-SkyGunner High Score Walkthrough- Version 1.0 By Charlie Bauer III -Updates- Version 1.0 - Femme's Guide Finished, and submitted to GameFAQ's website, more updates soon! *1.0* Update - Fixed (oh so many) grammar Errors and added an Abbreviations list. Version 1.1 – Major work on Ciel’s Section. Edited some of Femme’s and fixed some more grammar stuff. More work to come! *1.1* Update - Fixed up some more grammar, more work was done on Ciel. -Purpose- The Purpose of this FAQ's is to help get you the highest score possible in SkyGunner. Not only does a high score look good on the rankings page, but it is also a key part to get the fantastic *SS* Rank as it is the only stat which can bring your rank up 2 levels. Also note that many of the events are based on speed. Sometimes you may not be able to get to a few of the chains and combos before they are already destroyed. So the top scores listed are all assuming you have been able to get to EVERY part of the mission. -Terms/Abbreviations- I have a terrible habit of using some abbreviations too often, so I've concocted a list of terms and abbreviations. F=Femme's Stage/CL=Ciel's Stage/CP=Copain's Stage/R=Rival's Stage/A=All FW's - Firework Missiles GM - Grand Magasin (Boss, Stage A5) MS - Machine Soldier (Boss, Stage F3/A5) Gauche - Boss (Stage A1) Droite - Boss (Stage A1) Grandir - Boss (Stage A2) Squellete - Boss (Stage A4) Stables - "The Big Wright Brothers' Plane" -The Multiplier- The Multiplier is the key to getting a high score. The Multiplier is the number in the upper left corner of the screen. It has a number which counts down below it. Each time you destroy an enemy that countdown number goes up, raising your multiplier number so for example... You start like this x1 x3 1 ...but after killing enemies you may be at... 15 Here's a chart to show the multiplier scales for x1, x2, x3, etc., according to the number below it. x1 = 1 Only x2 = 2-10 x3 = 11-20 x4 = 21-30 x5 = 31-40 x6 = 41-50... and so on So your multiplier will come into effect when you have multiple hits. When you get multiple hits it will come up like this... 5 Hit 2500 x 3 ... 7500 -Character Descriptions- Just in case you are not familiar with all the characters pros and cons, I've made a chart that helps describes important aspects of each character and their playing style. --Femme-- (Fom) Machine Gun - A Durability - A Bank Eff. - A Specialty: Active Turn Max Lock-Ons: 3 Optional Weapons: Firework Missiles, Cross Missiles, and Dog Missiles Femme by far is the most well-balanced and (in my opinion) most powerful character in the game. Her machine gun is good for wiping out rows of enemies and she also has a simplistic yet effective special maneuver in the "Active Turn". When using Femme, use her Active Turn to help quickly build up your multiplier by being able to easily move on from squad to squad. Also, if you are saving optional weapons NEVER underestimate her ability to clear out enemies with her machine gun. --Ciel-- (Seal) Machine Gun - B Durability - B Bank Eff. - B Specialty: Heavy Fire Max Lock-Ons: 3 Optional Weapons: Firework Missiles, Cross Missiles, and Dog Missiles Ciel is another balanced character although he does not have quite as efficient of a plane as Femme. He has a very powerful attack in Heavy Fire (used by pressing R1 and [] for the gun) and can take a decent amount of damage. Ciel's main problem is the fact that Heavy Fire (like firing a regular machine gun) takes away prize money at a huge rate. So only use Heavy Fire when it becomes absolutely necessary to do so. --Copain-- (Ca-Pon) Machine Gun - B Durability - C Bank Eff. - B Specialty: Vortex Max Lock-Ons: 4 Optional Weapons: Fireworks Missiles, Pumpkin Bombs, and Dog Missiles Copain, although similar to Ciel in stats, plays nothing like Ciel. His special attack and differences in the use of optional weapons make for a much different experience. One of the most important things to remember about Copain is this: he has average durability, too many hits, or a hit from a powerful weapon (ones that shoot cannonballs or tank shells) can easily cause a spin-out and make for a massive loss to points. But Copain's special attack, the Vortex, can serve as a deadly weapon. It can make 5-hit combos out of normal squads and can even kill stables (enemies that look like big Wright Brothers' planes) in one or two hits. But beware it causes overheating very easily and should be used in the right situations. --Rival-- (Riv-All) Machine Gun - S! Durability - D Bank Eff. - A Specialty: Heavy Fire Max Lock-Ons: 4 Optional Weapons: Fireworks Missiles, Bat Missiles, and Dog Missiles Rival is a conflicted character, he is so powerful yet so weak in different ways. He has a beastly machine gun which only helps make his Heavy Fire the most damaging attack in the game and he has a shifty plane with great turning ability. But playing as Rival (especially on his missions) is very dangerous because he has such poor durability. So be warned that Rival is a force to be reckoned with but he is also a ticking time bomb. -High Score Tips- Here are some major tips when trying to maximize your score (1) Be quick, once you fire some FW missiles at an enemy squad, moving to the next squad right away. (2) Always look for chains, especially with guns on bosses. Remember always start on the end so the chain gets maximum points. (3) If using simple-style aiming, when shooting FW missiles at squads lock on with two, three is a waste of one, and one will only get 2 or 3 hits instead of five. (4) Avoid crashes, they kill off points very quickly. (5) When going for a high score, do not go after enemy squads with only one or two enemies, same goes with enemies labeled, "Escape", unless you need to kill them to advance to the next part. Otherwise, they only waste time, deducting from your multiplier. (6) If this is your first time playing the game go check out the nice FAQ by Kewne 3000 to get a good start on how to play the game and play it over until your ready. -High Score Walkthrough- --Playing as: Femme-- -Scene 1- Ok, after you first exit the ship and make your active turn you will have a squad of five right in front of you, lock two FW missiles and let it go and you should get your first kills and multi-hit with a (5-Hit, 2500 x 3 = 7500). Then hit Triangle to quickly change to another set of enemies. If that set is far away hit triangle again to find a closer squad. Once you find your squad, fire off two more FW missiles, then hit triangle until you get the stable (A big Wright Brothers' looking Plane), use X to speed to the stable then lock two FW Missiles right at the center part of the stable. Once they hit you should more than likely get a 4-Hit attack (5 if you're lucky) and your multiplier should be at least x2 or x3. If you wait too long Ciel will have probably destroyed it, losing out on your chance to get some solid points... (4-Hit, 16,000 x 2/3 | 5-Hit, 20,000 x 2/3) = 32,000-60,000 Now that the stable is destroyed clean up the rest of the squads. Try to remember the key points and stick to the 5-Man Squads until it comes to the end of that part. 5-Hit attacks give 2500 points x # and will help build up your multiplier even more. (Objective: Defeat the enemies guarding the towships) This is another easy objective that will net you 100,000 points at the end of the scene. Simply do the same business as before taking out the squads with sets of two FW missiles each. (Objective: Destroy the Tow Cannons attached to the Merveilleux) Use Cross Missiles to quickly dispose of the tow cannons. Hold the O button and just sweep the targeting device across the cannons to put one missile on each of them. Then proceed to charge in and use the machine guns to mow them down. Be careful though, if their cannons hit you, your gunner will be in "Alert Mode" where there is a ringing sound, alerting you that you are close to crashing. If this happens use X to bolt out of the way until it stops. (Boss Mode: Gauche and Droite) This is where the big points come in this scene. Hardi (the police chief) wants you to get rid of the cannons. He suggests using Dog Missiles to immobilize them temporarily. All I can say is, don't. It wastes time and O.W. (Optional Weapons), the first thing you want to do is shoot one of the cannons on the engine room casing. This causes a chain, giving you some solid points. Now there are 4 sets of cannons (with three guns each) on the battleship. Take out those the same way by gunning one of them on the ends, to get another set of chains. Moving on, take out the two cannons on each side platform. Next go for the big cannon on the rear bottom of the battleship. I suggest going down to the bottom of the screen and moving upward to attack it, because if you attack above the large gun, not only is it hard to hit, but it may shoot you causing an almost automatic crash. One or two Cross Missiles with some machine gun fire will eliminate it. Next take out the gatling gun above the large cannon. Your machine guns will waste it in moments. (Note: Eliminate these guns ASAP. This will help put up your multiplier for the key part to the points coming up now). Ok right above the gatling gun there is the ship's bridge (it's encased in glass). When you destroy that it will cause a large set of guns to come out each side of the ship. There are 7 on each side. Destroy the ones on the ends to get two combos of 7 hits and at this point my multiplier was at 20+. So I was averaging around 400,000+ points for each of these chains. Now this is where the speed helps. If Ciel has not destroyed the engine case yet help him do so with Cross Missiles. Now there will be small red tubes surrounding the engine. Shoot at one and it should cause a chain reaction killing off the engine and the first battleship. Now if everything went to plan the second battleship should still be mostly intact. Follow the same routine (eliminate guns, destroy bridge, shoot guns for chains) and you should net another two combos worth around 400,000+ points. Once again if possible destroy the engine by shooting at the tubes when they are in their upright position. That’s it for scene one! Mission Bonus - 50,000 Event Bonus - 100,000 (Destroy Towship Defenses) Shot Down - ### x 500 Optional Weapons - ~15,000 *However, do not worry too much over this* Battle Bonus - For a High-Score at least around 3,000,000+ Overall stage amount - 3,000,000 Do not get discouraged if you have 1.5 Million or so, this mission has the LEAST available amount of chains and big-score opportunities so keep playing on. *My Overall Score* - 2,906,054 -Scene 2- In this scene you have to defend cargo ships against attacks from many squads. This is the rare mission where you want to chase down the squad until every unit is down (unless labeled "Escape"). If you do not there is a chance that one little enemy will shoot down a cargo plane causing you 50,000 points *OUCH*. Now to start off destroy the squads with only your machine guns, because the enemies will mainly have only dog missiles. You won’t be able to get FW’s until later on in the mission. Anytime a bell rings, instantly hit triangle and it will highlight a very dangerous squad attacking the ships. Anyways, once you eliminate enough squads the cargo planes' captain will say, "Gulp! My Precious Cargo Ships are Doomed!" After he says that, attack two or three squads very quickly then hit triangle until you find a squad of 15, yes 15. Speed Boost to the squad and go right past them. Then hit R1 for Active Turn to turn right towards the middle of the pack. Then lock three FW missiles for a large combo of possibly 15 hits. Now after shooting down the remaining squads you have to fight three stables. Use the same technique as in scene one by locking on two FW missiles on the dead center of the stable and letting 'em rip. If you do accidentally aim somewhere else on the stable keep hitting L1 until you get back to the FW missiles to lock on again (hitting L1 will stop you from wasting the missiles). After you destroy the three stables it is on to fight the Grandir. (Boss Mode: Grandir) Well as soon as you start the boss battle you will see a ship in the upper left corner that looks somewhat like the first two you fought in the first boss battle. For a more detailed explanation it has a set of wings and a large cannon on its back. Go to the back end of this ship where that cannon will be at. Aim 3 FW missiles here and fire. You should get 6-8 Hits help netting big money early to go towards that engine. These ships re-appear all during this battle so keep doing it from time-to-time in order to get some cash. Now go after the actual Grandir. The first part to concentrate on is the 4 rows of 3 Cannons, which are on the front of the ship. Take out the first one in each row for 4 decent chains. Then eliminate the large cannons (near the 4 rows you just demolished) as they give you plus 4 on your counter. Next go to the bottom of the ship there you will see to sets of guns similar to those on the 1st scene's boss(es) when you destroyed the bridge. Shoot them at the guns closest to the middle to not only cause chains but start damaging the gunnels (engine). You can get up to 5-Hit chains which usually give (6000 x #); these guns also get repaired and spawn back for more chains. Then there is another set of little guns going vertically, long-ways across the ship. This is another good chain to build up your counter bar. Now start to attack the guns of the middle-top of the ship getting 5-Hit Chains as often as possible. Eventually, Ventre will spawn out a Lightning Generator which can only be destroyed by chaining these guns. Beware though, helicopter-like bombs will come after you during this mission causing for an automatic alert mode and if you are hit by another one of these bombs or some gunfire it may cause you to crash. Once you eliminate the lightning generator attack one side of the engines. In other words, destroy one gunnel not both (or the mission ends). This will put the ship on its side and make it easy to make a circle around the ship, repeatedly shooting the repairable guns. The only problem here is the fact that your multiplier starts to deplete after shooting the guns. So I suggest go after the medium-sized ships and squads to not only build up the multiplier, but they are also good for chains and can give you a good optional weapon score at the end of the level. Repeat this process until your about to run out of fuel or Ciel and Copain finally finish off the ship. If done correctly you will easily win the upgraded engine and get 4,000,000 points off the boss battle alone. Mission Bonus - 100,000 Event Bonus - Subtract 50,000 x Cargo Ships Destroyed 400,000 (Destroy Lightning Generator) Shot Down - ### Optional Weapons - If you start going after squads near the end can be around 40,000+ Battle Bonus - 3,500,000+ Overall Stage Amount - 4,000,000+ Overall Game Amount - AT LEAST 6,000,000+ *My Stage Score* - 7,103,045 -Scene 3- Out of all the stages this is probably the simplest of them to get around the highest score possible. Here it goes. The key in this mission is blazing speed. If you destroy the machine soldier before it effects any of its surroundings you will get maximum points (which mainly come in event bonus). Here is how to maximize your battle bonus. On the upper right corner of the screen showing your targets, pick the shoulder joint target on the Machine Soldier. Keep using Big Cross Missiles (3 on one spot) on the joints until the joints are near destroyed but try to keep the joints alive, just barely until Ventre shoots the flares. The flares give you +8 Seconds on the counter. So here is what you do, weaken the joints to a near dead state, then destroy the flares with FW missiles as quickly as possible giving you probably a max of x5. Then if you do it right you can get 2 combos of(286,000! x #). If you did the flare thing or even went out of your way to destroy some stables. You can have around 1.2 Million per joint! This gives you a whopping 2,400,000 battle bonus. Even if you only have a multiplier of x3 you still get around a 1,600,000 battle bonus. Either way it is good. When the joints are gone so is the soldier and you can rake in the dough with a job well done. Mission Bonus - 150,000 Event Bonus - 200,000 (Defending Canal Bridge) 300,000 (Defending Water Gate) 1,000,000 (Defending Telescope) Shot Down - Low # Doesn't Really Matter Optional Weapons - Between +10,000/-10,000 Battle Bonus - If you built up your multiplier 1,500,000+ Overall Stage Amount - 3,200,000+ (With Combos, if not 2,500,000+) Overall Game Amount - AT LEAST 9,500,000+ *My Stage Score* - 1,813,685 (Definitely my worst) -Scene 4- This scene is arguably the hardest scene to get major points on. Mainly because you have crappy objectives that net little points, where as Copain has objectives that net huge points (if done correctly). Ok when you start off you'll see a large group of enemy fighters. Shoot the leader to scatter them. Use machine guns not FW missiles because their "spin technique" blocks all the FW's damage. Once you've destroy the leader clear out the rest with your machine guns. It is not worth it to use the FW missiles on the little groups the fighters break into. Each fighter gives you +1 FW missiles so save them for later, plus it will help get a much larger O.W. Bonus at the end. Anyways once you disposed of the large group of fighters. You will see enemies coming out in squads of 8. On these use 3 FW missiles. Originally I would have said two. However, you can possibly get 7 and 8-hits by using three and since that annoying pack from the beginning gives you plenty of FW's, it will not adversely effect you. Just as many hits as 3 FW missiles. Once you've gotten rid of these squads it is your job to destroy the defenses around the fortress. All this objective means is destroying 3 squads of the fighters that you dealt with at the beginning at the level. Hunt the squads down, kill the leader, and then destroy the rest. After Femme says, "I guess the worst is behind me." You are done with that part and it is time to take some of Copain's kills. First thing you want to do is go inside of the open part of the fortress. There you will see 5 tanks next to a huge cannon. Shoot the tank farthest from the cannon to cause a 6 chain and some hefty points. Next, across from there is another group of tanks with no big cannon. Shoot one of the ones on the end for a solid chain. Next go out to the long bridge that extends from one side of the fortress. This is where speed comes in. There are 4 big sets of chains you can accomplish here. First at the raised platform near the end of the bridge there is something like this. T=Tank | | T T T T T | | T T T T T Gun Gun | | Gun Gun | | Shoot one of the guns to cause a 7-Hit chain for some major points. Next there are two of the huge cannons below the platform you were just at. There may be tanks next to them, there may not. Sometimes tanks will come later and sometimes they will be there earlier. Either way, wait for the tanks to stop near the cannons and once again shoot the tank farthest from the cannon to get a 6-Hit chain. After that go around and look for any more sets of tanks to get some more 5-Hit Chains. If you want to keep your Multiplier up but can not find any tanks there are many regenerating boats that around the fort which you can shoot for some O.W. Anyways, once Hardi comes in with his vehicle there are not too many things left to do. While you fly around you can get some 4/5-Hit Combos by attacking the squads. Do this so that you can get a good multiplier to start the boss. The pods that come should just be destroyed to save the hassle. In case the pods do hit Hardi, use Dog Missiles to eliminate the little buggers on his vehicle. (Boss Mode: Squellette) Once Hardi enters the main area you can get a huge 18-Hit Combo. You will see the spider-like boss in the middle of the fort. First thing to do is get a decent combo, fast. My suggestion is this; remember earlier in the stage where you destroyed that huge cannon on the little platform inside the fort? Well there may be a set of 5 tanks there again, allowing for a good combo. Now back to the "Squellette". Aim 3 FW missiles on the target in the dead center of the "Squellette". This should destroy all the little guns coming out of it causing a giant 18-Hit Combo equaling (200,000+ x #). Unfortunately, destroying the guns does not help your multiplier so it keeps depleting, so make sure that you destroy the guns as quick as possible. Repeat this process when the guns come back. Besides that there are not too many chains or combos on this boss so just kill it as usual. Mission Bonus - 200,000 Event Bonus - 1,000,000 (Destroy Citadel Defense Forces) Shot Down - ### Optional Weapons - I had 150,000 be happy with 50,000+ Battle Bonus - If you got that big boss combo 4,500,000+ Overall Stage Amount - 5,750,000+ Overall Game Amount - 15,000,000+ *My Stage Score* - 6,873,219 -Scene 5- (Boss Mode: Grand Magasin) This is where the big bucks come in. You can very easily triple your score on this stage. It is very much possible to break 30,000,000 points just on the battle bonus. But it is very tight time-wise and a bit of luck is involved. Ok to start off, IGNORE THE TETHERS, go straight after the endless fighter squads that come out and attack you. Keep attacking these squads until your multiplier equals at least x30 (mine was at x40), then go and attack the balloons. There are two sets on the GM near the museum with the tethers and then four sets far down the other end. The trick is to attack each one with some machine gun fire (I suggest just sweeping your guns back and forth, other wise it takes longer) and then destroy one on the end causing a chain. If you hit it right you should get a 5-Hit Chain (30,000x at least 30) that's at least 900,000 points per set, and at 6 sets we're talking 5,400,000+ points! Make sure you hit each balloon with some damage first, otherwise they will not all explode, giving you less points. Now at this point destroy the tethers, the Giant Cannon that repairs tethers, and then destroy the tethers again. Now here is where you make the real money. You will see sets of guns on segments along the GM. These give great points BUT, Ciel and Copain have a bad habit of destroying the entire front segment very quickly causing you not to be able to destroy all the sets. So you must be very quick. Start by shooting the segments farthest down. An important part is to shoot the guns on the bottom first then the ones on the top. Otherwise the top segment will fall on the bottom segment causing 8-Hits but the chain is much more valuable. Now after shooting the first set, go to your left along the GM and destroy the rest of those segments. After that go to the other side of the GM and destroy all the other segments on that side too (Should be 16 sets, 8 segments in all). Now, if they are there, destroy the portholes by destroying the guns on each side with chains. This will give you a ton more points. (Note: Do not worry if the front segment was destroyed before you could get the portholes. The gatling guns were the most important part. You can still achieve the 30+ million battle bonus). Now after you have destroyed those portholes go to the platforms on the sides. See the pumpkin-looking thing on the column (near the end of the platform)? Shoot that to get a big 10-Hit chain worth another (30,000 x #). At this point with all the other chains your multiplier should be at least x40 so you can easily get 1,200,000 points. Now go all the way down to the other end of the platform. There is a row of guns with a cannon on the end. Shoot the cannon causing another big chain which is worth (39,000 x #). Then destroy the porthole for the platform. Go to the other platform and repeat the exact same process. Now go to the rest of the portholes and destroy them (using chains of course). Now you have to protect Ciel while he destroys the control tower. Two things you want to try here. Remember that medium-sized battleship from the 2nd scene boss fight? Aim 3 FW missiles at the one that is in this stage for a (more often than not) 6-Hit Combo worth a couple million points. Another thing to try is to help Ciel destroy the control tower. There are rows of guns coming out of the tower. Fire a cross missile on the lowest machine gun and shoot it to cause a good chain. But remember you have to protect Ciel also, so make that your main priority. After Ciel defeats the control tower you have to fight the Machine Soldier. (Boss Mode: Machine Soldier) Defeat the machine soldier ASAP. At this point you're probably losing fuel fast. Here's what you do, fly as far away as you can from the machine soldier and then hit R1 to face it. Just fly at normal speed until Copain stops the MS. Now speed boost into lock-on range then slow down. Now you need to lock 3-Cross Missiles at once to get the big Cross Missile (You should have more than enough Cross Missiles from defeating those squads earlier). After you fire one wait for the heat meter to go down enough so you can fire a 2nd without overheating. Then wait again so you can shoot a 3rd. Right after you shoot the 3rd, shoot the 4th. Do not worry about overheating. By the way try to shoot all the missiles near each other to make it easier to detonate. After there are 6 of the missiles use the machine gun to detonate them. Personally I think it is easier to detonate them if you sweep the machine gun from one direction to the other very quickly. After you did that you have to fight the MS again. Quickly launch big Cross Missiles at him. Try to just get three off as fast as you can and do not worry if you overheat. If and when your plane overheats fly out of the way quickly to avoid damage. Keep this up until he is in his final stage. A way to avoid his spinning blade is by barrel rolling as soon as it comes right at you. Then keep using the big cross missiles until it is dead. If you did it with in three minutes you can fight Ventre's battleship. It is simple; the ship is the same medium one from the 2nd scene boss fight. Just lock on 3 FW missiles and shoot them to get a big combo (again) and keep using a machine gun to destroy the battleship. That's it! Fantastic Job! Mission Bonus - 250,000 Event Bonus - 2,000,000 (Destroy Ventre's Battleship) Shot Down - ### (You Shoot a Ton Though) Optional Weapons - 50,000+ Battle Bonus - 30,000,000+ Overall Stage Amount - 35,000,000+ Overall Game Amount - 50,000,000+ *My Stage Score* - 41,323,013 *My Overall Score* - 60,019,016! (Alright!) --Playing as: Ciel— -Scene 1- It would be pretty redundant for me to harp over all the ways to kill certain enemies. So all in all, I will essentially be updating you on what differences there are in Ciel’s mission and how to utilize them for big time points. Anyways, in the beginning of scene one, you will be against another arsenal of 5-man squads. Use a mix of two FW missiles and machine gun fire in order to eliminate them. Eventually, you will be asked to destroy the stables in around the Merveilleux. Do so in the typical fashion, firing two FW missiles at the center piece to get a 4-Hit chain. Then finish it off with a cross missile or two and use of your machine guns. It is important to keep in mind that Ciel has less durability, speed, and maneuvering than Femme. Do not get in the cross fire of the stable too much or you may crash. To continue, Ciel will have exactly two stables to take out and then you can once again trash the squads in order to add to your multiplier. Once Femme arrives and you destroy all the squads, you will be given your next objective. (Objective: Destroy the Tow Cannons attached to the Merveilleux) Again, utilize the same technique that was mentioned with Femme in order to destroy them quickly. A sweep of cross missiles, a speed boost, and some use of the machine gun will make quick work of them. Try to get through this section as soon as you can so that your multiplier remains high. (Boss Mode: Gauche and Droite) I believe the only difference here is that Hardy does not tell you to use to dog missiles. Other than that, the battle is essentially unchanged and the same system used with Femme should be applied here. When getting the major chain of the 7 guns that protrude from the ship, I had an incredible multiplier of 25, leading for some substantial gain in points. After getting so accustomed to this scene, it should not be exceptionally difficult for you to gain a sizable battle bonus and stage score. Mission Bonus - 100,000 Event Bonus - 200,000 (Save Femme) Shot Down - # x 500 Optional Weapons - ~15,000 Battle Bonus - 3,000,000 Overall Stage Amount – 3,000,000+ Overall Game Amount - *Same* *My Stage Score* - 4,107,915 -Scene 2- Once again, you must protect the cargo ships from attack. As before, use your machine guns to waste the squads rather than FW’s. The FW missiles will play a very vital role in your point build up later on. Continue through the stage using the same methods as with Femme. Don’t forget to charge at the crowd of 15, turn, and then lock on three FW’s in order to destroy them for an exceptional chain. If you move quick enough, you can get at least x9 or more on the multiplier. After the cargo planes have been defended, you now go to fight the Baleine. As you face it, speed boost until you see a squad approach. Then for some added ‘spice’ to your multiplier, shoot them down. Make sure to do the same with the others. However, do not go out of your way in order to destroy them. Now once your getting closer to the Baleine, aim 3 FW’s at the large cannon in the front. This should net at least a 6-Hit combo and with a x9+ multiplier, net you a good many points. Next, make sure to destroy that large cannon, because that is their primary weapon. If you let them fire you might as well subtract 50,000 right away. Once the cannon is destroyed, they will try and repair it. Fire three (in order to make a large) cross missiles at the body of the ship and detonate it. Wait so that you do not overheat, then lock on 2 more and detonate those, which should successfully eliminate the Baleine. If everything is done in a timely fashion, it should be rather easy for you to do this without having to take out the cannon again. (Objective: Destroy the Escaping Stables) Now this is where a bulk of your points come in. This is also the spot where you will need all those FW’s. Take out each stable in the corresponding manner as before. Aiming 2 FW’s at their center piece, netting a solid combo. As for how to go about this, I found a particular method useful. At this point, I had sufficient FW missiles, but not a ton. Assuming you are in a similar situation, I would try this. Hit as many of the stables as you can with what FW’s you have. Once you run out or only have one remaining, lock one or two cross missiles on a stable and destroy it. Then proceed to destroy three or four more. Now you should have at least another eight FW’s. Since combos are the most important part, you should then move on to using more FW’s than worrying about destroying them with the cross missiles. You can achieve all the points possible AND destroy all the stables within the allotted time period, but it is a close stretch. I suggest practicing the stage first if you are intending to go for the SS with a phenomenal score. Otherwise you can always quit/save and try again. (Boss Mode: Grandir) Upon further review of Femme’s section and repeated attempts to match that score with Ciel, I have established one thing. The battle bonus I got was not necessarily a fluke, but frustratingly difficult to achieve. A 5,000,000 bonus was incredible, as I lucked out on the fact that both Ciel and Copain seemingly ignored the ship’s gunnels. Otherwise, it may have been different. I’ve changed the suggested scores on that scene accordingly and encourage you to be happy with around 3,500,000+ for the stage. Now that that is done, I shall move on. EVERYTHING remains the same for how to go about this boss battle. Use the same techniques, find the same chains, and attack the same parts. Remember that the medium-sized ships (that look very similar to the Baleine) have some profitable chains and that their guns on the top and bottom of the ship that constantly regenerate. Mission Bonus - 100,000 Event Bonus - Subtract 50,000 x Cargo Ships Destroyed 400,000 (Destroy Lightning Generator) 400,000 (Destroy All Stables) Shot Down - # x 500 (Should be ~300) Optional Weapons – Due to the stable part: 0 – 20,000 Battle Bonus - 3,500,000+ Overall Stage Amount - 4,000,000+ Overall Game Amount - AT LEAST 7,000,000+ *My Stage Score* - 4,669,780 -Scene 3- *Overall Mission Objective: Defeat Rival* Ugh. This scene is the most anti-climatic scene, point wise that is. Not only will your battle bonus probably be negative, but you get only minimal bonus for defeating Rival. Anyways, here is how to do it quickly. Rival issues your fight five minutes. It should not take more than one minute. All you have to do is this, work your way around him until you are behind his gunner. Before you can do so, you may have to barrel roll in order to dodge some bat missiles. Once you are behind him, lock three cross missiles and fire. Then detonate them with the machine guns. He will have a bit of life still. Just repeat the process, but only using one or two cross missiles. He should be defeated and this abomination will be over. -Scene 4- Femme's version of this scene was much more difficult to get a high score in. In Ciel's version though, you can score some major points. This will help you a lot considering that scene three was less than helpful. To begin, destroy the leader of the large pack. I would suggest that you speed boost for a few moments and then aim a bit ahead of the leader. Then keep sweeping the machine gun while the leader basically steps right into the cross fire. After you scatter them *destroy the rest as fast as you can*. This can really expand your multiplier. Now when you see the other squads of eight use the 3 FW's as before and destroy them. Next you are told to destroy the Dorados. These essentially look like big red fish. The way to maximize points is as follows. Get in front of the first Dorado in your view and aim for the piece under the body. Lock and fire 3 FW missiles there and after you shoot them speed away. Turn and repeat, it takes three sets total. You do not want to overheat here so take your time. Then you get the big 3-Hit Combo (which got me over 1,000,000 points), go behind the Dorado. Aim a large (3 together) cross missile at the underbelly of the ship and fire. Get out of harm's way (there will be plenty of it) and then turn and fire another two for good measure. Charge in and detonate them. This add 30 to your multiplier clock and you can now move on. Instead of going after the next Dorado, you will instead want to go after the large cannon inside the main citadel. Hold triangle to get into "Tail View" and then fly over top and look down. This is where luck comes into play. If Copain is swooping around, distracting the cannon, then you can waltz in and get the huge (6-Hit | 108,000 x #) chain. Otherwise, you will have to air on the side of caution and think about when to pounce. If going for just a huge score, you can just power in and if you crash, start over. However, if going after the SS rank, be careful and take your time. Keep in mind, if you crash during this scene (like I did), it does not mean you necessarily have to quit. You can still hold on to major points. Anyways, after you destroy that set, move on to the other chains near the front. Using tail view will make things a whole lot easier. After that, use the same technique on the second Dorado. You should not need too much time to kill it and can finish it with time remaining. In that left over time, search for some more tank chains lying around to help your score and your multiplier. As for Hardi and the pods, take them out as normal and try to keep that multiplier strong. (Boss Mode: Squellette) You should do the same thing with Ciel that you did with Femme. Use 3 FW's on that central piece in order to net a huge combo. Now, if luck is on your side, you can accomplish a gargantuan one shortly after. See those four pieces that you have to aim for on the opposite side of the boss? Weaken, not destroy, those pieces. Then when the boss turns back over, aim for that central piece again. If you can blow up those pieces, the guns, the central piece, any tanks that may be under the boss, and any other parts, you can gain loads of points. I got a 34-Hit combo, but unfortunately, my multiplier was low. Either way, I still received tons of points for it. Mission Bonus - 200,000 Event Bonus - 1,000,000 (Destroy Dorados) Shot Down - ### (Should be 60,000+ points) Optional Weapons - With Ciel: 50,000 be happy with 20,000+ Battle Bonus - 8,000,000+ Overall Stage Amount - 9,000,000+ Overall Game Amount - 18,000,000+ *My Stage Score* - 14,092,385 Well that's it for Femme's Hi-Score Guide, but soon I will be adding more on Ciel's and Copain's. If you have any questions e-mail me at CBauer3@comcast.net. Also, GameFAQ's has copyright laws on all original FAQ's so please, do not copy stuff out of this without asking, Thanks!