So as of last night, I have surpassed level 300 in TAP’s T.A. Death mode. Upon crossing this barrier and triggering the tribal-Wild Western hybrid background music, I stopped locking pieces manually, instead letting the drastically-decreased lock delay take over for me. A few blatant mistakes and 21 levels later, I topped out dead. Now, give me maybe 6-8 months before I can reach 500, about 12 to reach 500 in under 3’25″00 and trigger the M rank, and maybe 5-7 years to reach Grand Master status.

I’ve also been playing Thunder Force IV (which I refuse to call Lightening Force). I’m slowly getting better. My usual order is Daser-Strite-Air Raid-Ruins.

  • Daser allows me to get a Blade from the get-go, as well as a shield, and gives me time to warm up as it’s not too terribly difficult.
  • Strite offers an easy 1-up and two chances to get Craws. However, I tend to die to the claw-like thing preceding the boss due to not knowing its movements well.
  • Air Raid is a pretty fun stage; it’s so far been the only of the four initial stages where I bother to use 25% speed, necessary for me to weave Gradius-style through the tiny gaps between ships. There’s a Free Way to be had in this stage.
  • Ruins is the trickiest of the initial stages IMO, and for that reason I select it last. Those self-replicating enemies that remind me of Trauma Center‘s Deftera, enemies that almost suddenly pop out of the background, and the laser spears. However, this is where I get Snake (no, not Super Smash Bros. B**wl‘s second-highest-tier character) and Hunter. I’ve read there is a hidden shield to be had here.

Stage 5 is simply a breather level where I get the Thunder Sword upgrade. Stage 6 has more enemies that come in from all sides, making me pussy out and switch to Hunter. This is also where I get to use the Thunder Sword on a boss for the first time (though usually not without dying).

Stage 7 is a labyrinth-like cavern, and it’s somewhat fun to play. The boss’s first form is nothing, it’s the second form that I have to be careful on, lest a stray laser that I didn’t hit come around and hit me. On the plus side, downgrading from Blade and its all-red hit explosions to Twin Shot means I can actually tell if I’m hitting the boss.

Stage 8 has my favorite song in the game, “Metal Squad.” The first midboss isn’t very difficult once you know its attacks. I ended my credit shortly thereafter.

I’ve never gotten into using stage select or savestates to practice later stages, at least not since I played Gradius V regularly about five years ago. I just start from the beginning and learn the later stages when I can get to them easily.