Achievement Guide

[RavenBlackthorn]

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/+eQ+Hg==.jpgLightning Rod 6 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Complete the game with the Lightning."

The Lighting is easily the most well rounded plane in the game. It has a decent amount of Health, Speed, Power (how much damage it deals with its main weapon), and Missile strength (Missile in single player, or Joint Strike in Co-op).

This achievement simply requires finishing the game and is probably gotten the easiest in Single Player on the Peguin Difficulty. It can also be done online with a decent Co-op partner but it seems as if only the host gets this achievement.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/+8U3qw==.jpgMosquito Wing 7 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Complete the game with the Mosquito.

The Mosquito has the highest amount of Health and Power of the three aircraft. To offset that, the Mosquito is also the slowest in terms of Speed, and packs the least amount of punch in terms of Missile strength. Don't let that fool you though, the Mosquito is arguably the best plane in the game and makes the Padlocked achievement quite a bit easier to obtain.

Again, this achievement is probably gotten the easiest in Single Player on the Peguin Difficulty. Although it can also be done online with a decent Co-op partner but keep in mind that unless you are hosting the match, you won't get this achievement.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/+iXPOA==.jpgShinden Striker 7 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Complete the game with the Shinden."

The Shinden is by far the fastest plane in the game but is also the weakest in terms of Health and Power. Taking a single pink bullet can take away a good chunk of the Shinden's Health Bar. This plane manuvers really well and is great for grabbing medals and powerups but is really tough to beat the bosses with due to the low Power of its main weapon. An offset to this is that is posseses the strongest Missile/Joint Strike strength in the game.

I'd actually recommend not trying to get this achievement in Co-op mode unless you have a really strong partner. Co-op is quite a bit more challenging and the Shinden takes a beating as a result. Again, it seems as if the host is the only one that will get this achievement at the end of the game.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-4ckwQ==.jpgWingman 15 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Complete 3 levels of the game while playing Co-Op."

Very easily obtained on Penguin Difficulty even if you match up randomly with someone online. Gaining this achievement requires that you and your partner be able to beat Poseidon at the end of Level 3.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-mfcUg==.jpgConcerted Combat 10 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Destroy 30 enemies using a Joint Strike."

Also really easily obtained even if you are playing with randoms on Xbox Live. Capcom ups the ante in terms of difficulty on Co-op, so there are several spots throughout the game where killing 30 or more enemies is possible.

As far as the type of joint strike is concerned, the Clash Blast is probably your best bet. Since the Side Shot and Chain Lightning fire between the two planes, using these Joint Strike attacks require that you either circle the 30 planes or that they fly between you. The Clash Blast can be used independantly of the other plane and can cover a good portion of the screen.

The Clash Blast functions very similarly to that of the Big Bomb but requires that you press and hold B to fire it. If you tap B a small burst will fire on the crosshairs. If you hold B longer the crosshairs get much bigger and can cover most of the playing field. Hold B until you max out the size and let it go. In a busy area you should get this achievement very quickly.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-EbV5w==.jpgSharpshooter 10 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Get a 90% or better accuracy rating."

Very easily obtained on the first level in either Single Player or Co-op. I'm fairly certain this refers to the amount of enemies killed versus shots fired/shots hit as the description implies. If you are having trouble with this achievement consider grabing two of the Speader power ups to cover more ground.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-aYtdA==.jpgBlitz 10 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Complete the game on the Wing King difficulty setting."

Probably the hardest achievement in the game. As the description states this must be done on the hardest difficulty. The rest of the achievements can be knocked out on Penguin but for this one, you are going to have to up the difficulty. If you haven't played it, Wing King drops your lives down to 1, versus 9 for Penguin, 5 for Slick Steve, and 3 for Dragon Fly.

This achievement is much easier if you are able to get at least an A Rating on all of the bosses. If you can manage an S Rating without dieing, even better. Gaining a higher rating means higher points, and will result in Extra Lives at every 500,000 points.

In addition to Extra Lives gained through points, there are also 1Ups throughout the game. The first one is roughly about half way through Level 2 shortly before the Clocktower. This one seems to spawn depending on the amount of tanks and planes that you shoot in this section. If you kill enough of both, a single plane will spawn as red amongst the wave that crosses from right to left.

The second one is in Level 3 just before Poseidon and can be grabbed by killing a series of Red Planes that swoop in from the right side.

The third is right in the beginning of Level 5. A wide V of planes will dip down the top center and quickly swoop back up again. If you are quick enough you should be able to grab all of these.

Between the 1Ups and Extra Lives for every 500,000 points, this is a very doable achievement.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-oE5eg==.jpgFangs Out 10 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Defeat all of the bosses with an A rating in one play-through."

Seems to be really challenging when you first play the game. This is actually really easy to do once you identify the Dead Zones for each of the bosses. The Dead Zones are basically areas for each of the bosses that you can hit their weakspot but they can't hit you. In essence you fly right to the Dead Zone and hammer away on the Fire Button. I'll discuss these Dead Zones in the next section but be warned, once you learn about them, much of the challenge associated with the bosses goes out the window. They die really quickly and more often than not you come out pretty much unscathed. So--avoid reading the Boss S Ratings Cutoff section (replied to this post) if you are new to the game and don't want the boss strategy spoiled.

As far as Co-op versus Single Player for this achievement and the next, I personally found Single Player to be easier. It seems like the bosses are harder to kill on Co-op.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-N8sKA==.jpgTiger 30 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Collect 30 medals."

This is another fairly easy achievement. The easiest place to obtain this is probably at the end of Level 1 when Bodan Epsilon chases you. For once I actually recommend using the Shinden due to its manuverability. If you hover just off the nose of Epsilon and react quickly, strafing left of right you should be able to grab this fairly easily. If you are having trouble, the Aircraft Carrier in Level 3 is another good candidate for getting over 30.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-v4lnQ==.jpgShooter 30 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Complete the game with over 200,000 points."

This achievement says "Complete the game with over 200,000 points" and seriously there isn't much more to it than that. Even if you totally bomb the boss times you should still net close to 1,000,000 points by the end of the game. I'm actually surprised they didn't increase this threshold because I'm not even sure its possible to beat the game with less than 200,000. :-/ As far as Single Player or Co-op is concerned for this achievement, it seems as if only the host gets this achievement at the end of the game if you are playing online. So either grab this in Single Player or host your own Xbox Live Co-op match.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-x7dDg==.jpgCombat Ace 40 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg "Complete the game with over 2,000,000 points."

This sounds really high at first until you start getting better times on the bosses. Better boss times and higher ratings equal higher bonus points at the end of the level. To get this achievement you have to be able to get at least an A Rating on all of the bosses. Getting an A Rating will net you close to 2,000,000 points by the end, getting an S Rating will net you somewhere over 3,000,000 points. Grabbing lots of power ups, medals, and working the multiplier will get you over 4,000,000 points. Again, as far as Single Player or Co-op is concerned for this achievement, it seems as if only the host gets this achievement at the end of the game if you are playing online. So either grab this in Single Player or host your own Xbox Live Co-op match.

[RavenBlackthorn]

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/664/-2HB6Q==.jpgPadlocked 25 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpgDefeat all of the bosses with an S rating in one play-through.

First off, there are two things to keep in mind when going for time on each of the bosses. By and large--you don't have to kill every part of the boss as the introduction screen tends to indicate. Each boss has a "weak spot" of sorts that attacking it full force will lead to a hasty death. With the exception of Posioden, you do not have time to kill everything (with Posioden you have to kill everything except for the smaller turrets in the third section).

Secondly, for each of the bosses you should try to come in with Full Health or very close to. Having Full Health basically helps you to keep your Double Weapon Powerup longer. If you realize that you are low on Health and there are no Health Power ups coming, I recommend allowing yourself to die when you see a Weapon Powerup on the screen. This will allow you to regain your Double Weapon status and "replenish" your health while you are at it. (I know it sounds odd that I would recommend killing yourself but getting more ammo on target for more time brings the bosses down a lot faster).

Third, save your Missiles toward the end of the level so that you have a full compliment of 8. Try to use the Big Bombs to keep yourself from taking damage if absolutely necessary. I say this because the Big Bombs quickly loose their usefullness once you find that the boss can't hurt you in it's Dead Zone. Strangly enough they even seem to take more time than the damage that they deal out. For certain bosses like Bodan, you may not have time to fire any of your Big Bombs to reach the S Rating cutoff.

Forth, come into the boss fights with Double Weapons. Any of the Double Weapons will do, so use whatever you are comfortable with. Most players seem to prefer the Double Laser so definitely give them a shot. As far as my personal best times are concerned, I did best with the 6-Shot (two 4-Shot upgrades.) The Double Laser "felt" and "looked" like it was doing more damage but seemed to take longer on the bosses for some reason.

Fifth, choose a plane that works best for you but, for most people it seems like the Mosquito is the way to go. It has the highest amount of Health--meaning that you will keep your Double Weapon longer (or may not die at all), and it has the highest amount of Power--meaning that your Main Weapon will do more damage. It is the slowest of the three planes but if you work the Dead Zones that I discuss in the next section, you won't have to dodge as much as you might imagine.

Ok so lets talk about the bosses.

Bodan. S Rating Cutoff: 0-13 seconds.
Strangely enough Bodan is the hardest boss to get an S Rating on. His S Rating cutoff is so tight that you really don't have time to much of anything aside from hammer A and B if you hope to finish him off in 13 seconds. Ok so, lets talk about the Dead Zone that I mentioned earlier. Bodan's Dead Zone is towards his nose right above the large turret that fires the large indestructable heat seeking shells. If you fire while above this turret you'll notice that Bodan's fusalage lights up. This is his "weak spot" and is really the only spot that you have to "kill". The other sections do not have to be killed and quite frankly you really don't have time to do so.

As soon as you can control your ship again fly straight to tip of the tail and start hammering on your main weapon. Once Bodan starts flashing (he seems to be invulnerable for a sec) double up with your thumb and hammer A and B until all of your Missiles are gone. If you position yourself correctly the missiles will heat seek straight to the center fusalage but will take out the two tail gunner turrets on the way. Taking out these turrets make it a bit easier to dodge bullets later on.

Next just focus on hammering A and strafe up and down to avoid the sets of 3 big yellow balls from the wing tips. If you can avoid dieing you should hit your time with several seconds to spare. Once he dies, you can crash into the nose of Epsilon if you want to check your time. If you feel confident, proceed on with grabbing the medals but keep in mind this might be time consuming if you continue to miss your time by a second or two.

If you don't hit your time, restart the game. Fortunately this is the toughest boss so if you can nab the S Rating on Bodan (after restarting a couple times if need be) you should be good from there on out.

Dagmor. S Rating Cutoff: 0-26 seconds.

Alright so Dagmor's Dead Zone is basically right dead center of his main turret. From here you can hammer away on A and for the most part not get hurt. The only thing that you'll have to watch out for is the little turrets that will fire inward at you. The time is tight but not nearly as tight as Bodan so feel free to fire 2-3 of your Big Bombs to take out the small turrets.

With the smaller turrets gone, there isn't much that is going to touch you here in the center. Hammer away on A as usual. Once he starts flashing double up on A and B until your Missiles are gone. Once they are used up continue in as usual. If you die--it's not a huge issue (if you are on Penguin you'll have plent of lives so don't panic). If you die grab your Weapon Powerup, double up on A and B again and by now he should be pretty much finished.

Poseidon. S Rating Cuttoff: 0-1 minute 11 seconds.

Poseidon is a little bit different than the rest of the bosses because you have to kill just about everything. (I say just about everything because the boss won't advance unless the first two sections are completely dead. You can skip the mini turrets in section three however). There are still 2 Dead Zones but -just- hanging out in them (as you did with the other bosses) isn't going to completely finish him off.

The first section is a series of two smaller turrets and two larger turrets. I basically start on one side and work my way to the other (usually right to left). I'll throw in a few Missiles to speed it up but try to save at least 4 of them for section two. There is a mini Dead Zone of sorts above the larger turrets here, but watch the other turret if you are hanging out above one of these, it may swing around and shoot you.

Section two is basically two small turrets, two rocket launchers, and a turret on the bridge of the ship. Use up the rest of your Missiles here and try and knock out the little turrets quickly. The rocket launchers aren't that big of a threat so knock them out next and then proceed to the turret on the bridge. Right above this turret is the first Dead Zone. If you sit right above it, you can hammer away on A and the turret (for the most part) shouldn't really hit you. This is one Dead Zone where Double Lasers seems to hit more of the weakspot than the other weapons. If you are using the other weapons (I personally use the 6-Shot) you are going to need to slide down a hair farther to get bullets on target. Hopefully Poseidon still won't be able to reach you.

Section three is basically one really big turret and four smaller turrets. Since you have quite a bit more time here, fire off any Big Bombs if you got them to finish off the smaller turrets. If you don't finish off the smaller turrets, its not a huge issue, once you make it to this section, Poseidon will die even if you just focus on the main turret.

Once some or all of the mini turrets are dead (if you choose to kill them), proceed to the next Dead Zone--right above the mini turret on top of the really big turret. The really big turret obviously can't hit you here, the smaller one will pepper you from time to time depending on the movement of the ship but if you adjust accordingly you should be able to sit right above this turret without taking much damage. If you manage your resources well this should be an easy S Rating boss.

Dagmor Sigma. S Rating Cutoff 0-1 minute 2 seconds.

Dagmor Sigma is really almost identical to Dagmor in terms of strategy. Fly right to the Dead Zone above the turret Hammer A until it flashes and double up on A and B. Sigma has a couple more stages (rockets, fire, bullet rain etc.) so don't give up if he seems to take longer that his predecessor. You may die here but it's ok. Grab your Powerup and proceed in as before. If you can maintain your Double Weapon long enough you should be able to finish him off well within the cutoff range.

Bodan Epsilon. 0-1 minute 5 seconds.

I'm kind of embarrassed to say it but Bodan Epsilon probably has the biggest Dead Zone of all the bosses. His Dead Zone is similar to Bodan's in that it is right between the three turrets on his nose. If you position the nose of your plane right at the tip of the barrel on the center turret, much of Epsilon's attacks won't be able to hit you. This center turret will fire, but it will fire at a later stage so keep that in mind. If it does fire you can position yourself a little farther towards Epsilon's nose to avoid taking damage.

The strategy is the same, hammer A until he flashes and double up on A and B. The only thing that you are going to want to do different here is "ride the crease" between the weak spot in the center of the fusalage and the two turret side panels on either side. It is possible to beat him with just riding the center but he seems to fall faster if you ride the crease and take out the two side panels while also damaging the center section. Most of Epsilon's attacks won't be able to reach you and as I mentioned previously you will never look at any of these bosses the same again.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hopefully this helps.

See you online,
RavenBlackthorn

I wanted to thank Raven DMC and Nikke84 for confirming that only the host gets end game achievements in Xbox Live Co-op matches. Thanks guys.

[Hammer 5O2]

that sucks man. well hopefully you can get it back up again quickidy split :p

[ShaunMichael80]

hopfully you make a good guide, because this game is brutally raping me

[Raven DMC]

You probably want to show that only the host will receive end-game achievements in co-op matches over Live.

[RavenBlackthorn]

You probably want to show that only the host will receive end-game achievements in co-op matches over Live.

Ah ok. Good info. By end game achievements are you referring to Point Achievements and Rating Achievements or "play as this type of plane" achievement as well? (I ripped it up Single Player or Hosted for the most part so thanks for any clarification).

[D3adcell86]

I would reccomend using the double lasers for almost the entire game on hard, i just did it last night and was able to get all S ratings at the same time. Just concentrate on the main part of the boss and if you tap a fast enough it will be constantly hitting the boss without skipping a beat (other weapons take longer between shots to hit them). The lasers also work good because they shoot through everything on screen, so if there are rockets, they all get destroyed.

[Raven DMC]

Ah ok. Good info. By end game achievements are you referring to Point Achievements and Rating Achievements or "play as this type of plane" achievement as well? (I ripped it up Single Player or Hosted for the most part so thanks for any clarification).
Point and Plane type achievements. Not sure on the Rating ones.

[91GSX]

Nice guide man! *High Five*

[Nikke84]

You probably want to show that only the host will receive end-game achievements in co-op matches over Live.

I can confirm that this is true as well, got screwed out of my Shinden achievement like this.
Great Guide otherwise, my own preferences are to always use double lasers and for beating it on Wing King I try to keep cool, not die and get a good shot down rating on the first 2 levels. Last 3 levels I chill in the back and don't bother much with gaining points during the levels but I make sure to get an S-rating on boss 3 and 4 as this gives you a boss bonus of 50,000 x your multplier (which is usually around 10 at the end of the third level, resulting in an extra life). Getting A-rank only yields 10,000 points, that's why it's worth to try to give it an extra push to S-rank those damn bosses. With this strategy I finnished Wing King with 4 planes left and I don't consider myself very good or hardcore when it comes to shmups.

[Puzzled Veteran]

this guide for the S ranking is BAD i was reading through another guide and did almost every boss in about 6-30 secs!!! you DO NOT need to do that long explanation of "NON-CHALLENGING" weak points and so on, just use everything you have got with lasers!

[RavenBlackthorn]

this guide for the S ranking is BAD i was reading through another guide and did almost every boss in about 6-30 secs!!! you DO NOT need to do that long explanation of "NON-CHALLENGING" weak points and so on, just use everything you have got with lasers!

I'm going to have to disagree with you here unless you are referring to two Co-op players using that strategy. On Single Player, I tried beating each boss with different weapons and some of my "longest" S times were with the Double Laser.

Don't get me wrong the Laser works great on the small planes but seems to tank on the bosses. It -looks- like they are doing more damage but in my opinion the proof is in the times. As far as beating each boss in 6-30 seconds--send me a party invite because I'd like to witness that (in other words, I don't believe you). The first two bosses--sure, their cutoffs are under 30 anyway so I can see that but the last 3--I'm not thinking 6-30 is possible.

The amount of stages associated with Posioden and Dagmore Sigma simply can't be progressed through as fast as you are claiming (you are making it sound like you are closer to 6 seconds than 30). Bodan Epsilon can be beaten quickly but again, I'd be surprised if a sub 30 second time was possible unless two players we're using the afore mentioned strategy. You said "i was reading" so I take it you were referring to Single Player correct?

And as far as saying my guide is "BAD", your comment of: "just use everything you have got with lasers!" would have been even worse. People are coming to this site to get advice not comments like that. Those types of guide comments don't help people. My walkthrough does.

[D3adcell86]

It IS possible, I used the double lasers for every boss and thats how I got the achievement. The thing about lasers is that if you just hold down fire their is a space between each shot, but if you tap it fast there is no space between the shots which means the boss is always taking damage the entire time.

[RavenBlackthorn]

It IS possible, I used the double lasers for every boss and thats how I got the achievement. The thing about lasers is that if you just hold down fire their is a space between each shot, but if you tap it fast there is no space between the shots which means the boss is always taking damage the entire time.

I'm not disagreeing with you, it definitely is possible with the Lasers (as well as the Spreader). I used lasers almost exclusively for the bulk of my achievements but had a real tough time getting the Bodan time with them. It seemed like (for me at least) I'd be right at the threshold of the A Rating more often than not. I tried using other weapons and found that the 6-shot work out really well and brought my time down closer to 10 seconds almost every time through. What I'll probably do is go through and record the times with different weapons and see what comes out on top. Honestly--I've finished an S time with all three weapon types but it seemed like my times were shorter with the 6-Shot. <shrug>

[mathew.davidson@gmail.com]

I tried double lasers and missed the time by 2 seconds. I tried the four shot (I died and didn't get the six shot) and missed it by 2 seconds. They seem to be pretty close, though I agree with Raven that the six shot appears to be stronger as teh doucle laser and the four shot got me the same time (and I was hitting the heck out of the buttons).

[DeeperSilence]

Only a few achievements to go. This guide has been very helpful!

[RavenBlackthorn]

Only a few achievements to go. This guide has been very helpful!

Thanks man, glad I could help!

[xENVxGAMERSKREW]

that sucks only the host gets the achievements now to trick my friend into getting it and saying oh maybe its just u hahahah i got em lol

[RavenBlackthorn]

that sucks only the host gets the achievements now to trick my friend into getting it and saying oh maybe its just u hahahah i got em lol

It does suck. I don't understand why developers do this. I'm assuming it's attached to the game save somehow, but even joining a co-op match, the game asks you if you want to create a save profile. You scores get captured during co-op, why doesn't it trigger the achievement? The only solution to this (if you would rather get the achievements playing co-op versus single player) would be to take turns hosting. The game isn't terribly long so going this route isn't a huge issue, plus you'll get a bit more replayability out of it.

[workbench]

nice guide sire.

[RavenBlackthorn]

nice guide sire.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it. :>

[Aphrodite1]

And again...nice guide mate. Helped me out a treat. Got me 200 points today on this one :Bounce:

Toughest achievement is definately the Shinden fighter game completion IMO. The S ratings for bosses is easy once you familiar with the patterns. I have to admit to having a bit of trouble following the guide in places to find the dead zones on some of the bosses. I found this on youtube which was also a big help and linked below for general info

YouTube - 1942 : Joint Strike - Get &quot;S&quot; rating

Wingking achievment a piece of piss once you can nail the S ratings on the bosses. Finished the game with 1 life spare and on full health too!

EZ now.

[DeeperSilence]

Nice videos.

[RavenBlackthorn]

Thanks for the video post Aphrodite1. If only I had a capture card. :>

[Nitroxide]

Boy the S rating were a cinch after i read this guide. great work!

[RavenBlackthorn]

Boy the S rating were a cinch after i read this guide. great work!

Hehehe! Awesome! That's the kind of feedback I was hoping for. I've showed people the strategy online, but it is great to see that people are still able to figure it out after just reading the guide. Thanks!

[ShinUkyo]

I'm a little late in responding, but I just wanted to say that this is a brilliant guide. It's one of the most well-written and informative I've seen on the site, actually. Plus, even while being very technical, your wording is balanced and concise enough that I'll bet anyone can pick up on these strategies. This being one of my fave games, it well-deserved a proper guide like this. I still need to get around to the last couple achievements, which I've only held off on due to my obsession with SC4 over the past few weeks.

[RavenBlackthorn]

I'm a little late in responding, but I just wanted to say that this is a brilliant guide. It's one of the most well-written and informative I've seen on the site, actually. Plus, even while being very technical, your wording is balanced and concise enough that I'll bet anyone can pick up on these strategies. This being one of my fave games, it well-deserved a proper guide like this. I still need to get around to the last couple achievements, which I've only held off on due to my obsession with SC4 over the past few weeks.

Wow, that's awesome feedback--thanks!!

[XzAceOfSpadeszX]

I am having trouble with the Shiden Striker Achievement. Any advice on how to stay alive?

[XxTime]

I joined the site today simply because of this guide. Got the 200/200 fairly easily after reading this guide!

Thanks to the guide writer.

[pspnick]

hello there mate

[bwfcskillsinhd]

helpful guide thanks

[Optimus Doug]

I am having trouble with the Shiden Striker Achievement. Any advice on how to stay alive?

Only tip is practice, practice, practice!! I can't stress this enough. Learn the patterns and spawns of the AI and you will become a Wing King in no time. :woop:

[IGNASI]

good guide

[crazycarnage67]

Great guide

[sscamaro1967]

Wow great guide. Thanks to this or I would have never completed this game. Shinden does take some practice but if an old fart like me can do it you younger guys with those cat like reflexes should be able to easily do it with the help of this guide. Thanks again!