I have the first part of the sixth stage down, it’s the latter part that’s still giving me problems. Starting from the moment the Armored Giant Space Poop pushes you to the open space it’s mostly improvisation mixed with knowing you need to be in other part of the screen but not exactly sure how to get there safely. I’ve taken on the habit of recording my every run though, watching the replays afterwards really helps out in finding the correct path and figuring out your mistakes. I know which tactic to try next time there.

The boss itself needs a bit more work too. I can deal with his first form but the second one, which I just reached for the first time, caught me by surprise. Again, reviewing the replay footage helps in figuring out what to do and where to be. That’s basically by approach to the game now: do a run, study the replay, revise tactics, rinse and repeat.

Stage 5 still has one part of which I’m uncomfortable with. It’s shortly after the metal bars start spinning around. There’s a moment where it’d be really nice to have the Force at your back, but changing it there is hard because you need it at front just before and launching the Force out easily leads to it being trapped behind the rotating bars. Regardless, I (almost) always make it unharmed anyway, but it feels so unrefined. And watching that bit on the replay later on I often notice there was way too close a call there. I gotta try and find a better tactic there.

Just for a change of pace, after my normal run I went and tried playing the game without the Force. It was a very different experience, parts that are child’s play normally turn into deathtraps suddenly. I surprised myself by reaching Stage 3 before my first (and subsequent) death, and even that was due to a controlling error causing me to crash into an enemy that posed no danger. Stage 1 wasn’t all that different, but Stage 2 was waaaayyy harder. The part with the beehives was nerve-wrecking but I survived it with some luck. I was playing with the RX which probably isn’t the best choice for Force-less play…R13 with its homing-capable charge shot might be the best…or R9a with the second-level charge shot that covers more ground.