PrinceWatercress plays Power Blade II - Part 3 of 6

Stage 3 has one of the toughest bosses in the game.

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Stage 3

In Area 1, the purple cyborgs keep moving as long as you keep attacking. Keep that in mind if you're going to pelt them with boomerangs as you ride the platform up to the top.

Area 2 is a vertical section where you're dropping down, but at least you can take your time here since you don't have the ceiling coming down on you. 

In Area 3, be ready to slide down narrow passages with Down and A. The double doors appear again, and the dragon fight is the same as Stage 2; the only difference is that the room isn't full of water and you have two conveyor belts that move you towards the center of the screen making up the floor. Beating this dragon will net you the Rocket Suit, which allows you to fly around. You're going to need this very soon.

In Area 4, you'll need to use the Rocket Suit. When you equip it by moving the portrait to the "R" picture while the game is paused, you'll be able to fly around in eight directions. Press and hold A to start flying, then use the D-Pad to move around in mid-air. Releasing A lets you slowly float downwards. You can fly in eight directions. While in this area, keep away from the giant fans, as it is instant death if you run into them.

Area 5 has you using the Rocket suit again, but it is a lot more straightforward.

In Area 6, strike with powerful attacks to take out the jetpack robot and its homing missiles..

For the boss battle, equip the Newt Suit and fire powerful attacks at him. You'll want to give yourself some distance and you'll also want to keep him on one side of the room as much as possible by getting him to move around in such a way that he keep running at you after you jump over him so he wall jumps and runs back at you. At the same time, you'll want to get away if he gets too close. This guy can run and jump around, climb across the ceiling and drop down at you, and also throw shurikens. You may have to use an energy tank against this guy. There will also be two sparks running along the length of the room, and you'll want to jump over those when they come your way. 

PrinceWatercress plays Power Blade II - Part 2 of 6

Our adventure continues in Stage 2, where things get a little more dicey.

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Stage 2

In Area 1, you'll want to duck down under the few gaps in the floor so you don't get killed by the spikes that move up and down. Duck down at the conveyor belts if you need to, but make sure you use your slide to get some room to stay on the conveyor belts as the ceiling rises back up.

In Area 2, you're dealing with a ceiling that continuously moves down and has more spikes. Hold forward while sliding so you can get past the balls, and remember that you can throw diagonally downwards while crouching to get rid of the enemy near the end. Make sure not to go too far down, as it is possible to fall past the bottom and lose a life.

In Area 3, you'll encounter water for the first time. You'll move very slowly in it, but you'll also jump higher in it, too. Watch out for the sparks as you grab the spare battery.

In Area 4, you'll be completely in water. Behind the double doors, the brown dragon boss bounces when it rolls into a ball; slide under it as it bounces to avoid it. Beating this battle will net you the Wet Suit. Pause and use the D-Pad to switch to the "W" portrait, then unpause to use the Wet Suit. The Wet Suit lets you swim properly and in eight directions using just the Control Pad, and you can also attack left or right as you swim.

In Area 5, you can use the Wet Suit to get an energy tank.

In Area 6, leap off the platform on the track and get to safter ground as the fire rises, then ride the platform again when the fire descends.

Area 7 is much like Area 2. Hit the bouncing orb enemies when they stop bouncing to fire at you, and ready to break blocks on the ground to make your way further down. Again, make sure not to fall too far down so you don't lose a life.

In Area 8, the gunk at the bottom will act like quicksand. If you get caught in it, keep jumping forward to keep from sinking in. You'll eventually reach dry land and the boss. There will be tiny robots falling out of pipes in the ceiling; you'll have to deal with them if you call into the drink. 

You'll need the Wet Suit to beat this boss. Equip it immediately, and stay in the water and attack upwards to hit the boss. You'll want to be aggressive with the boss here when necessary. Shoot down any missiles that the boss sends your way, and take out the fish that show up as the water in the room rises. Take care not to move into the gap in the center of the floor. If you can stay on the surface of the water, keep the water clear of threats, and continue to pummel the boss, you'll clear this stage in no time.

PrinceWatercress plays Power Blade II - Part 1 of 6

It's been a good while since I played Power Blade, so let's play the second game...which isn't as well-remembered, unfortunately.

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It is December 24, 2200. The Delta Foundation has just finished development of a cyborg unit that represents the next generation of fighting robots. They would like to sell it to the Department of Defense, and mention that the cyborg would be a threat to the security of the nation if sold to a foreign country before giving the government a week to respond.

The government considered this matter very seriously and assigned a top secret mission to SP Headquarters. Nova, who saved the New Earth colony by restoring the Master Computer in 2191, is secretly called upon by the Department of Defense to destroy the Delta Foundation. Should something happen to Nova, his superiors cannot get involved.

When you start the game, you'll be able to play the first four stages in any order. Beating all four of these stages will unlock the fifth one. Left and Right on the D-Pad allows you to pick between the stages, while Start makes your selection.

Stage 1

Unlike the stages in the first game, the stages here are a lot more linear, a lot more Mega Man-like and much less open. Go through one stage, and you'll figure out why this game isn't as well remembered as the game that precedes it: the level design is by-the-numbers compared to the first game. While it's not completely a bad thing, it does leave a bit to be desired.

At the bottom of the screen, you'll have your HUD. The power of your weapon is at the very top, and picking up stars will increase the power of your attacks. Below all that is the amount of time you have left to play through the level before you lose a life from running out time. Below that is your current amount of health ("Player"), the current amount of energy for your suits ("Energy," which will be explained in due time), the current stage you are in, and the current area of the stage you are in. The last area of a stage will always be the last one before a boss. To the right of all that is a portrait of Nova (which will be useful later), the amount of life canisters that you have, the amount of energy batteries that you have, and the amount of lives that you have.

Left and Right on the D-Pad allows you to move left and right. Down allows you to crouch, as well as attack downwards in mid-air. A jumps, while B throws boomerangs, just like in the first game. You can throw diagonally downwards while on the ground, but you can only throw straight downwards in mid-air, where you can attack in eight directions. You can use Up on the D-Pad in conjunction with B to throw your boomerangs upwards, and you can also attack diagonally upwards, regardless of whether you are in the air or on the ground. Down and A allows you to slide much like in the Mega Man games.

A good amount of the enemies that you'll fight through the game make return appearances from the first game, and if you've played the first game for a decent amount of time, you'll be able to recognize them as well as their attack patterns.

Stars will increase the power of your attacks. Once you get your power to full strength, it won't take as many strikes to defeat enemies. The double boomerang gives you another boomerang to throw, up to a maximum of three. The single red boomerang powers up the base power of your attack.

The hamburger will replenish a few units of your health. The white and pink battery will add energy to your energy meter. The light blue cylinder acts like a Mega Man-style energy can that refills all your health whenever you press Select, assuming you have one in your inventory.

The spinning drills, whether they are on the walls, ceilings or floor, will instantly kill you if you jump into them. Also, you'll be seeing conveyor belts on the floors along with these drills as early as Area 3. Thankfully, it is easy to tell where they will take you by looking at them. Just watch out for the ceiling turrets. When you get to what looks like a maroon-colored Lego, hold Left while on the platform to grab this. This battery replenishes your energy when it empties out, but again, this will be explained when the time comes.

Enemy generating doors can be destroyed by throwing boomerangs at them until they explode, believe it or not.

The grey doors that spit out the small bugs that jump around in Area 4 can be destroyed by your boomerangs. Also, there are blocks that you'll need to break to make progress.

In Area 5, the platforms on the tracks will only move when you're on them. They will stop when you leap off. If you need to, duck under stationary platforms to keep the platform going.

In the middle of Area 5 is a set of double doors. To enter them, stand in front of them and press Up on the D-Pad to open the door and enter the room. Here, you'll fight a mechanical dragon. You'll need to throw boomerangs at it and keep your power high as you do so, jump over the fireballs it spits out, and jump over the dragon itself when it rolls it into a ball to avoid getting rolled into. When you defeat this dragon, you'll get the Newt Suit. The Newt Suit is the power suit from the first game; it allows you to throw energy blasts that travel all the way to the end of the screen that are more powerful than your standard boomerang. 

To switch between your standard form and the Newt Suit, press Up and Down on the D-Pad while paused. This will change the portrait of Nova on the HUD. The Newt Suit is dictated by the portrait of Nova in armor with the "N" in the upper-right corner. While using this or any other suit, the energy on your Energy meter will go down. While you can pick up small batteries to replenish your energy on the spot, more often than not, the maroon-colored batteries will refill your energy automatically, assuming you have at least one in your inventory. If you run out of energy without a replacement battery, you'll go back to your standard suitless form.

In Area 6, watch out for the electric sparks that travel across the wires in the background. At the top where the spikes are; jump to the left so you're on the left wall, then slide to the right to get over the gap and avoid the ceiling spikes. Take care not to get crushed between the moving floor and the ceiling, as that is an automatic loss of a life. Watch out for blocks to break to find a way to the top.

If you lose a life, you will lose a little bit of your power as well as one of your boomerangs and your red boomerang power-up, but it is easy to get back to maximum.

To destroy the purple disc-throwing cyborg in Area 7, you'll need to duck down and throw some maximum strength shots at it. This will allow you to attack while avoiding the discs being thrown at you.

To beat the boss here, switch to the Newt Suit and stay close to the boss while attacking it repeatedly, but not too close. Duck when you are close to the boss while on the ground to avoid the projectiles and the jump over the center, and watch where the projectiles go when the boss is on the platforms in the corners, as that is when the projectiles will create flame pillars that stick around for a few seconds after they hit the floor. 

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck in Hollywood (SMS) - Part 6 of 6

...and now, the final world of the game!

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The Quacker Tracker - Part 1

The green plants with the blue berries are the projectile shooters for this level. The vertical ones shoot frogs, while the horizontal one shoot bugs. Some of the horizontal ones will look like Venus flytraps.

The worms not only walk across the tops of the platforms, but the bottoms of them as well!

The monkey has a limited movement range.

The witch doctor will teleport into the screen from out of nowhere. A good bomb can take care of them, if you can get one.

The rats with the spears will move towards you and strike when you are on their level. It's a good thing I went above the lone rat in this stage, ducked down and used the bomb to take out two enemies at once, huh?

Spikes can shoot in and out of the floors in some of the "indoor" paths of the levels.

The trophy is behind some hidden walls at the end of the first section. You'll also find a continue near the trophy, too!

Coconuts will drop down if you get close enough to them.

The Quacker Tracker - Part 2

Go down at the start for pick-ups and enemies.

There is a leaf platform shortly after the start that takes you over a small spike pit. On the other side is a nook inside a wall that contains an extra life.

In the maze section of the level, shoot at the tiki heads in the maze area. You may just take down some hidden enemies.

At the bottom of the maze, there is an extra life hidden behind a false wall.

The Quacker Tracker - Part 3

The final trophy is behind a false wall in the upper-left corner of the mazey second section of the level. Once again, you have a trophy that is easy to miss.

There is another extra life hidden behind a false wall in the lower-left corner of the third section.

To get the best ending, you'll need to beat the game on the hardest difficulty. But at least we've beaten this game on Normal!

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck in Hollywood (SMS) - Part 5 of 6

It was only a matter of time before we got a Duck Dodgers reference.

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Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century - Scene 1

Thankfully, you'll have your gun again, now that you're out of World 4.

The projectile shooters are craters with light blue eyes, and they can blend into the ground pretty well. Watch your step.

The green aliens move left and right when you move left and right, and also shoot when you shoot. They cannot be defeated. They also have limited range.

The red floors with the eyes is the death floor for this world; touching them will hurt you.

The green things with the blue eyes are platforms with handholds you can jump into to grab on and jump to higher areas. If you grab one, it will move to the right.

The spiky turtles make a return here, but this time they will keep moving when they see you.

The yellow platforms with the blue eyes will move up and down.

The green cube acts as a crushing enemy that cannot be defeated, and it will come down onto the floor if you get close enough to it. 

The green slime ghosts cannot be defeated. They also pop up out of nowhere.

There is an extra life above the level exit; just watch out for the projectile shooter.

Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century - Scene 2

Grab the black potion below the first enemy you see at the start to make him easier to eliminate. The helicopter enemy floats back and forth and shoots slime upwards that quickly drops down.

The red cloud enemy will fly away unless you shoot it down quickly. It also shows up out of nowhere, too. What is with this level and enemies popping up out of nowhere?

The gold shiny platform swings back and forth when you jump onto it.

The green bat enemy will dive at you if you get close enough.

You'll need to jump over this slime ghost near the end to get the trophy.

There is an extra life directly above the exit.

Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century - Scene 3

There is an extra life in the upper-right corner of the level.

The trophy for this level is in the lower-left corner of the level, directly across from the level exit at the very bottom.

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck in Hollywood (SMS) - Part 4 of 6

Despite being named after the cartoon involving Daffy Duck and martial arts, there aren't really many references to that cartoon in this game...or any of the cartoons the worlds are named after, for that matter.

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Assault and Peppered - Scene 1

Unlike the other worlds in the game, you don't attack with your gun in World 4. Instead, you attack with a kick while standing, a karate chop while crouching and a jump kick in mid-air. You also somersault when you jump. Amazingly, all of the power-ups still work the same way. However, you can get your range back. If you pick up a green six-pointed star like you would any of the other power-ups in the game, you'll be able to throw that and get some range back.

The spiky orange turtles cannot be damaged and do not count towards the enemy quota for each section. You're better off avoiding them, anyway. If they see you, they will stop, duck into their shells and quiver. This will make it easier to jump over them.

The red ninjas that climb on the handholds can throw shurikens at you if you get too close. It's best to attack him when he turns his back, especially with the star.

The robots that move back and forth will attack with karate chops that shake the screen. Those karate chops also block the stars, so hit him from a distance if you have them.

The armored guards with the spiky helmets are invincible and do not count towards the enemy quota.

The copper pots serve as the projectile spitters for World 4.

Assault and Peppered - Scene 2

The enemies with the buck teeth and the cone hats stand in place and karate chop. Time your star throws so that they don't bounce off their karate chops.

The wolf martial artists move quickly and turn into a tornado to block attacks, but they stop to look around every once in a while before they start moving again. Use that break as an opportunity to attack.

To get the trophy, you'll need to go through a hidden wall located to the right to the trophy. 

Assault and Peppered - Scene 3

Go up at the start to get the star; you're going to need it here.

The trophy for this stage is right here. It's very easy to miss.

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck in Hollywood (SMS) - Part 3 of 6

We're almost halfway through the game now. Things start getting a little more interesting here.

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Robin Hood Daffy - Scene 1

The apple with the hole is the projectile shooter for his level, and the projectiles are worms this time around.

You'll need to jump onto the platforms at the right of the start, then make your way to the platform above the start so you can explore more of the level.

The bomb shows up as an icon in the upper-left corner when you collect it. When you press Button 1, it will then get rid of all enemies currently on-screen.

The enemies that slide down the slopes can be shot down. That's good, because they are a pain in the butt.

The buckets of water are for when you are on fire. There are red fire ghosts in the level; they cannot be defeated with your weapon and can only be avoided. If you run into them, you will be on fire. A timer will count down over Daffy's head, and if you don't get to a bucket of water in time, you will die. 

The small twigs connected to the trees will fall down if you get close enough to them.

There are branches that act as handholds, but if you grab onto them, they will shake before dropping down.

Robin Hood Daffy - Scene 2

The frog enemy on the vines will move from hook to hook, making it a little harder to hit him.

There is a 1-Up hidden in a wall just after the start of the level. You'll need to make a running jump to get out of there and grab a hook on the vines, because there's a bottomless pit below.

Take out the archers from a distance, as they will shoot arrows at you. 

The brambles are spikes.

To get the trophy, you'll need to leap into the wall from where the trophy is from right of where the trophy is.

Robin Hood Daffy - Scene 3

The handhold branch with the leaves on it moves up and down when you grab onto it.

The trophy for this level is past the bramble pit with the vines near the end. Jump on the apple spitting out the worms, then move to the right to go through the wall. Keep going right to go through another wall and find the trophy.