Metal Storm/Walkthrough


 * See also: The ending, Expert mode

Stage 1

 * Password: Just start the game.

Stage 1-1
Walk to the right and destroy the mechs you see along the way until you reach the orange blocks about halfway between the ceiling and the floor that has the white circular machine moving around on it. Destroy it and the next one that appears on the ground ahead. Further on, there will be several platforms spaced upwards toward the ceiling.

Destroy the mechs on them, jump onto the lowest platform and then jump to the orange block. Here's where you'll have to use the Gravity Jump technique, otherwise you'll fall onto the spikes. Walk along the ceiling until you see another mech and a turret on another orange block below you. Destroy them both and continue to the right to enter the second part of stage 1.

Stage 1-2
Use the Gravity Jump again to fall to the floor and destroy the turret ahead. Jump into the little nook and grab the Armor and Flame powerups. Use the Gravity Jump here and jump downwards once and jump again onto the orange blocks until you see the turret ahead. Wait until the turret fires and then walk over it and destroy it.

Use the Gravity Jump again and walk forward a little until you see the turret on the platform ahead. Jump and fire at it until it's gone and then use the Gravity Jump yet again to hit the second turret from above. Destroy the mech and the turret below you and then the turret to the right. Jump and fire at it until it's destroyed.

You don't have to worry about the turret on the low platform unless you want to get rid of it. You might as well, since they are worth points. =) Destroy the mech below you when it passes under you and then use the Gravity Jump to fall to the floor again. Destroy the turret and then use the Gravity Jump again to get the turret ahead.

Stay on the ceiling and jump down to the platforms below. Further on there will be a large blue mech that's hogging up all the space ahead. Fire at it until it's gone. You may have to back up once or twice so don't hesitate to do so. Stay on the ceiling, grab the Weapon powerup, and trash the two remaining mechs here. Continue to the right to meet the boss.

Stage 1 Boss
The boss is the pale green piece of mechanical junk that's hanging from the ceiling. It's quite simple to defeat really but you'll have to use your Gravity Jump a few times to avoid getting blasted. The boss has three potential weak points at the middle and one on either side but only when the pink dome appears there.

The smaller pink orb in the center of the boss fires at you after the dome disappears. The dome should always appear in the middle first so wait there and blast it when it appears. It will then appear on either end of the boss and then back in the middle. You can try to hit the dome while it's on one of the sides and then Gravity Jump back down before the smaller orb fires at you.

You should Gravity Jump back down before the dome disappears to be on the safe side since it takes a bit of time to flip over and fall to the ground. If you're patient, you can just wait in the middle for the dome to reappear and blast it there. It should only take about two rounds of firing at the dome to defeat the boss.

Stage 2

 * Password: BJ6 H0ZQ BHB

Stage 2-1
This stage is... odd, to say the least but it's one of my favorites. Try firing upwards or even jumping toward the top or bottom of the screen. The top and bottom parts wrap around to each other. You start the stage in a corridor. Walk right and destroy the two mechs on the platform you see here. Now jump up twice and continue to the right.

Continue on until you reach another series of platforms with several green electrified wall traps at either end. Stand between the two wall traps and quickly jump twice to the platform above. If you take too long, the two of them will snap shut and damage you. Walk right and continue jumping up through the platforms and avoiding the wall traps.

There's one set of them here and further ahead there will be two other sets above and below you as well as a Barrier powerup on the other side of a wall. In order to get that powerup, use the Gravity Jump and quickly jump through the platforms below to the bottom. Use the Gravity Jump again, do a short jump to activate the wall traps and then jump to the Barrier powerup.

Do another short jump and then jump up past the wall traps. Continue to the right through the corridor, use the Gravity Jump again and then jump down through set of two wall traps. Destroy the Sentry Ship ahead but watch out for the bullets it fires out from it's side. You'll be safe as long as you're on the same level as it, and not above or below it.

Do another Gravity Jump to fall to the ground and then jump through the set of four wall traps. The platforms where the wall traps are angled to the right so you have to jump a little to the right every time you pass through one to avoid getting hit. When you make it to the top, the second part of the stage is right ahead.

Stage 2-2
This part is more of the same stuff but there are a few new things thrown at you here. Fall off the side and when you're on the bottom part jump as far as you can forward over the spiked platform and then do a Gravity Jump to nab the 1-up in the nook on the far right. Don't allow yourself to land on the spikes obviously and you have to keep pressing right until you land beside the 1-up.

This isn't for the faint of heart so if you have a hard time doing a Gravity Jump I'd say just ignore it and fall off the side of the tan structure where you started and continue to the right. Do a Gravity Jump to the ceiling and walk to the far right corner where the white and pink door is. Do another Gravity Jump to make the door swing upwards, and then jump downwards.

Don't do a Gravity Jump through the door. Go to the left corner of this compartment and do another Gravity Jump. Fall off the side and do yet another Gravity Jump to open the door. Continue to the right, jump up through the platform and destroy the two turrets. You can only get the bottom one if you have the Weapon Powerup.

If you don't have it, just worry about the other turret. Once they are gone, jump to the right until you get to the spiked platform barring your way, but you already know what to do right? A Gravity Jump. Walk right a little more and then fall upwards into the hole. An Armor powerup is waiting there. Do another Gravity Jump to get out of there and one more to get back on the ceiling.

Now, jump across the hole and do a Gravity Jump to the floor and finally jump through the platforms. Whew. The stage is almost done, don't worry about that. In order to get the Barrier powerup in the little compartment below, do a Gravity Jump to the ceiling, jump through the hole and then do another Gravity Jump to snag it.

To get out, do a Gravity Jump where the door is and another to continue on. The next part is pretty neat. Fall down into the hole. It's an endless hole. You'll just keep falling and falling until you do a Gravity Jump... or go into the space on the right. Further ahead it's more of the same. Do a Gravity Jump in the corners to open the doors and then jump through the opening they make.

I'm getting tired of writing Gravity Jump every time here so I think that you can get this part on your own by now. =) When you get through the two doors, stay on the ceiling and jump through the platform to nab another powerup. You can also not go through the platform in order to get a Barrier powerup a little further ahead. It's up to you.

Continue right until you see many, many platforms layered one on top of another, as well as Sentry Ships. Turn right side up and head on through. Avoid being above or below the Sentry Ships as I said earlier and destroy them as needed. The boss is right ahead.

Stage 2 Boss
Another simple boss but there's still a chance you'll die if you're not careful. This boss consists of five laser turrets on the far right that fire every 10 seconds or so. There are platforms that you can jump to when a turret is about to fire so don't hesitate to if you see that laser beam coming. Stand on the right and destroy the laser on the platform you're on. If it's going to fire, jump up to a higher platform and start blasting the next laser. Rinse and repeat until they are all destroyed.

Stage 3

 * Password: 576 5WHD M7D

Stage 3-1
Here's another odd-ball stage. Notice the parallax scrolling in the background? The Tram Cars you see moving along the track throughout this stage are the main enemy here. They don't do anything but don't run into one obviously. Walk to the right and destroy the Tram Cars if they get in your way, which will be often enough. You'll be sick of them by them time you're done this stage.

When you get to the spikes do a Gravity Jump and then another to get the Flame powerup. I wouldn't recommend getting it if you already have the Weapon or the Armor powerup since that one will negate it. There will be a Shield and another Armor powerup just ahead if you do want to get it though. Drop to the floor if you haven't already and nab the Armor and then continue to the right.

When you get past the wield neon green blocks there will be a White Turret sitting at the top right side of the screen. You can either stand on the edge and fire at it, while walking right again when it fires at you or just go head to head with it under the track. If you still have the Shield, it should absorb the hits from the White Turret. Once it's gone, head to the right to find the second part of the stage.

Stage 3-2
There's more Tram Car action ahead. Yee haw. Head right until you see the two powerups. You have a choice here, the Armor or the Weapon powerup. Whatever you grab, jump back through the platform on the other side of the wall and continue right. Stick to the ceiling until you reach the wall of flame coming from the machine below. Do a Gravity Jump to solve that problem.

Jump to the platform above the spikes and again to the ground ahead. You have to time it and don't jump all the way or you might hit the spikes on the ceiling. Head right and destroy the White Turret if you have the Weapon powerup, otherwise jump to the platform ahead and do a Gravity Jump. Do another Gravity Jump when you come to the long line of spikes on the ceiling and continue on.

Jump across the holes and do a Gravity jump in the corner and jump onto the small platform sticking out of the wall. Jump over the top and grab the Barrier in the corner. Walk right again, jump onto the raised part of the ceiling where the spikes are and do one final Gravity Jump onto the platform below. Go right to find the boss of this place.

Stage 3 Boss
I think this boss is considerably tougher than the previous two. You have do some timing and a bunch of Gravity Jumps on the spot so I hope you can do that well enough now. The boss is the round machine surrounded by the two balls. What it does is wait for about 10 seconds and then it goes in the quadrant you were in. It doesn't attack you with bullets, lasers, or any kind of stuff like that.

The area that you fight the boss in is separated into four parts, hence the term quadrant, and the slow moving lasers that separate the area are as much trouble as the boss itself. The trick is to blast the boss while counting to ten in your head and then doing a Gravity Jump through the lasers or moving to another quadrant BEFORE you reach ten. If you move too soon the boss will just follow you to new quadrant you're in.

Stage 4

 * Password: 863 9JQZ WQ[heart]

Stage 4-1
Here is where the game starts getting tough. This one in particular is one of the more unique stages in the game. You start and end the stage inside a large box that moves you around. It's supposed to be an elevator from what it says in the manual but you probably wouldn't figure that if you didn't read the manual. It starts off simple enough, just let it take you for a ride.

A Flame powerup up will soon appear, followed by several Pods to ruin the moment. Grab the Flame if you want but stick to the bottom because a Rotator Pod will show up there and if you're on the top you'll have a tricky time trying to get through it. The Flame is useful on this stage because you can pass through enemies with it. You might want to keep that in mind.

Another Rotator Pod will appear at the top. Go to the ceiling and destroy it. More Pods will follow, as well as an Armor powerup nestled amount several Pods and a Weapon powerup. Soon after this, the elevator will start to move upwards. A set of three wall traps are ahead. Since you're moving with the elevator you'll have to time it. It's not hard though.

Wait until you're almost level with the first set of wall traps and then do a Gravity Jump. You should avoid getting hit this way. Now, stand on the right side of the elevator and wait until the three White Turrets appear above you and blast them all. The elevator will turn right at this point. Two sets of two Pods will form a wall ahead.

Walk under the first set and then Gravity Jump over the second set. Further ahead will be the same set of Pods, except that a Rotator Pod will be at the top and another one at the bottom. Gravity Jump to the ceiling and destroy the first one, and then fall back to the ground and destroy the second one. This next part is the hardest in my opinion.

A Blue Turret will appear in the bottom right corner. You can destroy them but you can't get rid of them permanently. You can also destroy the shots they fire. Blast the first one. The elevator will move upwards again and another Blue Turret will appear in the top left corner. Blast that one and destroy the bottom right one again. A third and fourth Blue Turret will appear soon after.

Get the third one and while it's gone, get the fourth one. The third one will reappear again. Gravity Jump to the ceiling and take care of it. The fourth one will reappear again by this time. Be at the bottom to take it out before it can fire at you. One last Blue Turret will appear at the top. Gravity Jump to the ceiling and destroy it. Now, let the elevator take you to the boss.

Stage 4-1 Boss
This isn't really the boss of the stage; it's more of a mini-boss to tide you over. The boss consists of four red machines circling around the edge of the elevator. They don't attack but they will gradually speed up and then slow down again and speed up... you get the point. Just stay where you are and jump over them as they pass by while firing forward. While they are slowing down again take this time to blast as many of them as you can. They might fire at you but you should be able to avoid it. Once the remaining ones pick up speed again, destroy the stragglers to finish off the boss.

Stage 4-2
The stony Romanesque style elevator will be replaced with a more mechanical type. The remainder of the stage is also harder. You'll get a Shield and an Armor powerup right off the bat. Several small Crab machines will start appearing around the edge of the elevator and flying at you. The Shield, if you want to keep it, will protect you from them when they hit it.

Three more powerups will appear soon after - a Weapon and a Flame powerup, also a rare as heck Crush. It will destroy all enemies on the screen. Kind of useless but interesting. The elevator will do a shimmy downwards around the time those powerups appear so you don't have much time to grab them. Soon the elevator will take you to a Sentry... yeah, that big, round machine.

Stand under it, fire at it, and watch it blow up. They are simple to defeat just don't stand to the side of it since that's where it's bullets tend to go. Not long after you destroy the Sentry, the elevator will go upwards and you'll run into another one on the left side. And after that, yet another one will appear on the right. The elevator will stop there and start going right again.

Destroy the Sentry from the top if you want to get rid of it. Soon after that, a Wall Sentry will appear on the right. It's weak point is the green part in the center but you have to destroy it quickly or you'll run into it. It also fires missiles toward the bottom so you should continually jump when you run into another one, which is right away actually.

Stand in the middle of the elevator once the first Wall Sentry is gone. Not long after that, two more will appear on either side of you. Destroy the left one first since the elevator will start to move left. After the left one is gone, destroy the right one. The elevator will start left again right in a little while. But alas, soon it will start going downward again, through the toughest part of this stage.

Several Pods will appear right down the middle of the elevator, effectively splitting it into two. Right after that, a Sentry Ship will appear on the top right. Try to destroy it since it's bullets might hit you while you're on the way down. You can also just Gravity Jump to the ceiling and wait for it on the right and then fall back down later.

Either way, once the Pods clear out, move toward the right side of the elevator to make way for a second Sentry Ship that will appear from the left corner. This one is simpler to destroy. After it's gone, the elevator will start zigzagging left and right, while more Sentry Ships will start showing up and single Pods in the center of the elevator.

Destroy the Sentry Ships when they appear and don't let them fire at you. One will appear on the top and another on the bottom so you can just wait for them and jump over the Pods as they show up. After a couple of zigzags, the elevator will straighten out and a long line of Pods will appear down the center. The elevator will turn one last time and then you'll be at the boss.

Stage 4 Boss
This boss is sort of similar to the stage 4-1 boss but quite a bit harder. It's made up of three parts, but you only have to destroy the red core bouncing around inside the elevator to defeat the boss. The other two parts are guns that move along the top and bottom of the elevator, often following you around, and occasionally firing a long laser beam at you.

The first thing you should do is make sure that you take out at least one of the guns, preferably both of them, before you concentrate on the red core. The top gun should be the first to go since it's easier to fire upwards, and then the bottom one if you want. You still have to watch out for the red core bouncing around and make sure you don't touch it though.

Once the guns are gone start, all you have to do is destroy the red core to finish the stage. Another strategy you can use to defeat the boss right off the bat is to Gravity Jump right into the red core, but only if you have the armor powerup from the beginning of the second part of the stage. It don't know why it works but it does. And thank God for that.

Stage 5

 * Password: P[heart]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.

Generally, they will turn upwards when they are closer to the ceiling, and downwards when they are closer to the ground. The final mode, green, 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.

Stage 6

 * Password: 2QS Q8R8 KKQ

Stage 6-1
Here's pretty unique stage that also has it's own new, rather unique set of challenges from what ones you've already encountered. The entire stage doesn't have a ceiling or a floor and is much like stage 2 in that the top and the bottom grab around to each other. It might be disorienting at first but you'll get the hang of it soon enough.

There are also a lot more of the Barriers, the machines that shoot out fire unless you're upside down or right side up, in this stage. Keep this in mind since there are a few little tricks that the game pulls with them here. Make your way to the right until you see the first Barrier. Go upside down to deactivate it and land on the platform beside the second Barrier.

Do another Gravity Jump to deactivate this one. There will be another Barrier ahead, as well as a Shield and a Weapon powerup on the platforms. I suggest you grab the Weapon powerup. It's more effective in my opinion. If you're still right side up the Barrier here should be deactivated but otherwise... you know what to do.

There will be a White Turret ahead near the middle of the screen, as well as a second one further on closer to the bottom. They should be simple to destroy but watch out for their bullets. There will be more Turrets waiting ahead, on the long gray platform. Destroy the first Turret on the edge and then carefully walk ahead.

A few more Turrets and another White Turret will be waiting on there. The Turrets will be easy to get but the White Turret is only vulnerable from above or below, or you can just walk past it. You'll have to get onto long platform from above since the orange platform is blocking your way onto it from the front. A new enemies will appear here.

They can appear at any height at which time they fly forward and fire a couple of bullets at you so take care when you see one. After a couple of them have flied by, you'll come up to yet another Barrier. Deactivate it and the second part of the stage is right ahead. The hard part is yet to come though.

Stage 6-2
There will be Barrier right in front of you. Deactivate it and start jumping to the right. You'll find a much needed Armor powerup ahead, close to a small spiked platform. Trust me when I say much needed, because you'll need it alright. Deactivate this Barrier and wait on the small platform beside it until it's around the middle of the screen, and then jump.

Continue on to the right until you reach another long platform with more White Turrets on it. The simple way to do this part is to make your way onto the larger blue platform above it and then jump across to the smaller blue platforms until you're clear. That way you can cleanly avoid most of the White Turrets on that platform.

You'll still have to destroy the one at the back and a few Turrets but that's fairly easy to do. Jump onto one of the smaller blue platforms and destroy the Turret on the edge of the long platform ahead. Now jump onto it and carefully make your way to the other side, destroying the rest of the Turrets on that side. A few of the flying ships might try to fire here.

Once you're at the end, jump onto the large orange structure and make your way onto the spiked platform that's very close to the Barrier. You have to be upside down here to do this. Walk left a little bit so you don't hit the Barrier and then do a Gravity Jump to deactivate it. Walk to the edge of the blue platform and do another Gravity Jump.

All that you have to do now is wait for the platform to be near the bottom of the screen, fall off the side, and then do a Gravity Jump. Press right while you're falling and you'll land right on the safe side of the spiked platform. You have to do this all quickly or you'll get hit. The end is just to the right. Jump onto one of the platforms and walk right to greet the boss.

Stage 6 Boss
The boss is made up of three blocks that move counter clockwise around the sides of the screen. Usually two of the blocks are closer together and the third one is further apart. They don't fire at you but I guess they really don't need to since you can't touch the ground or the ceiling at all. You have to stay on the blocks to avoid being damaged.

There are several ways to approach fighting this boss, this is the easiest way to do it in my opinion. Wait on the block you start on until it starts going up the right side of the screen. Jump or fall off the side of it onto the block behind you and you should be alright for awhile. Fire at the blocks when you can and they will eventually turn red, which means they are weak.

The trouble really begins after you destroy the first block. Now you won't be able to stay off the ground so easily since the two remaining blocks are further apart. If you didn't destroy the closer block, you might have an easier time but otherwise you'll have to Gravity Jump onto the bottom of the second block and then jump or fall back onto first block. It's not easy to do.

Once the second block is destroyed, you'll need some luck to destroy the last one. You should make sure that it's red beforehand otherwise you might need an Armor powerup to survive. Jump onto it and blast it. Hopefully you'll destroy it. Congrats. Woosh... onto the final stage of the game.

Stage 7

 * Password: 94J LZH3 93G

Stage 7-1
You start in a long corridor with three powerups, a Weapon, a Shield, and a Flame, at the other end. Grab what you want and head right... to face every major boss in the game, again. *shudder* Luckily, they are all the same as before. Every time you get a game over, you'll start in the corridor again, and you can fight the same boss you lost your last life on.

The first six bosses should go down quickly since you know what to do and have more experience now. You can't do the Gravity Jump trick against the stage 5 boss here but the stage 6 boss should be easier now because you have access to a readily available Weapon powerup. After you defeat all six major bosses again, you can move on to the final boss of the game.

Stage 7 Boss
A large white machine will slowly move from the right to the left side of the screen, gradually exposing the four cores in it's center. Jump up and destroy them as the machine moves along but you have to be quick since you're on a strict time limit. After all four cores are gone, it will blow up and the game will end. Congrats!

Ending

 * Through your courageous
 * efforts all the people on
 * Earth will sleep peacefully
 * tonight. The massive
 * computer that set out to
 * destroy the blue planet has
 * been destroyed.


 * Leaders from the Earth Nation
 * will now bestoy upon you a
 * reward greater than any
 * medal, and more valuable
 * than all the gold known to
 * man. You have earned
 * everlasting life.


 * Yes! Your courage has won
 * you immortality: now it is
 * your duty to return to the
 * cosmos and protect the more
 * vulnerable Earthlings from
 * future alien attacks.


 * Hang tough!

Expert mode

 * Password: N5T D!36Q 71

After you finish Stage 7 and see the ending you get the chance to play the game again at a higher difficulty. Expert Mode is a lot more difficult since there are more enemies, the bosses have much more energy than before. Good luck! You’ll need it.