Section Z (NES)/Sections 40 - 59

Recommended progress

 * 1) Survive Section 40, and take the bottom portal to Section 41.
 * 2) Collect the Megasmasher from Section 41, then take the top portal to Section 44.
 * 3) You have no choice but to proceed directly from Section 44 to Sections 45 and 46.
 * 4) Collect the Megasmasher from Section 46, then take the bottom portal to Section 48.
 * 5) Collect a Barrier Shield from Section 48, then take the bottom portal to Section 47.
 * 6) Locate the secret entrance to the warp zone in Section 47, and take either warp to Section 49.
 * 7) Destroy the Generator in Section 49, then take top portal to Section 41.
 * 8) Survive Section 41, and take the bottom portal to Section 43, then take the bottom portal to Section 51.
 * 9) You have no choice but to proceed directly from Section 51 to Sections 52 and 53.
 * 10) Locate the secret entrance to an energy station in Section 53, and take the top portal to Section 54.
 * 11) Locate the secret entrance to the warp zone in Section 54, and take either warp to Section 56.
 * 12) Destroy the Generator in Section 56, then take bottom portal to Section 57.
 * 13) Collect the Flash Buster from Section 57, then take the bottom portal to Section 58, and proceed to Section 59.
 * 14) Defeat the boss, and win the game.

Section Notes

 * Section 40: You will face two sets of Cloud Eyes followed by cannons and a single wave of Gromas before you reach the portals at the end of this section.
 * Section 41: A single wave of Cloud Eyes will appear before any cannons show up on the floor and the ceiling. Several waves of Gromas will follow, before a new enemy, the Floating Bataris show up.  They warp into an area on the right and left, and fire twin lasers at you.  Focus on one, and then the other.  After they arrive, shoot at the lower terrain to discover a secret entrance to an energy restoration station.  Enter the left station to receive 15 units of energy.  Shortly after, a second new enemy will begin to appear.  Krogas fly onto the screen and do round sweeps around the center of the screen, shooting bullets at you as they fly by.
 * Section 42: Four Mansas will immediately appear to attack you before Vitos ultimately show up along the bottom of the screen. Clear them out, then attack the Vitos until more Mansas arrive.  A Metaleater containing a Barrier Shield will appear on the floor near the end of the section.
 * Section 43: This rather fast Section is empty. But be sure to climb to the middle of the screen so that you don't get swept away by the terrain.
 * Section 44: Clone Soldiers will make their debut here. They're not difficult to fight, but they show up in vast numbers, so it's important not to let them overwhelm you.  The Mega Buster works particularly well in this situation.  Part of the way through, a large obstacle with cannons mounted on it will split the path.  After that, there is a short break from the soldiers when four homing Mansas appear.  A Metaleater will pass by on the floor containing a Flash Buster.  The Clone Soldiers will resume their attack, along with a second obstacle, until the end of the section.  You will have no choice but to advance to Section 45.
 * Section 45: In this room, you will be forced to fight a mini-boss known as Galga. Galga is a two part fight.  It starts out moving in a figure eight fashion, spraying bullets in a circle as it flies around.  Only direct hits to its core will damage it (although you can fire roughly between the core and the eyes and still hit.)  After you hit it enough times, it divides into eight distinct little blocks that fly around in a circle.  The blocks will always remain in a circular formation, but the entire group will weave around a bit.  They appear very briefly and fire off a shot at you before winking back out of sight.  They are only vulnerable to attack when they are solid, which is for a short period of time, so you won't have long to get any shots off.  You can try to position yourself in the middle, where you will always be safe from making physical contact with them, but not from their bullets.  After all eight blocks have been extinguished, Galga will be defeated and leave a Power Capsule for you to collect before you move on to Section 46.
 * Section 46: This is a rather easy section in which you must simply fight two pairs of Crabs. The spaces in the floor actually give you an advantage since they typically can't run all the way out to you, which leaves them as sitting ducks.  There is a Metaleater with a Megasmasher in the middle of the section.
 * Section 47: A set of Mansas will start off this atypical Vito/Mansa type stage. The section will be split up by obstacles.  However tempting it is to take the upper path so that you are shielded from the Vito bullets, don't do it because you will have a hard time cracking a hole in the region where you have to go through a small tunnel if the Vitos appear in large numbers.  Stay focused on keeping their number down and staying to the right of them.  After the first small tunnel, a secret entrance to a warp zone can be found near the ceiling.  You must find and enter this warp zone in order to be taken to the Generator section.  If you happen to finish out this section instead, you will encounter Clone Soldiers along with one wave of Mesas.
 * Section 48: A squad of Cloud Eyes will appear in the beginning of this section before a never ending wave of Vitos begin to arrive along the terrain. Stay focused on shooting the Vitos as no Mansas will appear at this time.
 * Section 49: Although this is a Generator room, the Rippers that appear here do not appear in one solid line. Rather, they are interspersed throughout the entire screen.  It's not a bad idea to wait for a lot of them to appear before attacking them.  Since only eight energy orbs can occupy the screen at a time, you can destroy more than four of them in a short period of time and cut down on the screen clutter.  When you reach the Generator, you will find no platform of any sort to provide you with cover.  It is best to activate the Barrier Shield now if you have one.  Blast the Generator and collect the Power Capsule before moving on.
 * Section 50: This is a fairly fast moving section composed of energy barriers and Mesa squads. The barriers are arranged much more erratically than before, but the pace of the stage shouldn't be too fast for you to react to the gaps in the barriers and avoid taking too much damage.  It may be a little quick for you to pick up the capsules that the Mesas leave behind, but you should be able to grab a few as they zip by.
 * Section 51: The first half of this section is composed entirely of Missile delivering Drones. Destroy them as you have in several other sections.  The second half is composed solely of Vitos.  You are safe to concentrate your attack on them until the end of the stage, as no other enemy will bother you.  Just be careful not to get snagged by the terrain as you stay to the right.  You will have no choice but to advance to Section 52.
 * Section 52: In this section, you will be treated to a second fight with the second boss that you encountered, Balba. Balba does not behave any differently than before, so the same strategies apply, with one difference.  Like your second encounter with Zamuza, the terrain will continue to scroll by as you fight.  There are times where the terrain climbs a little high, forcing you to fly out of the way as you fight.  Do your best to focus your attack on the core, and avoid taking damage as much as possible.  No Power Capsule is dropped when you complete the fight, and you must advance to Section 53 when you are finished.
 * Section 53: The only enemy that you encounter in this section are Rippers. Simply fly along the terrain, dealing with them as you normally would.  When you encounter a large split in the path, stay on the upper portion and shoot the terrain near the ceiling to discover a hidden entrance to an energy restoration station.  Enter it and take the left station to receive 15 units of energy.  It's not a bad idea to bounce back and forth between Sections 53 and 54 if you are trying to build of energy, especially after the sixth and final Generator is destroyed and you are preparing for the battle with the L-Brain.
 * Section 54: Cloud Eyes appear at the start of this section, followed by an enemy that you haven't seen in quite some time, a Spratter. Take out the Spratter, and watch out for the terrain.  Right when a Metaleater appears (which contains a Flash Buster), you can find a secret entrance to a warp zone in the top of the room before the drop in the ceiling.  You must locate this warp zone in order to gain access to the Generator section.  If you don't take it, the section will conclude with a large wave of Clone Soldiers.
 * Section 55: This is a very fast moving Section that should be avoided except for one purpose. You will start out by encounter Cloud Eyes, followed by squads of Leevas.  When Mesa begin to appear, and Metaleater will start to scroll by.  You must shoot it and move to its position very quickly in order to collect the Barrier Shield, which is the only reason to come here.  After that, Krogas will appear, followed by a short period of Kickers before you reach the end of the section.
 * Section 56: Unlike most Generator sections, You won't encounter any Rippers here. Instead, you will face three waves of Cloud Eyes.  Some of the members of each wave will peal of early, making it difficult to earn a capsule as a reward for destroying all eight.  Once again, the Generator room will be wide open, exposing you to all of the homing energy pulses unless you activate a shield.  Destroy the Generator and collect the Power Capsule before head out.
 * Section 57: This section is primarily composed of Gushers and Mansa squads. Always prioritize the Mansas since it only take one touch from them to kill you.  Focus on removing the Gushers only when its safe to do so.  A Metaleater with a Flash Buster appears on the floor near the end of the stage.
 * Section 58: This short section contains no enemies and immediate entrance to the final section, Section 59.
 * Section 59: When you enter this section, you can choose to try to maneuver through the tight maze of energy barriers, or you can just fly through it and absorb one unit of damage. When you reach the end of the small tunnel, you will arrive in the chamber of the L-Brain.  This battle is much more difficult than the battle against the L-Brain in the arcade (although it's much harder to reach the L-Brain in the arcade.)  Their are 7 components to the L-Brain.  There are four defending cannons that appear on the left side of the screen, there are two shield generators right in front of the L-Brain, and then there is the core itself.  The cannons and the shields regenerate after a number of seconds.  To defeat L-Brain, you must lower one of the two shields so that you can fire at the L-Brain's central eye.  After it takes enough hits to the eye, it will be destroyed.  If you have plenty of health, you can defeat the L-Brain with brute force by wearing down one shield, shooting at the eye until the shield regenerates, and then attacking the same, or a different shield and repeating the process.  You'll take a large number of hits, but you should be able to defeat the core before you are in a serious situation.  If you do not have a lot of health before you get here, hope is not lost.  This is the only boss fight where you can actually gain energy if you are patient enough.  Every time you destroy a cannon, there is a chance it will leave behind a capsule.  It might be a speed capsule, but it will more likely be energy.  You can position yourself on the floor or the ceiling a short distance away from the cannons waiting for them to reappear, and you won't get hit by the L-Brain's bullets.  You can use this strategy to refuel, although it's fairly slow.  Once you defeat the L-Brain, you will be treated to the ending sequence.  Congratulations.