Metal Storm/Stage 5


 * Password: P?S X!R9 X3J

Stage 5-1
Yay! We're back on old solid ground with no more elevators. However, you have to be quick on this stage because there's an energy beam moving behind you that will kill you if you touch it. In fact, you'll quickly find out that lasers are the theme of this entire stage. Walk to the right until you see the Laser Turret between the two small orange blocks.

Don't walk under it though, just wait for it to stop firing and then destroy it. There will be two more Laser Turrets ahead. You'll have to go on the ceiling to destroy the one on the ground as well as the next one you see. Later on there will two more. Destroy the vertical one and wait for the horizontal one to stop firing and then Gravity Jump to the ceiling to take care of it.

If you have the Weapon powerup, you can destroy the horizontal one easier by standing at the edge of it and firing. Continuing to the right you'll see another Laser Turret on the ground. Get rid of it and then drop to the ground but don't go any further until then. Now, walk forward until you see the horizontal Laser Turret ahead.

Destroy that sucka, do a Gravity Jump to the ceiling, and then destroy the vertical one. Grab the spoils of war, AKA the Armor and the Flame powerups, and be on your way. The area will open up now and there will be a lone Laser Turret in the middle, as well as a whole bunch more of them further ahead. Destroy the one Laser Turret close to the ground and then grab the Crush.

There's a Shield powerup inside the orange structure if you want it. You don't really need it for this stage though. The Crush should have taken care of the rest of the Laser Turrets here so just casually waltz to the right to find the exit to this area. The last Laser Turret to the right might still be lingering so you might want to take care of it, or maybe not.

Stage 5-2
There's more of the same here: Laser Turrets, the energy beam of death. You know, the usual. The energy beam will also appear sooner and move faster so you have to be even quicker than before on this part of the stage. If you still have the Weapon powerup from earlier, it will make this stage a snap, so hang onto it if you can. Destroy the first two Laser Turrets and grab the Armor.

Continue to the right and head through the middle when you come to the stacked platforms. Don't worry about the flying mechs here, they shouldn't be able to hit you since they are flying near the ceiling. When you come to the opening in the middle platform, fall off the side and wait at the wall ahead for the flying mech to go across the middle.

After it does, jump to the middle platform and keep walking until you reach a group of three Laser Turrets. One last flying mech may get in your way but you can either jump over it, or jump to the top platform to avoid it. Get rid of both of the two closer Laser Turrets and then drop next to the third one when it stops firing and destroy it.

Gravity Jump to the ceiling and continue walking to the right. There will be another group of Laser Turrets here, which are a fair bit tougher than the last group. If you have the Weapon powerup, you can drop the floor again while the bottom Laser Turret isn't firing and fire at it through the wall. Otherwise, you'll have to drop down on the other side of the wall and destroy it.

Once that bottom Laser Turret is gone, you'll be in the clear from this point on, unless you want to get the Weapon powerup near the ceiling. In order to get it, you have to Gravity Jump onto the orange blocks close to the ground, fall into the hole to grab it, and then Gravity Jump back out. It's a pretty tough maneuver but if you want it you should at least have the Armor powerup.

Afterwards, walk to the right side where the Laser Turret is firing through the opening. Wait for it to stop, Gravity jump to the ceiling, and then walk into the boss room. You should have more than enough time to get in there before the Laser Turret starts firing again.

Stage 5 Boss
This strange boss which looks like three clenched fists stuck together is pretty damn tough and you will have to use all your jumping skills to avoid getting hit. The boss also comes in three fantastic flavors. Blue mode, during which time it will fire angled lasers either toward the ground or the ceiling. Red mode, during which time it will fire lasers forward but they will turn 90 degrees depending on their proximity to the ground or the ceiling. And green mode, during which time it will fire a long bar laser. All three modes are fairly simple to avoid early on but after you damage the boss enough it will start firing multiple lasers at once and with more frequency, as well as rapidly changing modes.

All I can say is I hope you have the Armor powerup. You can squeeze by the blue mode and red mode lasers with somewhat more difficulty but the green mode lasers are a pain in the ass. You will frequently have to Gravity Jump and jump through the middle of several of these lasers. After blasting it enough times, it will eventually blow up and you can be on your way.

If you have Gravity Fireball (which is common in Expert mode), you may also try to come close to the spikes, and use the fireball and make a curve movement so that you can damage the boss and land on the other ceiling/floor safely.

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