Part nostalgia-bomb, part note-taking and part FAQ, what started in GameTrailers as a video game blog is now on Blogger. This blog is a look back at video games, both popular and obscure, from the video game industry's infancy all the way to the previous console generation.
It's time to take the fight to the moon and end this...for now.
Area 7
First Form
The red fireballs that this guy throws can be very easily avoided with a jump. You'll also hear them coming, too. He'll also punch you out if you're too close. If his power meter fills up, he'll shoot a big blue fireball at you that you can easily jump over. Use a lot of low strikes, especially when jumping.
Second Form
When you try to finish him off, he'll block your sword slash, turn gold and grow sharp thorns for knuckles. He's the same as before, you'll just have a smaller life meter (unless you did well on the first form). However, he's harder to hurt because he takes less damage and deals more. Same strategies apply, though.
In the next two stages, you'll be fighting giant monster bosses with the Megazord. This is just like playing a fighting game, except that you have to press B to jump.
The first boss has a few attacks. Jump over its eye beams, and stay away from the green puke that it vomits into the floor. He will also shoot a few projectiles from the white face in its body, and it only does this when its power meter is full. He also has a claw swipe (with extending fingernails) as well as a shoulder ram attack.
Thankfully, you have a power meter as well. As you fill it up, you can shoot out projectiles, flames that run on the ground towards your opponent, aerial fireballs that go towards the ground, and a giant energy wave that does a good amount of damage if and when it hits the enemy.
When the enemy's life goes all the way down, you've won! Try not to die, though. You only have one life as the Megazord.
Megazord Controls
Control Pad: Move around and duck (move away to block) B: Jump (does shoulder block in close) Y: Swing sword Down+Y: Swing sword low Up+Y: Overhead sword swing (uses a little bit of your power) X: Use projectile weapon (must fill certain amount of power meter; higher power meter = better attacks)
Finally, we face the Dark Warrior. Remember in the last entry when I said it was my favorite side-scrolling stage boss out of the five? You're about to see why.
Boss 5: Dark Warrior
This guy has a bunch of attacks. He'll hop around and throw a bomb downward whenever he stops in mid-air. If you knock him to either side of the room, he'll teleport away from you.
The sword allows him to come at you with a dashing jab. He'll also swing it at you if you're in close. Other than that, he doesn't do much else with it. He'll appear at least once with a whip, and he can use that to strike at a distance without having to move. At least you can jump over both of these attacks.
Other than that, he's really not that hard.
When you beat the Dark Warrior, you'll see the Power Rangers summon Megazord in Mode 7 glory. awwyeahguy.jpg
Well, they just had to save the best for last, didn't they?
Area 5 (continued)
When you make it to the end of the first section, you'll meet the Dark Warrior, who happens to be my favorite boss out of all five in the side-scrolling areas. You'll see why.
The second section is a cave that soon transforms into an underground facility. The rolling oil drums from Area 2 are back, so watch for that tell-tale rolling sound. You'll see another laser shooting robot, but you won't be able to reach him even with a high throw.
The third section takes place in some sort of underground base, complete with computer monitors, covered-up machine guns and ceiling mounted security lasers. You'll soon reach a lift. When you go up, you'll enter a long corridor complete with an infinite amount of Putties. When you hear what sounds like an alarm, crouch down in one of the small gaps or vault up one of the handrails. It's a laser that will take down anything in its path, including Putties. You'll eventually find the laser in the end. Crouch down next to it and keep using your full crouching combo. If any Putties, take care of them unless the giant laser beam is firing. It's just a short run to the exit from there.
After crossing that handrail after the bomb, you'll start seeing stationary laser turrets that blow up in two hits.
Shortly afterwards, you'll find two more turrets, a first aid kit...and a miniboss! Destroy this thing when it's on the upper half of the screen, and watch out for the little fireballs that it shoots out from its "tail end" as well as the hidden cannons at the "head end." You may be tempted to use your bomb here, but it's easy to beat without it and you're better off using it against the boss.
Boss 4: The Genie
Anybody know what his name is? I don't.
This guy will teleport around like Gnarly Gnome, and he has several attacks.
The four daggers shoot out at angles, one at a time. You can't damage these, so you'll have to avoid them.
The three metal snakes come one by one, from top to bottom. When he sends them out, jump to the top and jump over the last one. Like the daggers, these can't be destroyed.
The two mirrors fly to the top of the section and try to follow you. When they stop, they face the floor and shoot out a big green laser. Thankfully, these mirrors are the only attack that can be destroyed.
The four fireballs appear at the top of the screen and go downwards. Stand between two of these "pillars of fire" and you'll get away unscathed.
Sometimes, he'll perform a fire breath attack if you're too close. It doesn't happen very often, though, and you can hit him out of it.
We continue on with my favorite level in the game.
Area 4 (continued)
The stairs are the weirdest part of the first section. Then again, crouching down and kicking Putties in the face here is strangely satisfying.
New color Putty here - the brown Putties. The dark brown Putties take four hits, as do the deeper brown-shaded ones, but both types of brown Putty can back up to one side of the screen and toss a throwing dagger at you. Crouch down to avoid the dagger.
The boss here is some sort of weird, blue Arabian genie thing. The Putty Patrollers he sends after you look like they're wearing an eye patch over one eye. Other than that, they attack in exactly the same way.
The second section has you on a lift. Avoid the electric barriers and attack all the gears and wall-mounted laser blasters that come down to attack you.
When you get close to the top, fire starts coming out of the lift. Jump up to the platform with the handrail on the bottom and grab on. The lift finally explodes and drops all the way down. Vault upwards and wall jump your way to the top of this section, taking down the spiked robots, laser shooters and brown machine gun Putties as you go.
The third section has bottomless pits in addition to falling girders that act like the flaming pipes from Area 2. Take advantage of those pits and toss your enemies into them!
I hated the first part of this video when I was a kid, because I couldn't understand how to wall jump, so I had to get my dad to do it. Then I figured it out on my own and it was the greatest thing ever.
Area 3 (continued)
Once the water recedes, you'll be wall-jumping again, and this time on a grander scale. The only thing you'll have to worry about are steam-shooting pipes and laser-shooting robots.
The third section has a [b]lot[/b] of water. You'll be swimming around to avoid Putties you won't be able to attack as well as avoiding spinning fan blades and circular spiked discs that damage you if you touch them.
The canister in the area has another bomb, while the canister shortly after it has a first aid kit. That's nice.
Boss: Eye Guy
This guy is really easy if you know what to do.
For his first form, avoid his lasers as well as the eyes he shoots out when he close the huge eyeball that makes up his face. When he jumps into the air and glows blue, get away from him, as he's going to hit you with a crush attack.
His second form is a flying eye. He'll shed his entire body and come back as that big eye that covered his face. It'll fly around, switching positions on the screen three times before firing a blue fireball at you. Avoid the fireball and keep hitting him in mid-air. If you haven't used your bomb yet, do so now; it'll make your work easier.
Area 4
This was always my favorite stage in the game. The music, the level design, it was just perfect.
The laser-shooting robots in the first section aren't destroyable, since you can't reach them in any way because you're not in Ranger mode. Also, you'll have to bust down the doors with a standing combo in order to continue.
After the first door, you'll see chandeliers on the ceiling that will fall on you when you get underneath. They shake a little bit before they finally decide to drop in on you.
As you go further in the first section, you'll notice that there are building materials on the floor as well as unfinished walls. Yep, you guessed it...this is a construction site.
How do these guys breathe? Especially in those helmets? I know the putties are made of clay, so I'm assuming that they can thrive in moist climates, but the Power Rangers? I dunno...
Area 3
This level takes place in the sewers.
The first section not only has an abundance of purple Putties, but also pieces of metal that still have electricity running through them (the water doesn't help) and spiders.
The wooden crate that you see when you reach dry land again has a drumstick. This acts like the first aid kit. When you defeat the Putties near it, you'll see a new mechanical hazard: large, spinning nails that fall to the ground and explode when you get under them. Thankfully, like just about anything mechanical in the game, you can take it down in one blow.
You'll meet Eye Guy, morph into a Power Ranger, and take down some more Putties before you go deeper into the sewers.
In the second section, you'll be crawling through spaces too low to walk through. To do that, get next to the entrance of a crawlspace and press Down-Towards on the D-Pad. Your Ranger will instantly crawl. Be sure to stay away from the yellow Putty carrying the spikes when you crawl in one (he'll be fair game when you come out the other end).
You'll also see robots flying in the air that shoot lasers (similar to what you saw in Area 2) as well as pipes on the walls that shoot out some sort of blue steam. When you reach a green background with a stone floor, the floor will collapse when you take down the first two purple Putties. You'll fall into the water, which will rise and fall at regular intervals. Use the Control Pad to swim around and avoid the Putties. (Be sure to hold down to avoid being hit with the Putties' knives, as the hit detection when you're swimming is quite good.
When you reach the end of this section, you'll find a steel girder blocking your path than you can smash open when the water is low. After that, grab the first aid kit that comes afterward and wait for the water to lower if necessary.
The rails on the red platforms can be grabbed onto by holding Up when you jump. Press Up again, and you'll vault over the handrail and get on top of the platform. The blue platforms act like one-way doors - once you vault onto the top of them, there's no going back.
Lot of mechanical hazards here, including spike tanks, cutters than span the platforms, and indestructible spike disks that follow a small circular path. They aren't too hard to deal with, though.
When you reach the top, you'll be dealing with conveyor belts and falling, flaming pipes while dealing with putties. Stay on the move and remember where the falling pipes land. It'll drop every ten seconds or so. Thankfully, they don't discriminate when it comes to causing damage, so don't be afraid to let the falling pipes do a little of the work for you.
En route to section 3, you'll find a first aid kit. Finally, some extra health you can put to good use.
In section 3, there are flying robots that stop in mid-air every few seconds to drop a bomb. Thankfully, they can die in one hit. There's also another canister with a bomb inside. When you reach the top of the vertical section in the beginning, you'll have to do a wall jump to reach the last platform. To do that, leap toward the wall and keep holding the Control Pad towards the wall. Then, press B and move the Control Pad in the opposite direction. Congratulations. You've wall jumped. (It took me a while to learn this as a kid. Wall jumping was such an original concept for me back in 1994.)
The flying robots at the top will shoot thunder bolts down at you, but once again you can take these things down in one hit. Also, the flames that come out of the little nozzles in the red piping can only damage you when they shoot out fully, so when you see the small fireballs, that's your cue to move away from them before they turn into full-blown pillars. After that, it's another, simpler vertical section.
The cyan Putties with the spiked morning stars only appear in this stage. Thankfully, they can't duck.
Boss 2: Gnarly Gnome
He'll teleport around every few seconds. Gnarly Gnome will either be throwing fireballs at you, shooting projectiles at you with an accordion, or hitting you up close with a rake. You'll only be able to do one strike at a time, so keep on the lookout for him.
When you damage him enough, he'll start teleporting around, switching positions wildly before he stays in one spot long enough to attack you. This time around, you can score a full combo on him. When he stops, go for it. If you haven't used your bomb at this point, do it now.
After you take him down, you'll get another password and it's on to Area 3.
In this episode, we begin by fighting off Raphael Sorel's dead skeleton. For once, MMPR was actually quite prescient. I mean, who would have thought he'd have a hat like that in Soul Calibur V?
Boss 1: Bones
Yeah, that's actually what his name is.
When he rears back, he's about to jab at you with his rapier. Duck under it and he'll miss.
If you hit him, he'll try to strike back, but if you use your full standing or crouching combo as quickly as possible, he won't be able to hit you.
Sometimes, he'll jump back and shoot an energy wave that travels towards you. Jump over it and it won't be able to hit you.
When you damage him enough, he'll fall apart and come back together minus his arms. He'll jump around and spit fireballs at you. You won't be able to hit him with a full combo this time, but at least his attacks are easier to avoid.
When he falls apart again, you'll fight only his floating head. When that happens, keep jumping in order to hit him, and stay away when he stops. That's when he's about to spit a fireball at you. If you haven't used your bomb at this point, use it now.
After this form, he'll explode, you'll get your password, and it's on to Area 2.
Area 2
In the forest area, you'll see pink laser cannons firing at the ground. You can destroy them by either jump attacking them or by throwing a Putty into them.
The black Putties with a shield can't do anything if you attack them while ducking. Thanks to the shields, they won't be able to duck with you until you disarm them.
The rolling gas cans can be noticed immediately by their loud rolling noise. They can easily be destroyed with a ducking attack.
When you reach the end of the first section, you'll meet Gnarly Gnome. Then you'll fight some more Putties. Then you'll enter a building.
Yep, another Power Rangers game. I'm planning on covering all the ones from when I was a kid, because I can.
Area 1
Well, what can I say? Pick your Power Ranger and go.
In this level, you'll basically see how each level is usually like: you walk to the right and beat up Putties. Apparently, they have daggers in this one, which is strange because they never carried daggers in the show.
The grey ones take one hit, but you'll have to use the whole standing combo to take care of a purple one. Some of them will come out of storefront windows, which makes me wonder how they got in there to begin with.
The dark beige Putties take four hits. They're not really any worse than the purple ones, to be honest.
When you reach the end, you'll meet the boss of the area and you'll morph into either the Red Ranger or a Red Ranger re-color, depending on who you're playing as. Get used to seeing this in every single area.
The second section has flying metal birds that drop bombs on the ground. If you're playing as the Pink Ranger, you'll be able to destroy those wooden things in the background with the bow. You'll be able to pick up benches and throw them at putties.
If you ever see a canister, hit it to find the item underneath. The little cylinder with the lightning bolt in it is a bomb, which you can only use when you're in Ranger form. You can only have one bomb at a time and you cannot stockpile them. When you use a bomb, it destroys everything onscreen until the bomb effect stops. If you see a first aid kit, pick it up. Even if it's full, you can still get health until your health bar is purple, which signifies maximum energy.
You'll also meet the green Putties. The green ones take one hit, but the olive green ones take four. These green Putties, on the other hand, are worse, because of their jump kick that they enter before you can complete a full standing combo. At least the jump kick can be easily avoided, because they always duck before they do it.
Controls
Control Pad: move left and right, Down to duck B: jump (double tap to backflip - Ranger form only) Y: attack (close range with D-Pad to throw; mid-air throws can be done in Ranger form only) Up+Y: heavy attack (Ranger form only; Pink Ranger fires her bow) Up-Towards+Y: high throw (close range; Ranger form only)
Down-Towards+Y: triple gut punch (close range; Ranger form only) X: bomb attack (Ranger form only)
As we get into the second half of the second quest in the game, there's still not an overabundance of enemies. I think the hack got my hopes up.
World 3-1
I am so glad the rocks act like they do again.
Also, there really isn't a lot of enemies in here than I expected.
World 3-2
This world has spikes that fall from the ceiling. They look just like the spikes on the ceiling that don't kill you, except the ones that fall have a darker color and overlap with the ground a little bit. You can still tell, but it's still a doozy.
Unlike the hack, there isn't a lot of these spikes this time around. I guess they didn't expect Super Game Boy back in 1989.
Yes, I'm covering the second quest. Again. So, technically, I've covered this game twice.
Once again, copying and pasting stuff and editing wherever necessary because I'm lazy.
World 1-1
Spear-throwing bees and pirahna plants show up here now. Also, you'll start seeing Sphinxes and Bullet Bill cannons near the end. Plus, a Koopa blocks the top exit. Lovely.
Other than that, don't expect any geographical changes to the levels in Hard Mode.
World 1-2
Unlike the hack, this level isn't as bad. There are some Koopas, but there isn't one on every single platform now, which is a relief.
World 1-3
Well, at least there isn't a crap-ton of enemies in the real second quest, unlike the hack I covered a while back.
There's a lot of Sphinxes here for some reason. Thankfully, the Super Balls make them much easier to take care of when they pair up near the end of the level.
World 2-1
There's an abundance of fish jumping out of the water, as well as a few seahorses and a few Koopas. There's more enemies around here than there were in the first quest.
