Final Level and Final Boss Walkthrough

RavenBlackthorn · 08-15-2008, 09:14 PM

The final Albatross level of Bionic Commando Rearmed is easily one of the most challenging final levels of any game that I have ever encountered.
The Level leading up to the boss is at times so incredibly difficult that it will certainly test your patience more than any two previous levels combined.

After searching the interwebs for methods of beating the level and the boss with zero results. I decided to post this walkthrough. I hope that it helps. RavenBlackthorn

The level starts out with you and Super Joe parachuting onto a platform outside of the Albatross itself. Joe's goal is to secure the reactor, your goal is to systematically shut down the remainder of the flying fortress and defeat the final boss.

Preliminary Preparations:
If you are new to the level (which I assume you are if you are reading this) I recommend coming into the level with as many lives as possible. While my walkthrough will certainly help to minimize the amount of lives lost, this level is extremely unforgiving, and having a few extra lives will not only allow you to experiment, get a feel for the level etc, but also give you a little breathing room if you run into trouble.

Extra Lives are located throughout the game. You start the game with 3 lives, you can pick up an additional 7 lives in Areas 13-19 (there are no Extra Lives in Area 00). You can grab an additional 3 lives in each of the different types of Enemy Encounters (purple trucks). Keep in mind that you can only grab one extra live per Enemy Encounter type. If you are really unlucky and encounter several of the same Enemy type than you can only grab an extra life in the first one you encounter. The Albatross level itself has 3 extra lives located in it. One after disabling the three Bypasses, one in the center of the ridiculously hard Outdoor Climb, and one in the upper left corner of the indoor section of the vessel.

After a brief discussion, Joe proceeds to enter the door to the reactor. Your mission is to enter the opposite door and proceed to deactivate three seperate sections of the vessel: A Mechanical Bypass, a Gaseous Bypass, and an Electrical Bypass. Enter the door and proceed to ride the elevator to the top.

Mechanical Bypass:
The first bypass section is pretty straight forward. It consists of a single Mechanical Level at the lower left of the area. Start out by walking left and dropping down. Proceed to the far left lower corner and enter the door. Pull down the Mechanical Lever and exit the room. From here you have to make your way back up to the top of the room. Proceed past the Mechanical Crushers and use the next set of Crushers to lift you up so you can claw upwards. Ride the two rotating platforms and claw upwards again. Swap to your Vector Cannon here and start shooting as you walk across the breakaway floor. (Get really familiar with the timing of the breakaway floor here. Trust me, you will plenty of these later in the level).

Next proceed across the breakaway floor, taking the two turrets out as you go. When you get the the Mechanical Crushers, wait until they close before hopping on, and hold hard left on the analog stick. If you hug the wall, you will drop onto the ledge below which will allow you to proceed up towards the door. The next section is a series of simply climbs that lead to an additional Mechanical Crusher section. These crushers can be taken two at a time to save some time. Once you pass them, proceed out the door.

Gaseous Bypass:
The Gaseous Bypass is also fairly straightforward. Start by tossing the yellow barrel to the right and dropping through the serious of Gas Traps. You are again heading to the lower left of the room. Once at the bottom, start firing your Vector cannon as you walk across yet another breakaway floor. Don't worry about the one cannon in the upper right corner, you can take care of him on the way back.

Climb up to the top, take out the four turrets and enter the door. This next section contains a series of 6 downward firing gas traps. If you take your time you can take them one at a time and not get hurt. You can also try and swing through them but this is hit or miss whether or not you can come out unscathed. Proceed past the gas traps and pull the lever. Leave the room and immediately start taking out the turrets as before. I like to Vector the first two and drop grenades downward on the second two.

Proceed back across the breakaway floor and start making the climb back up. Keep in mind that there may be a few enemies spawning from behind the narrow doors, so keep your favorite weapon handy on the way back up.

Electrical Bypass:
The Electrical Bypass is a little more challenging than the previous two bypasses. It consists of a series of 3 Mechanical Levers that have to be disabled. Start by taking the elevator down and proceeding through the first electrical trap. Take the traps one at a time to avoid getting hurt. The next section consists of two traps that you need to swing through. Take your time here, if you bounce off of the far trap, you could potentially die on the floor.

Take the next elevator down about a third of the way. This next section requires that you complete a series of well timed swings to make it across. I found that if I swung off of the ceiling and then swung off of the two lower right pipes as I went across I could do ok. If you do fall, don't panic. Grab one of the lower pipes and hoist yourself up. Switch to your Shotgun and fire to get yourself swinging again, and proceed as before.

Proceed down the elevator, grab the first Mechanical Lever and continue down. Proceed left throught the traps, up a few stories and back and forth two the electified floor area that follows. Take your time, make your grabs, wait for the trap to come to you, and swing over it. Grab the Lever here and proceed back up through the rolling floor traps. Swing to your right and grab your third Lever.

Once you grab the third level all the power will be effectively cut off from this section of the ship. Even the music stops playing.

Nice touch Capcom/Grin! Proceed back through the rolling floor traps that you just came through and down through the hole in the floor. As you fall, swap to your Vector Cannon and start firing away as you proceed right. Once you proceed right, climb several stories until you reach another pipe climb. I found that facing left on the far left pipe, grabbing it, sliding right and firing up again worked well here. Once at the top you may need to Shotty Swing again to make the grab that takes you out.

Once outside you should be able to bypass the traps previously in place, grab the Extra Life and proceed outside.

Outdoor Climb Section:
This is quite possibly the hardest section in the game. It consists of a series of breakaway floor sections that are very unforgiving. Missing a grab or falling off of one of these sections results in either desparetly trying to recover or falling to your death. It sounds retarded but take your time here and work the movement of the breakaway sections. Flailing around crazily will only result in death.

Start out by grabbing the first section to your left and swinging to the stationary platform. Continue on in the same manner to the next stationary section to your left.
Once on this platform start aiming and clawing upward. Grab the section above you and wait, walk, wait, walk, over to the left 4 sections. Once at the end (it's nerve racking I know) allow the floor to drop out from underneath you and wait, walk, wait, walk, all the way to the left of this area.

Once you make it to the far left, start fast clawing straight up. Once you reach the top of the stack, slide right, and upwards angle claw, and swing to the right onto a series of 3 sections. Wait, walk, on these and drop onto the next stationary platform.

From here take your time. The next couple of sections are a series of really narrow breakaway sections but the principle remains the same. Swing off of the first section and onto the lower section. Wait, walk, wait, walk all the way to the right, and upwards angle onto the next stationary platform. Grab the Extra Life here and perfom a drop grab onto the section to your lower right. After your first grab, immediately swing and grab again and aim for the stationary platform to your right.

From here it gets a bit "easier". Wait, walk, all the way to the right and quickly upward angle your next grab onto the next stationary platform. Hug the left side of this platform and quick claw upwards 2 levels, slide left 1 section, and quick claw upwards again. From here, wait, walk, your way all the way to the left. Wait for the last section to collapse (it sucks, I know) and wait, walk again to the far left, and quickly upward angle your shot to the left to the final stationary platform and the door leading out of this god forsaken section.

RavenBlackthorn · 08-15-2008, 09:15 PM

Interior Section:
This section is quite a bit easier than the previous section. So take a breather and begin proceeding to the right. Take your time and take out the enemies and turrets as you go. If you proceed to the upper left you can grab your third Extra Life. Once you grab that proceed right again. The path you take here is not really important. You will eventually reach the far wall which will require you to jump off the gas vent and claw the elevator above you. Proceed up the two elevators and two the right to grab your first Mechanical Lever.

Once you grab this lever you can proceed down and to the left to grab another lever. Watch for the two mini tanks here as you make your way across. Grab the lever and slide left just a bit to reveal the BC Prototype Weapon (a spinning JSA Emblem). Once you pull the final lever later in the level you can come back here and grab this powerup.

Proceed back to the right and into the door that is now open. In this room there are a few enemies and turrets, and two levers at the top that need to be pulled. Clear the room, pull the levers, and proceed back out the door. Proceed back up and then proceed left across a series of sliding platforms. Take your time here, upward grab and shotty swing if you fall into the electrical trap below.

After proceeding left, proceed up, taking out the mini tanks as you go. Once you reach the top you will have 3 more mini tanks and a couple of wall mounted turrets to take care of. Once you have destroyed everything grab your last Mechanical Lever. This lever is tied to the barrier that was protection the BC Prototype Weapon that you saw earlier. Go back and grab it if you like, if not, proceed to the right and out the door.

Outdoor Area:
This area is really more of a cutscene than anything. Sit back for a second, watch what follows, grab the Bazooka power up and use the steerable rockets to activate the elevator.

The Leader's Helicopter Battle:
Once at the top of the elevator the Leader's Helicopter will swoop in and a dialog section will occur. Once that is over the actual boss fight will begin. The Helicopter has basically three modes of attack. The first of which is a mode in which the Helicopter backs away and fires a series of heat seeking rockets. The second phase is a side to side laser sequense, and the third phase is a Vulnerable Phase in which the helicopter turns sideways fires a spray of bullets and is actually vulnerable to your attacks. Don't bother firing your Bazooka during the first two phases, just focus on deflecting attacks and dodging lasers.

Phase 1:
For the first phase don't think "Final Boss" think "Fabricator Boss" that you have fought a couple of times before. In this phase the Helicopter will back away from the playing field and fire a series of 6-8 rockets. Pay close attention to the pattern here and be ready to fire your Bionic Claw to deflect the shots. If you can withstand the barrage, the boss will revert to the Vulnerable Phase.

Phase 2:
For this phase the boss basically makes either a leftward or rightward sweep with a set of lasers on the wings. These lasers are easily dodged if you pay attention to the angle in which the Helicopter leans just prior to the sweep. Watch for the tell and start walking in that direction. The boss will sweep 3 to 4 times and then revert to the Vulnerable Phase.

Vulnerable Phase:
If you successfully can withstand either Phase 1 or Phase 2, the Boss will revert to this phase. In this phase the boss turns sideways and proceeds to fire a fast series of bullets in a sweeping arc pattern. Depending on what side of the arc you are on, you can either fire and aim the rocket straight for the cockpit, or can fire and loop the rocket around the tail and into the cockpit from above. If you try to fire through the bullet spray, the bazooka round will simply explode and be ineffective. The only vulnerable spot here is, as mentioned previously, the cockpit so continue to try and dodge the bullet spray and angle your round into the pilot. Once you hit the Leader, the Helicopter will once again revert to either Phase 1 or Phase 2.

Continue as before, and rinse and repeat. I'm assuming that the amount of times that you have to hit the Leader with your bazooka, differs depending on difficulty. I beat him on Medium and required dodging three sets of phases and landing three seperate shots.

Once you land the third shot, it goes into a really awesome cutscene before proceeding to the first escape section. In this section Super Joe will inform you that he has disabled the Main Reactor which in turn is causing the Albatross to crash.

The Escape Part 1:
This section is not too challenging but is timed (based upon the altitude of the crashing Alabatross) so move as quickly as possible. First proceed back to the elevator and take the elevator down. Once down slide left just a bit and into the now open door.

Once inside you will be in a dark red corridor that you will have to fast claw upwards to the next section.

Gottfried Groeder Battle:
As if one boss wasn't enough, you still have one more battle before you can finish the level. Once you reach a large open area, slide to the left to initiate the battle sequence. In this section you will fight Gottfried Groeder (or Little Brother) that you encountered previously. He is a bit easier this time with the Bazooka Upgrade so continue to dodge his plamsa shots and steer the rockets around the level to finish him off. Keep in mind that the Albatross is still falling to focus more on killing him than trying to dodge his shots if need be.

It sounds as if you don't absolutely HAVE to kill Gottfried here. You can still kill him with plenty of time, but if you are running into trouble, it seems as if you can proceed to the upper left of the room and claw your way to the top without finishing him off. Thanks Captain N for this info.

The Escape Part 2:
Once Groeder is dead quickly proceed to the far left of the area and fast claw all the way to the top. Once you reach the top, a final cutscene will start and you will have beaten the game. Congratulations and thanks for reading.

RavenBlackthorn

RavenBlackthorn · 08-15-2008, 09:35 PM

I'm really long winded. Reserved just in case.

JonLacksAnH · 08-16-2008, 12:11 AM

Long-winded is good. I think if people need help, they'd rather have too much information than not enough. It's not like you went off on irrelevent tangents or anything. Every sentence adds something to the guide. Kudos.

STEADYMOBBIN 22 · 08-16-2008, 12:13 AM

Thanks a lot Raven!

I got to the outdoor part and honestly couldn't see well enough to figure out where to go. After trying a few times I was a beaten man. I had played a lot prior to getting there, and needed a break.

I started going after the other achievements.

STEADYMOBBIN 22 · 08-16-2008, 11:14 PM

If you're on the really hard outdoor part with the folding platforms you can stand right in the middle of two moving platforms without falling. I was able to catch a breather and plan my next move.

RavenBlackthorn · 08-16-2008, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STEADYMOBBIN 22

If you're on the really hard outdoor part with the folding platforms you can stand right in the middle of two moving platforms without falling. I was able to catch a breather and plan my next move.

Ah, interesting tip. I'll have to try that. I guess you catch the one as its coming up as the one beneath you falls.

STEADYMOBBIN 22 · 08-17-2008, 01:41 AM

OK, just beat it. A couple tips:

There is an extra life in every single neutral zone, except 0. I also went through most of the early level, got the extra man, and then just aborted out. Then there are the extra lives for each of the 3 overhead sequences. (I started the last level with 14 lives and needed half of them.)

The little brother guy or whatever is easy. Just use your rocket launcher.

A weird note: After beating the helicopter guy I didn't see where to go to escape and ended up falling off the ledge to the left and dying. Then it started me off back down where Haley was on the ground and I thought I had to beat the helicopter all over again. Well I messed up and got killed. So when I started again, I saw the door I was supposed to go through after I beat him the first time. So I went through the door and started the second escape. - In other words, you only have to beat the helicopter once, (duh) but it's possible to fight him again.

RavenBlackthorn · 08-17-2008, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonLacksAnH

Long-winded is good. I think if people need help, they'd rather have too much information than not enough. It's not like you went off on irrelevent tangents or anything. Every sentence adds something to the guide. Kudos.

Thanks man, I appreciate that! :>

RavenBlackthorn · 08-17-2008, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STEADYMOBBIN 22

OK, just beat it. A couple tips:

There is an extra life in every single neutral zone, except 0. I also went through most of the early level, got the extra man, and then just aborted out. Then there are the extra lives for each of the 3 overhead sequences. (I started the last level with 14 lives and needed half of them.)

The little brother guy or whatever is easy. Just use your rocket launcher.

A weird note: After beating the helicopter guy I didn't see where to go to escape and ended up falling off the ledge to the left and dying. Then it started me off back down where Haley was on the ground and I thought I had to beat the helicopter all over again. Well I messed up and got killed. So when I started again, I saw the door I was supposed to go through after I beat him the first time. So I went through the door and started the second escape. - In other words, you only have to beat the helicopter once, (duh) but it's possible to fight him again.

Having some extra lives certainly helps here. It gives you a little bit more breathing room in the event that you mess a simple part for whatever reason. There were at times where I would make it through one spot 10 times with no problem, only to screw it up later. Having some breathing room lets you experiment with the final boss a bit as well.

mailmanchris · 08-17-2008, 09:06 PM

Gottfried Groeder doesn't show up on Easy mode. I went up the steps and Joe was at the top waiting. Game over man. Game over.

Captain N · 08-18-2008, 12:23 AM

Well for those of your that dosn´t know.
Just like in the NES game you dont HAVE to kill Gottfried Groeder on the albatros. if you just continue to climb your way up you can just skip the entire battle.

And as far ass i know you dont get anything from killing him. But since i havn´t tried i cant say that for sure. but my Databaser is complete and i have not killed him before.

I know it worked on Medium but i havn´t gotten so far on hard yet. but why risk your sweet victory on a useless battle

Karachi King · 08-18-2008, 12:38 AM

You don't get a cutscene or anything for killing Groeder, although maybe it changes the ending. I died the first time after killing him because I ran out of time, but because I was on my last life and didn't want to die after all that effort, I searched around and found you can just run away.

STEADYMOBBIN 22 · 08-18-2008, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mailmanchris

Gottfried Groeder doesn't show up on Easy mode. I went up the steps and Joe was at the top waiting. Game over man. Game over.

I was at a buddy of mines out today. He had set on easy and it was like half of the game was missing. Most of the enemies were missing and parts of the boss' sequences were missing.

BTHR Zero X · 08-18-2008, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STEADYMOBBIN 22

I was at a buddy of mines out today. He had set on easy and it was like half of the game was missing. Most of the enemies were missing and parts of the boss' sequences were missing.

Yes i know ive ran thorugh on Easy X 3 , Normal X 4, Hard (half way through) and on easy it is easy you have these see through blocks that you can stand on hold on and cover most dangers it really is easy. and even then boss are easier I.E. The Seige Machine all you need to do is take out the tracks and you done

RavenBlackthorn · 08-18-2008, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTHR Zero X

Yes i know ive ran thorugh on Easy X 3 , Normal X 4, Hard (half way through) and on easy it is easy you have these see through blocks that you can stand on hold on and cover most dangers it really is easy. and even then boss are easier I.E. The Seige Machine all you need to do is take out the tracks and you done

Wow. That probably would have made for a less frustrating first playthrough for me. I didn't realize there were more see through blocks than the set in Area 06. I was playing through on Hard yesterday and tried landing on those but they were gone this time. I was a little surprised. :> Didn't realize they weren't permanent.

BTHR Zero X · 08-18-2008, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavenBlackthorn

Wow. That probably would have made for a less frustrating first playthrough for me. I didn't realize there were more see through blocks than the set in Area 06. I was playing through on Hard yesterday and tried landing on those but they were gone this time. I was a little surprised. :> Didn't realize they weren't permanent.

oh yeah on Area 01 on easy if you head right towards the water there is blocks and no enemy

mr greenfish · 08-19-2008, 01:35 PM

i'm really struggling on the helicopter boss on hard mode. i can reach it with loads of lives to spare however it wastes ne every time.

in particular the missile part when you have to stop them with your claw i really struggle with that, in particular i have difficulty reacting fast enough to the 'side' missiles, i can't tell fast enough which ones i need to duck and which i don't.

has anyone got anymore tips for this?

Kumubou · 08-23-2008, 01:30 AM

You know what's funny? The part that gave me the most trouble (and I was fighting him only on hard) was the machinegun bit where you had to hit him with the rocket. For whatever reason he would never have any downtime on the machine gun (he would fire about 4-5 spreads and then go back to shooting rockets) so I had to learn two things:

1) The spacing to be safe from the bullets is just a bit past the wing opposite the direction he starts shooting.

2) Being able to control the rocket while running from the bullets. It's kind of hard to be that coordinated, though.

I also punted on the boss fighter after Hitler, as when I got there somehow the time on the clock dropped to nine seconds so I just said "F this" and ran off. There's something really goofy about a game with a last boss that's intended to be skipped.

BTHR Zero X · 08-23-2008, 11:00 AM

you do know when he is firing bullets if you run under him fire a rocket out the back and curve it around you can hit the cockpit and it counts

RavenBlackthorn · 08-26-2008, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTHR Zero X

you do know when he is firing bullets if you run under him fire a rocket out the back and curve it around you can hit the cockpit and it counts

That's the way to do it. Angle the rocket around depending on which side of the bullet stream that you are on. Straight in if you are in front, or around and hit him from the top if you are under/behind the bullet stream.