Complete section corresponding NSM
Transfer to Area 5. If you’ve been following my directions exactly, you’ll run into a convoy! Oh, no! Just kidding. If you feel somewhat challenged, use the wide cannon. Otherwise, use the regular gun. Either way, know that you can’t use your item (e.g., your medicine.) Once you enter, you’ll be in either the desert or the island convoy. Either way, keep shooting like crazy while moving forward. In the desert convoy, you’ll see two jeeps ride across the screen. If you kill one, it leaves behind an eagle badge. This is a continue. In the island convoy, there’s a shielded guy instead of the jeep. When in the convoys, you can also use the bionic arm to brush away most enemies and bullets.
That shouldn’t be too hard, though. Hurry up and descend to Area 5. BE WARNED THAT IF YOU HAVE ONLY A FEW (E.G., FOUR OR LESS) HEALTH DOTS, THEN THIS LEVEL MAY BE FAIRLY DIFFICULT. REMEMBER, IF YOU'RE WEAK, USE YOUR MEDICINE BY HITTING START! Run all the way to the barrel once in the area. Then swing diagonally off the building. Keep going right, and you’ll see a stationary shooter behind a barrel. Use the barrel sequence, grab the bullet, move a little to the left, and hook straight up twice onto the red platform. From there, time well, hook up again, and shoot the stationary shooter. Ignore the blue ball that falls, wait till it goes off screen, then swing to the right. Keep going right until you’re under the other gray building. Hook up onto the building, and, timing carefully, hook up again and kill the stationary shooter.
This next part is a little difficult. Shoot your bionic arm upwards a few times to study the place from where the arm comes. You’ll notice it’s a little behind his head. Having done that, line yourself up with the light pole (either one.) Now get ready, then hook up to the pole. When you stand up on it, you’ll slip off, so when you stand on it, hook up VERY QUICKLY to the platform above. You’ll probably fail a few times before succeeding, but you can do it.
Once on the platform above, walk a bit left so you're not under the stationary shooter, then hook up, timing well to avoid being shot. Kill the shooter, then hook straight up onto the next platform. This is another hard part. Line yourself up with the light pole again, and this time, when you get on top of it, grab diagonally left by pressing the left arrow and the A button.
Once you make the connection, get onto the platform and use the barrel sequence to kill the guy. Then hook up to the place where there are no barrels. Hook straight up and get onto the above platform, then go to the left until you can see and shoot the guy on the left. Ignore the bullet he leaves behind, walk to the left, and fall of the platform. Inch left until you see the blue ball. As soon as you see it, run right and hook up onto the platform you were just on again. Wait until the ball passes under you, then fall off to the left again and keep going left, and once you see him, kill the stationary shooter. Get his bullet, then hook straight up a few times to get to the level on which there is a door on the right. Go into that door, which leads to a communication door. After you get in, just get right out without even walking to the communicating thing.
BE WARNED AGAIN THAT THIS NEXT SEQUENCE IS VERY FRANTIC. MOVE VERY QUICKLY IN THIS NEXT SECTION. BASICALLY, YOU WANT TO GET UP AS FAST AS YOU CAN WITHOUT GETTING HIT BY THE ELECTRIC FLYING GUYS. YOU CAN KILL THOSE GUYS, BUT THEY DON'T LEAVE BULLETS, AND THEY REGENERATE IN A FEW SECONDS. ALSO, YOU CAN HIT THEM WITH YOUR BIONIC ARM, BUT THEY RECOVER SOON.
As you were just warned, the next part is fairly hard, unless you move very quickly. There are several general strategies to get past the electric flying guys. Choose the one that seems best for you.
1- Go quickly up as fast as you can, ignoring the electric guys, until you get up to the top. PROS: fastest CONS: most dangerous NSM
2- Go slowly up, killing the electric guys as you go, and using the time they take to regenerate to go up. PROS: pretty reliable CONS: pretty slow NSM
3- Go up, knocking away the electric guys as you go, and using the time they take to recover to go up. PROS: pretty fast CONS: pretty dangerous NSM
4- Build up six or more life dots and slowly go at your own pace. PROS: most relaxed, and eliminates need to gather bullets later CONS: takes a very long time to build up those dots
Anyway, I favor method 1. If you do too, as soon as you get out of the door again, hook straight up twice, then walk a bit to the right so you're under the gray building. Once there, hook up twice again, and notice the electric barrier thing. It shoots electric shots sideways once in a while that may not only hurt you, but, worse, also break your bionic connection. So hook up RIGHT NEXT TO THE ELECTRIC SHOCKER, facing the opposite direction, and hook up quickly twice to get past both electric shockers.
If you hook up perfectly, you'll get right past the shockers and onto the platform onto which the second shocker is attached. There's a light pole on the right, and one on the left off the screen. If you're confident, try the visible one, the one on the right. Attach to it, get up onto it, and QUICKLY HOOK STRAIGHT UP ONTO THE PLATFORM ABOVE. If this sounds too hard, move to the left, grab the pole, and drop off midswing to land on the barreled platform. Wait for good timing, then hook up from the platform, kill the stationary shooter, and go to the right. EITHER WAY, you'll end up below a gray building with vents without a shocker on it. Hook up onto the building.
When you're on the building, hook up again to get on the red platform. Go to the right and position yourself under the light pole again. Yep, that's right. Get onto the pole and grab the platform diagonally again. (Oh, quit grumbling; it's not that hard...) Once on the platform, hook up onto the place where there are no barrels. Get up, then hook up again to get onto the building. Then walk a little left, and you'll see a stationary shooter. Duck and shoot him, then fall off the building to the left, walk under the building where the bullet he left behind is. Get up on it, then hook up again. You can either kill this guy or ignore him by swinging to the right. It's easier to kill him, though. Do so, then hook straight up and kill the other stationary shooter. Then run right to the communication door. Now celebrate: you don't have to fight those electric things again! If you need to use your medicine, do so.
You don't need to communicate. BE WARNED THAT THE NEXT SEQUENCE INVOLVES COMPLEX BIONIC ARM CONTROL. WORSE, THERE ARE MANY PARACHUTERS TO THROW YOU OFF. AVOID THEM, SHOOT THEM, KNOCK THEM OFF, BUT DON'T LET THEM GET IN YOUR WAY! Just get right out the door, as before. Hook straight up quickly, then go left so you're under the small platform. Notice the springs above. The easiest way to get to them is by a basic, diagonal grab.
When you hook up onto the springs, you're going to bounce off, so prepare. While you're bouncing off, be sure to grab the platform (either left or right; at this point, it doesn't really matter.) Then hook up onto the next level of platforms, then onto the next set of springs. Bounce off, grab one of the platforms, then connect straight up and walk into the boss door triumphantly!
You're rewarded with (at least, one of) the easiest boss(es) in the game: the "Pi Pi Pi" system. There are several ways to kill this foolish mechanism. If you're wary, go under it all the way to the right. Since the system only shoots left, you're safe from any damage. From there, keep shooting, and you'll hit it whenever it comes down. Otherwise, just get onto the bottom left platform and keep shooting at it. Its bullets are slow, so if one comes at you, run away from it and you'll be safe. Then destroy the generator.
Yes! You're done with this long stage! Even better, you get THE ROCKET LAUNCHER, the best gun in the game!