Legendary Wings score
Beating the game Legendary Wings again was a blast from the past. I can’t imagine how I was able to do it previously without a TURBO button. Because this time I had zero qualms about using the turbo button against the bosses. The hilarious thing about this game is that you fight the same boss literally five times in a row. The only difference is the number of eyeballs that fly at you. And the miniboss that protects each palace to the boss of each stage…you guessed it, it is exactly the same for every 5 stages in the game. The only difference is the color of the miniboss. The only real rewarding part of the game is seeing the interesting mythology-inspired settings for each overworld and palace stage.
The strange thing about this game is that it is actually harder in a 2 player setting than solo. The reason for this is because the powerups are the only thing that makes the game bearable. It isn’t like Contra where your basic weapon can easily destroy any major target. In Legendary Wings you need either level 3 powerups or have maximum powerups in order to be effective versus the bosses. When I play two player games I always like to split the powerups but this game punishes you for doing that. The reason for this is that every time you get hit you loose a powerup level. So the higher your powerups are, the more damage you can take.
If you don’t use the turbo button then prepare yourself to receive gamers thumb to the max. This game is repetitive and will make your thumbs melt off.
The easiest way to beat the game is to learn and memorize the locations for the secret zone or “LUCKY” area in each overworld stage. You can only access them by using your secondary bomb weapon to destroy the ground based targets that look like little metal mine things. Usually, a crater will appear when you destroy one of these ground targets, but if you hit the right one, then some smoke will come and take you to the LUCKY bonus stage. This is where you can fill up on powerups and points which give you extra lives.
power up 1 give double shot
power up 2 gives thick single long laser
power up 3 gives triple ball shot – one fires straight the other 2 zig – zag
power up 4 gives you a wave cannon and turns you into a phoenix looking dude and you look like a thug
Here’s a quick break down on the extra life information that happen based on your score:
First free life at 50K
Second free life at 150K
Third free life at 300K
Legendary wings level 4 Boss
I love the idea that you fly around with wings in this quasi-futuristic and yet mythological environment. The designers did a great job making the settings compelling. That is why I don’t mind how repetitive the boss battles are. But that being said, I’m not going to replay this game anytime soon. This is the kind of game I’d more likely replay if I was on a dare…and if the controller had a turbo button.
In each overworld stage, there is a face that spits smoke at you. Try and avoid this smoke if you can because the mini-stages that you enter as a result do not give you very many points or any powerups. So they are just a waste of time. The face on stage 4 and 5 spits out much faster than the others so don’t feel bad if you get hit by it. But if you get hit by the smoke on levels 1 – 3 then you might want to work on your eye-thumb coordination.
Remember not to dodge the smoke if you get it when you blow up a ground mine, that is the LUCKY stage.
Legendary Wings final boss form 2
When you fight the last boss there is a simple strategy. You need to have level 3 or ultimate level powerups and get close to it when it is about to show its brain stuff and blast it like crazy. The closer you are the more damage you can dish out. When the boss explodes and you enter the other side, the fight its final form. This thing isn’t that hard if you are patient and just stay below it when it appears. Then dodge the 4 corner weapons as they fly from the diagonals of the screen. Try and get a few hits in before it disappears. This may seem annoying but if you are patient you will win. Too bad all you get is a lame message and then the game starts all over again.
On the overworld for stage 5. there is a tricky part with lots of walls and enemy turrets that you won’t be able to hit no matter what. The only way I recommend getting through this part is to have stayed powered up so you can take a few hits from the enemy. If you hang back too long you will get stuck and die and lose all your powerups. So be bold and aggressive and get through this proverbial gauntlet of turrets. This is pretty much the hardest part of the game right here and it is primarily psychological. If you can get through this part the boss and final palace stage will be a piece of cake.
-Tyler