Xexyz/Area 1

You start your adventure off on the Island of Ruins. Although the enemies aren't particularly powerful, you will have the least amount of health in this game, so any damage can be very costly. Proceed slowly and be sure to clear away any enemies ahead of you to minimize how much damage you receive.

Outdoors

When you begin, a ship will deposit two enemies on the screen. Directly above you is the first door:

• Information room: "Welcome Apollo. This is the island of ruins. Our leader, Queen Cecile is captured at the mechanic castle on this island."

Walk a short distance to the next door:

• Treasure box room: A ghost will move back and forth below four treasure chests. Stand below one of the chests and jump up as the ghost passes above you. If you time your jump correctly, it will fly up and dislodge one of the chests. You will receive the contents which may be 20E, 40E, 70E, or nothing. You can leave and come back to the room to play the game a second time.

As you proceed to the next door above, two hopping gun enemies will appear, along with a bug that flies above the ground. Jump up to the next door:

• Weapon room: The creature inside will equip Apollo with the 45 Ball weapon (unless you cancel with ). Leave the room and come back a second time to receive the powered-up version of the weapon for free.

Continue to the right, and hop on to the platforms above the gap to climb to the next door:

• Information room: "You must get a FORCE STAR from the devil in the hidden room to get into the mechanic castle."

When you leave this room, stay above the ground and take the top platform to the right. You will see an L block. If you collect it, it will restore 4 bars of health. Additionally, if you shoot the short column of star blocks five times, a hidden entrance will appear:

• Force Star room: In this room, you must do battle with the statue in order to receive the Force Star. The statue will remain stationary, and shoot a spread of three bullets down towards you. Stand between the two small columns, and wait for the statue's bullets to pass over your head. Then jump up and fire a 45 Ball as you are rising so that it bounces off the right column and hits the statue in the head. Repeat this pattern until the statue is defeated, and you earn the Force Star.

As you leave the room, you can walk a short distance to the right to find the next door:

• Upgrade room: You can pay 20E to upgrade your weapon, but if you visited the weapon room twice, your 45 Ball is always upgraded, so there is no need to purchase this.

You can drop down to the ground and return to the left to collect the E block below, as long as you don't travel too far to the right first. Then continue moving to the right, avoiding the small tank enemies. As you walk past a row of statues, two of them will have flashing eyes. They will periodically shed "tears" that can harm Apollo. Use the platform above the gap to jump back up to the left to the next door:

• Gambling room: In this room, you must pay 20E to choose one of three boxes in an effort to earn, at best, 100E. If you agree to pay, you can choose one of three boxes, in which you may find 30E, 50E, or 100E. You can re-enter the room to play a second time.

Drop back down to the platform, and then jump up to the next door:

• Information room: "By shooting the right stone carved with star 5 times, a hidden door will appear."

Jump across the columns to collect the E block in the middle. Watch out for the bugs flying overhead and continue right to the next door near the ground:

• Rescue room: In this room, a capture fairy asks for your help. Then a floating green head appears. You must defeat this head to rescue the fairy. The best strategy is the stand close to the exit, and shoot your 45 Ball so that it bounces off the floor and hits the head. After a while, the head will fly towards you and try to strike you. Move or jump out of the way, and it will return to its original position. Continue attacking until the head is defeated. The fairy will reward you with 40E.

Move to the right and use the next platform to jump up and back to the left to reach the next door high off the ground:

• Item room: The creature inside will provide you with a Foot Wing item, which will allow you to float through the air by holding or tapping after you jump.

Head to the right, avoiding another crying statue on the ground. Jump up to the next door above a gap in the ground:

• Health room: For 60E, the frog inside this room will restore all of your health. If your health is less than half-full, and you have the money, it would be a good idea to accept his offer.

Walk along the ground below the platforms if you want to avoid the enemies which get dropped from the ship flying through the air. Then use the platform above the gap to reach the next door above:

• Information room: "Somewhere in the mechanic castle, the phantom of King Xeu Star is waiting for you."

Hop over to the next door to the right:

• Free money room: The girl inside this room provides you with 20E for free.

Then drop down to the ground the enter the door to the first castle. You can only enter as long as you defeated the statue and collected the Force Star from the hidden room.

Indoor 1

Proceed to the right. A flying enemy will float toward you in a wave pattern, while a green robot will drop down to the ground and walk toward you. The robot will fire at you, so squat to avoid the bullet. As you approach the series of platforms, another flying enemy will appear. Collect the E block, and then enter the door.

• Item shop: You can purchase your original weapon, the Hand Beam for 20E, or the 45 Ball for 30E. You can also purchase a Foot Wing for 30E.

If you continue to the right, you will encounter some enemies which hang on the edge of platforms, firing bullets down diagonally. At the end of the hallway is another door:

• Information shop: If you pay 20E, the robot will tell you, "Jump high and go through the air-well to the upper floors."

The air-well is positioned above the platforms near the item shop. Stand on the platform beneath the air-well and hold while pressing to pass through the well to the floor above.

In the room above, three enemies will fly down in a particular pattern before flying back up and continuing the pattern to the left. There is an L block on the center platform. If you collect this block, and leave the room (through the air-wells above or below) and come back, the L block will return. You can collect as many as you need to restore all of your health. There is a door in the upper left corner:

• Information shop: Pay 20E to learn, "You will need 20E to get into the mobile armor at the hangar."

The door to the right leads to the hangar. You can enter now or explore the room above through the air-well in the ceiling.

If you do head up, you'll enter a room with two green robots, and door in the upper right corner. The door leads to Treasure box room where you must hit the ghost to dislodge one of the four treasure chests in the ceiling. You can enter this room and play twice. When you're done, return to the floor below, and enter the hangar through the door in the lower right corner.

Shooter

When you enter the hangar, jump onto the vehicle. It will cost you 20E to do so. Fly the vehicle up through the door in the upper right corner. You will begin the horizontal scrolling section of the stage. Remember that you can press to drop bombs as well as pressing to fire forward.

In the first section, you will encounter enemies stationed on the ground, along with enemies that float in from the right side of the screen. Collect an S capsule on the ground to increase the speed of your vehicle. After you do so, a platform will appear in the middle of the screen, and a P capsule will resting on it. Collect it for the first of two P capsules that you need to upgrade your vehicles weapon. A second S capsule will appear on the ground. Shortly after, you will reach the end of the section. You will see two doors. Take the top door to advance to the next section. If you take the door below, you will be forced to repeat this section.

When you start the second section, sets of bubbles will appear. If you allow them to get far enough across the screen, the explode into four pieces that travel diagonally. More of these bubbles will appear, along with some ships that fly across the screen. A P capsule will appear on a small platform. If this is your second P capsule, your weapon will be upgraded, and you will fire a second bullet upward at an angle. More ships will fly across the screen to the left. An S capsule will appear above a high platform, but don't collect too many of these or your vehicle will be hard to control. Stay low to the ground as you finish this section. You will reach the end and find two more doors. Take the lower door to advance; the top door will force you to repeat this section.

Indoor 2

Land your vehicle on the platform, and advance through the door on the right. When you arrive, you will find two floating enemies and a small green robot. Clear them out as quickly as possible, and collect the L block by the entrance to restore some health. Then jump through the door to find an Item shop with the same items as in the first indoor section.

Proceed to the right, and you will see an air-well on the floor. If you stand above it and press , you will enter a small room with two green robots. Shoot them and enter the door on the right side of the room:

• Information Shop: Pay 20E to learn, "Boss's weakness is its forehead"

Then destroy the robots again and jump up through the air-well in the ceiling.

Back on the original floor, you will have to clear away several floating enemies, along with a green robot, and a cannon on the edge of a platform. Collect the E block in the lower corner if you like, and then jump up through the door above the top platform. Inside, a man will invite you to jump on a saucer (a mechanical turtle in the Japanese version) and fly through the door. All of your health will be restored when you jump on the saucer.

Boss: Braiza

The first boss resembles an armored brain. It floats in from the right, and then proceeds to float up and down along the right side of the screen. It fires bubbles straight ahead to the left. Periodically, small versions of it self will loop around Braiza, and then fly off toward wherever Apollo happens to be at the time.

Assuming you stuck with the 45 Ball, the best strategy is to remain near the very top of the screen and fire downward towards Braiza. By staying near the top of the screen, the bubbles will not be able to harm you. When the small Braiza fly off toward Apollo, either move out of the way, or maintain your position and shoot it twice to remove it. Then resume your attack on Braiza.

Keep hitting him with 45 Balls until he is defeated. Queen Cecile will be rescued, and she will invite you to take her Cyborg Rider to the next area. Then fly up to the door to proceed.