycles)

  • Open with 10 Laser Shots during the boss intro for "free" Tic Points.
  • Objective is to destroy both arms before the phase times out.
  • Every other attack is a Double-Pronged bullet attack that comes out in 4 volleys (if rank is raised, otherwise 3.) Use this attack for grazing on the side of the boss, inching out of the way for each volley.
  • If both arms are not destroyed, you'll have a smaller window to launch full-scale scoring on Phase 2 as you'll still need to destroy the Middle Cannon in a cycle which replaces more lucrative patterns versus if it's destroyed.
  • If the boss uses the arms for example 3 times in a row from the beginning, you can optimize the scoring on this phase by destroying one arm in one cycle with 9 shots (in respect to raised rank) which will destroy it in a single cycle.
  1. Then on the 2nd cycle, go 8 shots on the remaining arm and you may wait a few cycles to finish off the arm, in order to use the Double-Pronged attacks for extra graze score in the meantime. The boss tends to use the Missile Arms once every few cycles - though there is a certain amount of randomness.
  2. Probably by the 5th cycle, it's time to take the kill on the remaining arm, in fear of getting bad RNG where the arm isn't used again in that phase.
  3. When you kill the remaining arm with a single shot at the beginning of the cycle, you'll also have extra time to graze the front of the boss as this will prolong the phase shift "cutscene".


Phase 2 (10 cycles)

  • Use the "3-Count" method for Phase 2 (after arms are destroyed)
  1. Count in your head: # of Cycles, then # of Additional Shots, then # of (point blank) RCs. = (0,0,0)
  • The overall goal here is count your damage with this method so that you can consistently reach the time out, as well as earn the Shot Kill bonus (100k versus 10k for RC).
  1. The boss will be primed for the Shot Kill once your counter is ready.
  • Example counts that work:
  1. (10,2,4) = 2 RC's during Time out. Shoot during your last RC.
  2. (10,8,3) = 1 RC during time out. (so wait for the boss to lower if feeling confident)
  3. The difference here is that 6 Laser Shots is the equivalent damage to one point blank RC (~23HP according to the MAME overlay). So because of the 8 additional shots, it's one less RC to finish.
  • Additional Shots specifically refers to the number of Laser Shots you'll do while grazing the mandatory Double-Pronged bullet attack.
  1. OR for example: If you accidentally damaged the boss during phase 1 - which usually occurs if you don't get out of the way for the Missile Arms when you start shooting them. Usually can be identified if the boss flashes on damage.
  2. Go for RC Cancels on the Double Pronged attacks to get as much graze as possible.
  3. Typically only one Shot+RC cancel will occur, so you'll shoot, as well as cancel an RC if it isn't frame perfect cancel. Count these Laser volleys and add them and keep track in your "3-Count"
  • The first goal is to destroy the Middle Cannon so you can then have the most dense bullet patterns to absorb with your RC. This enables the brunt of the scoring through RC'ing a big green spam pattern.
  1. Example: You're on the 4th Cycle, For 3 of those cycles the middle cannon appeared, when the Middle Cannon appears always shoot it 8 times as soon as its missiles are shot from the source. The middle cannon should be destroyed after 20 shots, but sometimes it varies an extra 2 or 3 shots on the 3rd cycle.
  2. You must add any additional shots on the middle cannons past 20 Shots (Any past 4 shots on cycle 3) to the '# of Additional Shots' count.
  • Once the Middle cannon is destroyed, the boss can use a spammy green bullet attack that is perfect for RC'ing point blank to absorb the bullets for big chunks of score.
  1. This RC usage will be counted in the "3-count" i.e. (5,1,1)
  2. The boss will typically use this at least 2 times. As the cycles get closer to 10, say, at cycle 7, if you haven't gotten any of the Green Spam, you'll have to make up the damage with 6 Laser volleys (equivalent to an RC) during the Double Pronged attacks. If you do 6 volleys, instead of adding it to '# of Additional Shots' just convert it into an a single RC count.
  • So, ideal RNG here would be first 3 cycles it uses the Middle Cannon. Then you get 3 or 4 Green Spams + RC's before the 10th cycle.
  1. If you reach your damange quota early, you'll get a little extra score, especially if there is more Green Spam to block with your shield.
  • If the boss times out around the middle of the screen, it's full time-out pattern will spread out on the screen. This is ideal in the scenario that you can do 2 RC's to finish the boss.
  • When you unleash the final deathblow RC, commit to firing your Lasers and 95% of the time you'll be rewarded the Shot Kill 100K bonus. A convenient design choice!
  1. If you don't count your damage properly, you may not get the kill when you expect to. It's not the end of the world if you die from the Time Out pattern. You can still reach Max Stock lives later on.



Stage 2 Boss: Socie Soar

Damage distribution strategy in favor of getting Shot Kill when the boss times out which includes the score gain from reaching Time Out.

  • Phase 1 & 2 share the same HP pool.

Phase 1

  • Open with ~16 Laser Shots during the boss intro for "free" Tic Points.
  • The majority of score will come from shooting the Buzzsaws that are deployed every other attack with Rapid Shot as to avoid damaging the core HP.
  • 1 of 2 attacks are chosen at random inbetween the Buzzsaws and both of these attacks have a random duration, but usually lasts at least ~5 seconds.
  1. Aimed Blue: A small amount of blue bullets are aimed at you.
  2. Aimed Pink Spread Shot with gap in the middle.
  • For Aimed Blue: Use forward Rose Hips and charge your RC. Once charged, you can safely attempt graze along the propeller of the boss. The boss will move around randomly but never go into the middle/bottom of the screen, be wary of being rammed.
  • For Aimed Pink Spread Shot: Use Back Rose Hips so that you can collect graze within the side spreads. Enter with caution, too steep of an angle of entry will allow a bullet to flank your side.
  • For both of these attacks you can anticipate when and where the boss will stop moving. You may collect about ~3000-4000pts of graze as the buzzsaws initialize inbetween 2 prodded arms for just a moment. Then assume position to gather Laser tic off of the buzzsaws.
  • It's ok to inflict some damage to the boss as the buzzsaws exit the screen, it's worth the little bit of damage dealt to gather buzzsaw tic points.

Phase 2

  • This is a grueling and slightly unpredictable phase with a lot of intricacies that you'll have to consider when fighting until Time Out, ultimately looking for a Shot Kill (100K) that should be consistently achieved.
  • The boss will consistently use 2 attacks, but the frequency they are used is dependent on the rank. It will also continue to be able to use the 2 Phase 1 attacks that aren't Buzzsaws.
  1. An aimed quad laser volley. (The first volley is randomly aimed!)
  2. Deployed Middle Pod (5K shot kill) that fires a spread shot from its upper side. The HP of this pod will be determined by Rank, and will gain HP as the fight progresses in time. This HP durability change over time will be your main indicator for identifying when to close out the fight with the Shot kill.
  • The third attack is unleashing 2 Back Pods that fly around randomly, shooting aimed destructible bullets at you. It is random if these Back Pods are even used at all, but rank will also influence its frequency of use (unconfirmed). There is a visual que of these pods vibrating before they are released.
  1. These Back Pods are entered into the attack selection pool which includes the 2 Phase 1 attacks (Aimed Pink, and Aimed Blue).

The general scoring flow of Phase 2:

  • Start with dodging the quad laser, bait the laser just beneath the boss' wing where you will gain graze from the boss, the quad laser. Additionally, shoot the wings and gain tic. If executed proper it's over 10K for this action alone. You will be repeating this action constantly through out the fight when the boss allows.
  • Middle Pod will deploy. Destroy it immediately with a combination of Rose Hips (RH) and a Rose Cracker (RC). Try to snipe the kill on it with your Shot for the 5K bonus versus 500pts for RC kill. Immediate destruction will give you more time to perform the previous action as well as be prepared for the ensuing variety of attacks.
  • When Back Pods come out, you have options for dealing with them.
  1. You may destroy them when they are not lined up with the boss to mitigate boss damage.
  2. You may also allow them to live to gather zan from their destructible bullets.
  3. A decent strategy can be waiting for the Middle Pod to re-deploy, then begin shooting them as your shot will overlay the Middle Pod, Back Pods, and Boss at the same time, gaining hefty tic points.
  • If you allow too many Back Pods to live, you are faced with the ultimatem of dealing with their destructible bullets which may pincer your position in tandem of the previously mentioned attacks. If you're caught without your shield charging you are forced to dodge (and charge) or shoot the bullets out of your way. It can be dangerous to stray too far to the left or right of the boss as you can get pincered by the various attacks and your attack coverage will diminish at these positions. Stay vigilant with your path of action here.
  • As the fight carries on, notice the HP growing on the Middle Pod. Then gauge how much damage you've dealt on the boss over all.
  1. At higher rank you'll be forced into clearing out the screen by shooting the back pods repeatedly as well as dealing damage to the boss. How many times you do this will differ, but take note of how often you are forced to clean up the chaos (and thusly are dealing damage to the boss.)
  • You'll be grabbing medals from the Back Pods and Middle Pods, as well as avoiding the Wide Shot upgrade (unless you want it for crowd control), and you also have the option of setting up Rose Hip or Shot Specials if needed here by skipping the respective powerups.
  • Once you're used to what kind of HP your Middle Pod has near the end of the fight (perhaps practice this by attempting to time out the boss in practice,) you will likely be put into a situation near the end of the fight where you're desperately clearing out the screen and dealing damage to the boss. Try to stretch the fight out until this moment so that you can snipe the boss for a shot kill. It's not that unrealistic to get the Shot kill consistently with enough practice.
  • Practice makes perfect. Counting damage will be difficult here but you do have a window of leniency given you have the Middle Pod to gauge when the fight is close to the end. If you know you haven't had to shoot Back Pods much, and thusly haven't shot the boss much, consider shooting the boss more to get it primed for destruction. The Middle Pod's durability is your best indicative tool here so pay attention.



Stage 3 Boss: Harmony Humming

  • Damage distribution strategy in favor of timing out Phase 1 and 2. Utilize "free" tic points when Boss enters invincibility zone by shooting during Phase 2. This occurs at any time the boss' blue helmet isn't touching any of the text at the top of the screen. Damage distribution strategy for getting Shot Kill when the boss times out for Phase 3 which includes the score gain from reaching Time Out.
  1. Phase 1 & 2 share the same HP pool. Phase 3 has it's own HP.

Phase 1 (6 cycles)

  • Open with 13 shots during the boss intro for "free" tic points.
  • The boss will have a pool of a few attacks to use, which it will use for one slot of an alternating 2 cycle pattern.
  1. The mandatory attack pattern is a Pink Spread coupled with an Aimed Destructible Bullet Spread.
  2. For example: 1: Bottom Missiles, 2: Destructible bullets, 1: Pink Spread, 2: Destructible bullets, 1: Blue Spread, 2: Destructible Bullets, and so on.
  • The scoring is focused on gathering graze adjacent the boss' body, during its mandatory Destructible Bullet attack, which includes absorbing bullets with your shield.
  • Begin by changing speed to 1(1 arrow), putting your Rose Hips (RH) into the Forward position, and charging your shield to full before advancing to the side of the boss. This will protect you very well for this strategy!
  1. Fly to the side of the boss, staying adjacent and slightly below the center of the boss, blocking any of the boss' attacks with your charge and Forward Rose Hips. You will be pleasantly surprised how protected you are.
  2. As the first pattern ends, assume a position on the side of the boss immediately. It's most important to be somewhat close, and at a good vertical position that's adjacent to the boss. This is because you are completely safe at that moment from the ensuing attack. Then, you may inch closer horizontally with complete safety to get into the optimal graze position (as the next pattern ensues). The sooner and closer you do this the better, it makes a difference. Optimal gain from 1 graze is about 25K.
  • Yes! The Aimed Destructible Bullets are unable to take aim when you are in this point blank position. It's a blind spot.
  • As soon as the phase ends, change to Reverse Rose Hips.


Phase 2 (8 cycles)

  • This phase can be quite lucrative and there's a lot to do all at once. There's also a variety of attack combinations you'll have to become familiar with to avoid death. NOTE: If rank maxes out during this boss, the destructible bullets become notably more tanky.
  1. The main scoring objective here is to mitigate damage by only shooting when you are forced to do so, or when the boss weaves into the invincibility zone at the top of the screen, and as well as when the boss parks into that invincibility zone.
  • Boss' attack pattern:
  1. Missiles shot down center, coupled with laser walls surrounding them. This attack is mandatory in the pattern but will differ by the positioning and length of each individual movement change it takes. When the boss changes direction you'll be forced to shoot a laser volley to clear the missiles heading your way, then follow where the boss goes and repeat.
  2. Boss' selects a variety of armaments to mix and match onto both shoulders. These armaments are identified by their unique appearances. These include: A. Wide Forward Destructible Bullets. B. 7-Pronged Aimed Destructible Bullets. C. Aimed Pink Forward Line.
  • Scoring nuance of Missle+Lasers:
  1. Ontop of getting some shots here and there if you're good at seeing when the boss' blue helment appears above the text. You can also graze the laser walls at Speed 1(1 arrow) if you're feeling confident enough. This can be worth up to 10K a graze if the boss moves a great length. It is best to do this by hugging the bottom of the screen and holding diaganol to reduce your speed slightly. This diagonal movement speed will match the movement of the boss.
  • If you're not confident in this, it may be prudent to use Speed 2 (2 arrows) to have a bit more mobility and abandon this strategy.
  • Scoring nuance of 2nd attack (Armament Mix & Match):
  1. Dealing with RNG here if you want the big score: which comes from when the boss parks into the invincibility zone. However, optimizing this situation is dependent on your proper reaction to the combination of attacks you are dealt. This is where the Reverse Rose Hips come into play. For most combinations the proper response will be to position Reverse Rose Hips by tapping left or right to put a RH in front of you, to protect you while you're shooting the boss and the destructible bullets.
  2. Here are notable examples of how to capitilize:
  3. Double Aimed Pink: Slowly tap dodge in one direction, focusing your laser shots on the body of the boss. If you're far enough left or right, use everse Rose Hips then to protect yourself from a single volley.
  4. Double Wide Forward Destructible: Aim Reverse Rose Hips forward and shoot. If the boss parks mid or low and uses this, you best be ready to get out of the way.
  5. For the rest of the combinations: Just use left or right Reverse Rose Hip positioning to protect your side while you're shooting.
  • Phase 2 Score flow summary + additional tips:
  1. Shoot boss only when it's invincible (again, Helmet not touching text!) , and only when you're clearing missiles. Graze laser walls if feeling confident.
  2. When the 2nd attack ends and the boss is NOT parked in the invincibility zone: charge and release a rose cracker to clear a path towards the boss. Here you have an opportunity to graze between the 2 front prods AS WELL as when the initial missiles start firing: this gains an extra ~3000pts in graze but is easily skippable if you're not setup proper.
  3. Additionally, if you can keep releasing RC's during the Missle+Laser Wall attack, you'll automatically mitigate damage to the boss as this won't deal damage to the shoulder weak point above. This a good idea to attempt because it is difficult to reach the 8th cycle otherwise. In fact, you may attempt to mitigate damage in this manner further by exiting the Laser Wall confine and continuously using Rose Crackers, it's a little risky due to the random movements potentially pincering you on the sides. If rank isnt maxed or close to max when you enter the boss, you will likely not reach the 8th cycle either because of the lower max HP of the boss. Just opt to end the phase a cycle or two early in that case.
  • Closing out the 2nd phase:
  1. The ideal closer is to shoot and gain tic during the Laser Wall when you think you're on the last cycle before it either times out or runs out of HP. Because once this attack begins, the boss is forced to complete both attacks.
  • If you over damage the boss on a previous cycle expecting to be able to do this closing tic gain technique, you'll just end the boss fight early and miss out on a large chunk of Tic points (probably ~70K?).
  • Even though this "free tic" is available on the last cycle, beware that a low positioned boss cannot be capitilized on particularly if it uses Double Wide Destrictible Bullets and not as well if it uses Double Aimed Pink as well.


Phase 3 (16 cycles)

  • Very lucrative phase with a bit of danger to it due to RNG of where her Bombers are dispersed. The majority of score will come from RC'ing its Double Cylindrical Missiles but there are multiple sources of score that all add together. You'll also be managing damage / score chances in an effort to get the Shot Kill at the end, but this one's tricky as it is a long phase and you'll be playing it differently every time. Note: this all considers that your rank is near max or max at the beginning of the fight. If it's max you can always have the same HP on the boss so that should be encouraged at this point of a scoring run. Let's list the attacks and available scoring responses.
  • Attack flow is a repeating 2-pattern cycle comprised of the boss using:
  1. Bombers or Double Cylindrical Missile and
  2. Spike Ball Spread, Swords Spread, and Static Pink Spread.
  • General scoring flow / time out strategy:
  1. On the bombers you can destroy one cleanly with point blank Forward Rose Hip damage and by doing this you'll automatically collect its item. Unfortunately, there is a damage bug while hitting the bombers with Shot or RC that causes them to gain temporary invincibility and not be destroyed. The Rose Hip strategy is a response to that.
  2. During the Double Cylindrical Missles, be wary of your Rose Cracker placement as this will garner damage on the boss. Anticipate where they are deployed to destroy as many as possible and always RC this attack for score.
  3. Swords Spread response: the boss will open up to unleash these swords, you can use this as a visual que to go for a chunk of score by RC'ing close to the boss to absorb most of the swords (about 40K gain). This won't be possible if you get poor Bomber placement.
  4. Spike Ball Spread, not worth much score for RC'ing.
  5. Static Pink Spread response: Put Rose Hips to Back and graze immediately on the diagonal tendril of bullets.
  • General scoring flow / time out strategy (2):
  1. Bombers: You can shoot the green bomber explosions for decent Tic points. If the boss opens up room for you on the bottom of the screen, you may take that position to gain tic on them as well as the boss or the explosions alone.
  2. Swords or Spike Balls: Usually you'll be hanging back and charging 2 RC's to deal with surviving this. Once the 2nd RC is deployed, the attack will finish and you'll be safe under the protection of the RC. Use this chance to shoot the boss a few times for extra tic. You may do this, OR RC the swords point blank as mentioned before, to accumulate damage / score in preparation for the shot kill. The idea is that you're Min/Max'ing for damage and score in this fight.
  • Time Out / Shot Kill short summary of strategy: RC the Double Cylindrical Missiles with regard to mitigate damage if boss spacing allows. Shoot the boss ~16 times (or a set amount of times based on your rank) for Tic or do a few point blank RC's versus the swords, or an equivalent mixture of both. This approach generally primes you for the opportunity for a Shot Kill on the 15th or 16th cycle ideally. Count the cycles during the fight so you know it's coming up. A damage mitigation strategy can be to play conservative on damage in the beginning of the fight, and as the fight goes on (maybe after 7th cycle) consider accumulating more damage for score when you can.



Stage 4 Boss: Uni Ulysses

Damage distribution strategy for Max Rank in favor of timing out Phase 1 and fighting until near Time-Out, killing on Phase 2 for the 100K shot kill.

  • Phase 1 & 2 share the same HP pool. Phase 1 can end early if enough damage is done.
  • The arms in Phase 2 can be shot or RC'd off for 10K each though it is quite difficult to do because their HPs are so high.
  • Make sure to have Rapid Fire for more Tic Point accumulation.


Phase 1

  • Goal is to time out the phase while reducing its HP to the value where it would force Phase 2. This sets you up decently for damage distribution in Phase 2 as you will need to shoot when is safely possible, then charging Rose Crackers.
  • Has 2 attacks that repeat back to back.
  1. Moving around randomly while launching an aimed missile spread. Scoring response is: Shoot 3 or 4 times, letting the missiles accumulate as to maximize Zan build up and a little extra score from shooting the bunches of missiles.
  2. Picking a spot then strafing left or right, then unleashing an aimed dual laser, then a fixed dual laser down its center. Scoring response is to graze the lasers. Bait the first laser to the left or right then hug the center laser in-between both. Try to make sure you're on Speed 0 or Speed 1 when doing the graze as it is safest.
  • There is a small chance that the boss will park into the invincibility zone. The visual cue for this is when the Blue Eyes on the boss are completely off screen before moving them. If so, you can shoot repeatedly for "free" tic points.


Phase 2

  • The boss will now use a 2-attack repeating pattern. The first attack will always occur in the cycle, the 2nd will vary from a few different attacks but will always be in conjunction with a sluggishly aimed dual-laser -- Except for the middle laser attack.
  • The fixed attack is the boss deploying gravity wells that either push or pull. These gravity wells are destroyable. During the deployment of these gravity wells the boss will use an Aimed, Blue Spread attack. Forcing you to put up your shield while dealing with the influence of the gravity.
  • The strategy here revolves around charging a Rose Cracker as the attack begins, and releasing as soon as the first 2 gravity wells are deployed. Release this RC as close to the boss as possible so that you can accumulate more score from the Blue Bullet points of origin, which the boss will sometimes move towards your RC to aid with this. Furthermore, this timing is used so that you can shoot immediately after the RC while the RC blast will finish as the Blue Spread attack finishes.
  • The gravity wells will linger during the following attack. Tip: try to constantly move around, this is to check if gravity wells are fully restricting left or right movement. If you're against the wall and can't move left, you'll have to dodge the laser by moving vertically instead.
  • Now to list the 2nd attack variations of the 2-attack pattern. And the proper scoring responses. The 2nd attack will always conclude with the boss closing its hatch. This is your cue to start the next Rose Cracker charge.
  1. Middle laser: The middle laser from Phase 1 will be used. Once the gravity wells dissipate you can graze the laser safely, otherwise just shoot the boss as soon as you're able to.
  2. Pink Spread: This attack lasts for the length of about 2 RC's. You'll want to charge and release one, then charge another and immediately shoot after releasing it. The attack will conclude after the 2nd RC. Safe spot in upper right / left.
  3. Purple destructible bullets: Fixed 10-way? spread of dense bursts. Dangerous when the boss uses this low on the screen as your space will be limited and the lingering gravity wells exist. Ideally, you want to shoot the point or origin of bullets from a distance, eliminating any bullets coming your way head on. Safe spot in top corners.

General scoring flow / time out strategy:

  • Rinse and repeat. Once you think you have enough damage, say you did some extra damage from stray Rose Crackers, you can try to maximize your chance of a Shot Kill by avoiding any stray RC damage that might get the kill for 10k instead of 100k for Shot.
  • The Time Out attack is a bit tough to deal with and is best avoided on this boss. And because the boss has a lot of HP and moved around a lot while you damage it, it does make it difficult to count damage.



Stage 5 Boss: Freesia Freedom

Damage distribution strategy for Max Rank in favor of timing out Phase 1 and fighting until near Time-Out, killing on Phase 2 for the 100K shot kill.

  • Phase 1 & 2 share the same HP pool. Phase 1 can end early if enough damage is done. About ~650HP remaining.
  • Rapid Fire is best once again for more Tic Point accumulation.
  • For every attack where the boss is moving, it will change directions / move a total of 6 times. After the 6th movement, it will follow into its next attack. Use this knowledge to get your RC charge ready.


Phase 1

  • Boss will employ a 2-attack pattern with selections possible for those 2 attacks.

Attack 1: * Aimed Swords

  1. Scoring response: Absorb the swords with RC's. When releasing each RC, do Non-Frame-Perfect releases to have your laser fire once on release. Count the movement changes up to 6 and anticipate the 6th with an RC charge.
  • Quad Blue Laser
  1. Scoring response: Either immediately RC and shoot 5 times for damage behind the RC. Or wait until the boss moves into a RC to do the same. If you notice the movement lengths are long, you can go for a 2nd RC and shots. Try to place the RC back, you still don't want to over damage the boss.

Attack 2

  • Homing Blue Lasers:
  1. 5 Volleys of homing Blue Lasers. Quick dodges from the center homing laser is usually what is required to survive it. A closely placed RC that envelopes the source point will earn you safety to charge another RC and stay protected. It is best to sacrifice damage to the boss with RC's so that you can stay safe from this threatening attack. If you're too far it can be problematic to dodge.
  • Spike Ball:
  1. Scoring / survival response: A spike ball is recoiled in your direction and bounces off the bottom of the screen shooting bullets everywhere. Place an RC above the bottom of the screen as it approaches. Assume a position underneath and charge and release another RC. If your timing and placement is good, you can snipe the spike ball with multiple shots (for 10K?) and the RC will absorb the remainder of its bullets.
  • Green Fixed Spread:
  1. Scoring response: Immediately fly up to the point of origin of bullets, release an RC and shoot 5 times. Try to be close enough that when the RC elapses you'll absorb almost all of the remaining bullets with your next charge. If you're late you can choose to absorb only, with no RC. Or RC and do fewer shots to have your RC ready early for the next attack.

Phase 2

The attacks change but the boss still functions on a 2-attack pattern cycle.

  • Attack 1 becomes:
  1. Aimed Spike Ball Bursts: Absorb with 2 RC's. Worth decent points. Place 2nd RC close to boss in case of Homing Blue Lasers follow-up.
  2. Aimed Swords + Quad Laser: Absorb Swords with 2 RC's. Place 2nd RC close to boss in case of Homing Blue Lasers follow-up.
  3. Shoulder Hatches have a few attacks they can mix & match: Light Purple Spear Spread, Neon Pink Bullet Spread, or a Green Homing Laser (Only homes in at a 90 degree turn once it reaches your position.) Same concept applies for dealing with these attacks, 2 RC's. Against the Green Homing you gotta be quick on your 2nd RC release.
  • Attack 2 remains unchanged:
  1. Blue Homing Lasers
  2. Green Fixed Spread
  • Shot Kill Strategy: It will be difficult to get the Shot Kill consistently due to RCs doing varying damage pending their released locations. Safely timed Rose Crackers alone likely won't kill the boss at Max Rank. So I recommend hitting the boss with your Rose Hips for 6 cycles to guarantee you won't have to deal with the Time Out pattern which is fairly dangerous.



Stage 6 Boss: Super Nova

Damage distribution strategy for Max Rank in favor of timing out Phase 1 and Phase 2, while dealing as much damage as possible as to not force the phases to end early. The option to go for a Shot Kill or Phase 3 Time Out will be available. Time Out will be more lucrative for an additional 100K, that is if the Shot Kill would be performed at the moment of Time Out. -Phase 2 and 3 share the same HP pool (980HP). -Rapid Fire is preferred for Tic Point accumulation and for survive-ability.


Phase 1

  • Boss will employ a 2-attack pattern with random selections available for the first attack.
  • Damage distribution strategy is to RC and Shoot as much as possible before forced to shield yourself. Attack 1 will have some Selections that will allow you to shoot more than 5 times. Attack 2 can limit your RC Tick shots due to low position.
  • Attack 1:
  1. Green Bullets spun in a circle.
  2. Pink bullets shot everywhere.
  3. Blue Spread + Aimed Pink
  • Attack 2, this attack is fixed, outside of the fact where the boss parks is random and where circular indentations that shoot bullets end up when it's ring is spinning.
  1. It consists of aimed strings of destructible bullets, as well as circular indentations that shoot spreads of purple bullets.
  2. Survival / Scoring response is: RC and shoot. Shoot fewer times if the boss is low as there is a small chance you'll fail to block the bullets with your shield or Front Rose Hips.
  • A simple phase to score and survive. The outer ring will be destroyed once you have enough damage. If destroyed early, this will force Phase 2 to start.
  • Phase 1 > 2, and 2 > 3 transition will use a Lightning Wheel attack. It's high scoring to RC and it's completely random if you'll get a lot of spins.
  1. The boss will unleash a giant, wide array of lightning lasers, and spin every few seconds. The number of spins is completely random. Often you'll only get 1-3 spins per transition. However, the max amount of spins is 10.
  2. This attack is dealt with easily by positioning adjacent to the top of the boss, then waiting for the blue charge visual cue and audio cue charge, then unleashing your RC and moving down and out of the way.
  3. The direction of the spin is manipulated simply by what side of the boss you're at the very moment the laser starts to spin. Left side: Counter clockwise, Right Side: Clockwise.
  4. The most you can get out of a RC from a spin is about 120K.


Phase 2 (ends at ~460 remaining HP)

  • Boss will employ a 2-attack pattern with random selections available for the 2nd attack.
  • Damage distribution strategy will be tweaked slightly depending on how many spins you got on the Lightning Wheel. For example, if you got 10 spins. You'll have "spent" a lot of the boss' phase' HP from the point-blank RCs. The adjustment concept boils down to shooting the boss less during its first attack: Aimed Array of Destructible Bullet Lines.


  • Attack 1:
  1. Purple Aimed Array of Destructible Bullet Lines
  2. This is one the game's most demanding pattern to reliably dodge. You will need to dodge this attack to ready an RC in case Attack 2 is high scoring from a released RC. OR RC constantly with hope that your charge isn't starting as the attack ends.
  • Attack 2:
  1. Scattered lines of purple bullets X2. Low scoring (~15K). Score response: Front Rose Hip Formation. Hover charge aura over one side of the origin of bullets.
  2. Dense purple spread X2. Medium scoring (~40K). Score response: Absorb some bullets point-blank and release RC as to absorb the remainder of the attack and not last longer than that.
  3. Blue Circles X2. High scoring. (~160K). Score response: Immediately absorb into one side hatch with aura for 1.5 seconds then release an RC at one side's origin.
  • Scoring strategy / flow execution: Distribute damage primarily by the number of times you shoot at Attack 1. If you only get 1 Laser spin you'll want to shoot about 7 times per Attack 1. If you had 8 laser spins then shoot 4 times per Attack 1. You can also change your damage distribution based of how many times you get the Dense Purple Spread or Blue Circles, because you will be dealing a full RC's worth of damage for these attacks to score off of them. These numbers are decent examples of the damage distribution concept.
  • Author's realization / note: In theory you could be conservative on damage in Phase 2 so that you could have a larger HP pool for Phase 3 to work with. I could see this being an option say if you wanted to gain more score from shooting the destructible bullets and the boss during Phase 3. It is not found currently if this is ideal, but I have a hunch it could be a good idea. The dilemma is that shooting during Phase 2 to block the destructible bullet lines and setup your RC for scoring is an essential approach to scoring Phase 2's 2nd attack of the 2-attack cycle.


Phase 3 (minimum ~460 HP)

  • This is a tough phase to deal with at Max Rank because the destructible bullets get a notable HP boost at Max Rank. This makes it difficult to deal with Attack 1 with the method of shooting the destructible bullets from reaching you. Instead, the most consistent survival strategy becomes proper RC timing. But you may still attempt to shoot down the destructible bullets if you must.
  • The boss will use a repeating 2-attack pattern. However, the attacks will vary slightly on each iteration, and it is not a random variation. To optimally score this phase we will memorize our timing and positioning for each cycle.
  • You will accumulate a lot of Zan from shooting destructible bullets in Attack 2 with the ultimate goal of timing out the boss completely - to milk the boss as much as possible, and to gain an additional 100K during the boss' Time Out pattern.

Attack 1:

  • Boss will wag 2 waves of bullets in large sweeping left to right patterns. One side shoots blue bullets, the other green destructible bullets.
  • The goal is to stay safe on this attack. The destructible bullets will change where in the wave that they start from. This is broken down into a simple RC timing response in order to comfortably charge and release RCs.
  • You will use RCs in this order:
  1. Early: so release RC a 1-2 seconds before the attack initiates. The very first "early" is the most dangerous since you're RC timing will be tight - coming off of RC'ing the Lightning Spins of the phase transition.
  2. Delay: Wait a second to RC after the attack initiates. The boss will be taking that time shooting destructible bullets towards the top and then coming down after.
  3. Normal: The comfortable RC timing is just RC'ing when the attack begins.
  • The boss will do 8 cycles of this. So, Early, Delay, Normal, Early, Delay, Normal, Early, Earlier. On the last 2 cycles it will be Early, then Earlier (slightly sooner than Early).
  • It is Earlier for the last cycle because the boss only gives you a small gap on the right which can be closed off if the boss uses the attack on the far right. The fix is to RC Earlier than Early.

Attack 2:

  • Similar to Attack 1, the boss will wag across the screen, side to side, with solid lines of Pink Bullets paired with Blue Destructible bullets. Unlike Attack 1, this one is dodge-able, and you will accumulate good Zan and score by dodging and shooting the destructible bullets and boss as well.
  • Similar to Attack 1, the attack will vary on where in the spin it begins from, thus changing what "Lane" you need to stay inside to avoid being pincer ed to the left or right. If you're caught in the wrong lane, it is a good idea to charge a RC immediately and get back into the correct lane.
  • This is the pattern to follow to be in the correct lane for every cycle (8 cycles) until Time Out.
  1. Off center right x2
  2. Off center left
  3. Switch 1 lane right
  4. Switch 1 lane left
  5. Switch 1 lane right
  6. Off center left
  7. Off center right
  8. Time Out

Scoring strategy in favor of full Time Out:

  • As mentioned before, the damage you'll be allowed to do will be affected by how many Lightning Spins you get on the phase transition. So this strategy I'll describe will be for let's say 3 Spins at the beginning of the Phase. But if you got 8 to 10, you may consider dialing back some of your damage to the boss. This isn't that hard to do when you see how damage is dealt in this phase. Keep in mind, Lace's RC at full contact is 26 HP of damage, one shot from Lace is 5 damage.
  • For Attack 1, make sure your RC's are placed at the bottom of the screen. It's preferred to do your damage during Attack 2. If your RC is only hitting partially, it's not a consistent way to count damage. Unless you know exactly what you're doing.
  1. However, it's okay to collect damage by shooting the boss once when you release your RCs at the bottom. Keep in mind, non-frame-perfect releases of RCs will result in a laser being shot once. If you're trying to avoid damage completely, though it wouldn't be necessary because you can mitigate damage more easily for Attack 2, you could use frame-perfect releases of the RC to avoid firing your Laser.
  • For Attack 2, shoot around the boss, hitting the destructible bullets as much as possible. If you are going to do damage to the boss while you're dodging and shooting, it is suggested to stagger your shot timing in a such way that all the lasers of your shot are connecting with the boss. This accumulates more tic points than if just the side of the lasers hits, the damage dealt will still be the same.
  1. You may skip your shots that hit the boss here completely or somewhat, if for example you got really good RNG and got 7-10 Lightning Spins. So that you can reach the end of the fight and capitalize on the points from the Time Out pattern.
  • It is recommended to practice your damage distribution in save states in MAME with the MAME overlay by Olifante, so you can get a feel for exactly how much damage you're doing. This will gain you assurance that what you're trying to execute is done properly and to your liking.

The Time Out pattern:

  • The boss will open its hatches then unleash it's final attack. Capitalizing on this pattern without being punished is dependent on your RC timing, and where you move to for your 3rd and Final RC.
  • Identify that the hatches have unfolded (this is your visual cue), then release your RC immediately while hovering over the red dot beneath the boss. The timing is pretty specific. Release a 2nd RC immediately once it's ready then you will have to move.
  • Where you move to safety is dependent on the position on the screen where the boss Times Out.
  • If anywhere high on screen, except hugging the right. You can find a safe spot lined up to the right of the boss at the bottom. If middle, you can use a spot that's adjacent the top half of the boss on the right. If middle right, you can use a spot that's adjacent to the boss on the left but lined up above the boss' sprite.
  • The two point-blank RC's are worth 100K each. So if you opt for a Shot Kill which is pretty easy to do, you'll only miss 100K if you kill right before the Time Out.



Stage 7 Boss: Big Burn

  • Damage distribution strategy in favor of timing out Phase 1, then near Time Out to Shot Kill on Phase 2 for 100K, then either a Shot Kill or Time Out to Shot Kill for Phase 3.
  • Rapid Shot optimal.


Phase 1 (8 or 9 cycles, 120 seconds, ends ~530 HP remaining)

  • Repeating 2-Attack pattern. Both attack slots have different attacks.

Attack 1:

  • Extending arms shooting blue bullet spreads
  • Homing Blue Lasers from eyes.
  • Sluggishly aimed missiles from shoulders

Attack 2:

  • Static Purple Lines from mouth.
  • Static Wide Golden Laser

Scoring strategy for Time Out:

  • Do no more than 8 full RC's worth of damage or the equivalent. More than 8 will force Phase 2 early.


Phase 2 (17 or 18 cycles)

  • Repeating 2-Attack Pattern. Both attack slots have different attacks. Now the boss can mix and match its attacks. This includes the new ability to use one Attack 1 separately, for example: 1 Arm with 1 Eye, or 1 Eye with 1 homing missile, etc.
  1. Its other new ability is to sweep a dual laser across the screen. This new attack will be added to the Attack 1 selection pool, and sometimes will be active as Attack 2 starts. Sometimes it will only use the Dual Sweeping Laser.
  • Attack 2 remains the same.
  • Anytime you can get an RC into Laser Shots or say 5-6 shots per cycle it's worth it. Since Phase 1 is only 8 cycles. If you don't get all the damage it's better than ending early because you can make up the damage during Phase 2.
  • For Phase 2, If you've done 8 RCs worth of damage in Phase 1, you will be allowed 10 RC Ticks to reach the destruction point of the Phase 2 robot body.

Scoring strategy for Tic Points and Graze (applies to Phase 1 as well):

  • If you time your RCs early enough you'll often have opportunity to RC into Laser shots (RC Tic) to accumulate Tic. After every cycle concludes you'll also have a grazing opportunity in which you'll have 2 options. Go with what feels natural.
  1. Graze Static Purple Lines once you have a RC charged. This is easy to do. (~7K). You can go for RC Tick with this by releasing your RC in center and skipping the graze.
  2. Graze as close as possible to the Golden Laser attack near its face. This has a risk of ramming the boss' hitboxes. (~10K) Unlike the purple lines, this gives you the possibility of gaining RC Tick Shots during the graze, though the RC Tick may not be as lucrative due to not hitting the brunt of the boss' hitboxes at that position.

Scoring strategy for Time Out / Shot Kill:

  • If you've done 8 RCs or equivalent of damage, then you can do 10 more RCs worth of damage. For 18 total worth for Phase 1 & 2 combined. Once you have the damage primed, go for a shot kill during an RC - that is probably the most reliable way to get it.


Phase 3 (17 or 18 cycles)

  • Boss will now use a new set of attacks. When certain combinations follow up each other, the boss can be quite dangerous.

Attacks: (Most of these will be properly dealt with by 3 RCs used in succession, try to stay to this timing so you have an RC ready when a new attack begins. If timing is off it can easily result in a death.)

  • Homing Blue Lasers: Erratic movement makes this attack one of the worst. It's relatively safe in a diagonal position from the boss. Or you can try to RC from a far distance.
  • Homing Missiles: A barrage of homing missiles. Adept movement and good RC placement will keep you safe on this one.
  • Pink and Green Semi-Homing Lasers: The same lasers that are used from the trains in Stage 5. Mind your space and continuously RC to stay safe.
  • Rainbow Explosions: Erratic movement as the boss creates a screen covering swarm of bullets. A high scoring attack to RC; try to place RCs in the center of the screen. Beware of a flanking bullet when placing your RCs. If you're going for the Time Out pattern, you can mitigate damage by following the boss' origin of bullets and get the majority of points that way. Warning, this is very risky.
  • Wide Laser Cannon Aimed: You must identify this attack immediately by the cannons' aqua outline and pink color. Quickly move to the side and behind the boss to misdirect the aimed fire.
  • Bombers (Orb type): The same Bomber move the stage 3 boss uses. It's a good idea to attempt to clear out the bombers especially as the attack ends so you don't get trapped by the giant green explosions. The green explosions are shoot-able for tic points.
  • Bombers (Donut hole type): A ring of tiny bombs creates a ring of green explosions. The green explosions are shoot-able for tic points.
  • Hadou Gun: The Hadou Gun from Ibara. Creates a vertical pillar across the screen. Beware the placement of these as the attack ends. It can easily limit your space to position properly for the following attack. You can graze the Heinous for decent points. They are non-existant once the graze finishes. They will dissipate as their hitbox finally ceases but will not cease immediately on initial dissipation.

Shot Kill Strategy:

  • Need about 6-10 direct / aggressive RC connections to get needed damage for kill. Once that is done, you could try going for a shot kill on the 15th cycle or so.

Time Out Strategy (can be worth up to 500-600K +100K for Shot Kill):

  • To optimally score this phase you will mitigate as much of the damage as possible. Or most of it so that you aren't brutalized by the Time Out pattern.

Time Out pattern: the boss spits our swords from all angles and chases you in successive mad dashes.

  • The idea is to get the boss into a rhythm where his dash misses you as you set off an RC to protect yourself from the swords, but to also gain the score from absorbing the swords.
  • It's extremely difficult to do and will require intense practice to learn the execution. And if you die, it's also difficult to get the rhythm back after that. But score is score.
  • Bait the boss into the bottom right or bottom left corners, releasing your RC before you reach the corner, and dodging in such a way that you are dodging at the very last second. This is vital because the boss' ability to home towards you is diminished after he gains enough speed coming your way.
  1. If you make it to the Time Out of this Time Out attack. The boss will pause and talk a bit before exiting the screen. This is a perfect opportunity to collect a Shot Kill.
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