Part 7: The Fire Planet annoys me.

We return to the oh-so-annoying Fire Planet for some beacon action.



Going down from the starbase landing leads here. Find the switch and continue onwards.





Here we find the Bullet Data, Heavy Shot. This is even better than Triple Shot so I'll be using it from now on. To be honest, not much else in the game is better than it so I'll be using it most of the game I'm sure, unless I feel like being experimental. Hey, I've already been trying it.



: Two down.
: Only one more to go. Then crossing between these land masses will be a cake walk.
: Keep your eyes peeled for that last one.



Thank god I got lucky and never had to traverse this in the Heavy Fighter or Bomber. Actually, I got lucky and never got the Bomber once this update.





You go up and around for this one. Here's the Impact Data, Smoulder. It's kind of useless in that the explosion left by it only hurts enemies if they run into it which is surprisingly hard to occur since you're shooting everything that moves as soon as they come on screen.



This octopus thing isn't that hard but it moves fast and sometimes comes in swarms.





This cave holds the Bullet Data, Charge Shot. Charge it and fire for 10x damage. Useless because I'd rather just spray bullets everywhere.





Hidden underground was the Cannon Data, Vertical Cannon. More using than its alternating version but still pretty useless in general.



To be honest, it's probably just as dangerous to control the Agile Fighter in small areas as it would be the Heavy Fighter or Bomber.



Dammit, it's on that side. I went around it...



: breadth.
: Done. So now what?
: I've sent coordinates detailing all of the areas we need to cross to the crew.
: We just sit back and wait for the force fields to appear. Wait! What's that...?
: Look out!!



: Must be an indigenous life form.
: It's probably attracted to the beacon's light. We'll have to scatter these aliens before the beacons can be properly activated.
: I can handle it.
: If this is an infestation, your peashooter will be useless. I'm calling in a ship.
: Have it summon Recker. I want to see this guy fly.
: Sigh...fine. You're up Recker. Clear a path through these bugs.
: Affirmative.

VIDEO: Fire Planet Mid-Mission



: We have a strong signal from all three. Nice flying Recker.
: Base reports all force fields are now active. We should be able to explore those new areas now.
: Remember, our mission objective is to find a fissure deep enough to take a clear reading of the planet.
: I'll head back in the direction we came. There were some places I want to check out.



Our goal now is to go to the orange square with the dot in it on the right side but we can now explore further in the places where the beacons are down. So I went those ways first.



Well this is annoying. The stage starts and immediately throws you into a wall. Luckily, it's only in the yellow areas that this can happen so we won't be dealing with this on a regular basis for some time. Still...



These are the force fields. They move back and forth across pits.



Don't look down!



Oops. Falling down sends you back to wherever you entered the area from.





Buried on this island we find the Bullet Data, Wave Shot. I've not used this myself because I like Heavy Shot so much but I guess it could be useful. With a name like Wave I'm inclined to believe it may pass through walls. That or I've played too much Metroid.





Different island, still buried. This is the Impact Data, Bullet Eater. On the 30th impact it makes all bullets onscreen disappear. Could be useful in the future I guess but right now, very few enemies shoot bullets.





This cave holds the Impact Data, Ignite. I decided to take a chance and it turns out I like it a bunch. It's like Bubble in that it leaves behind a projectile, except this one flies forwards instead of up, which means it's heading towards where enemies spawn.



Gah, dead end, I can't go this way yet. Time to backtrack.



There's the fireball from Ignite. It flies forwards.



It's a bit hard to see, but I've just been dropped back to the landscape from a stage. When you do, any enemies nearby are exploded.



I remember a lot about this game but I cannot recall what the purpose of these are other than to stop me from going that way. I don't remember what gets rid of them either. Oh well!



I gotta say, I really like the graphics in this place. That volcano is pretty well drawn.



These pillar enemies are annoying. They take 5 shots to kill and fire in any direction you're standing on. And to hit them you have to stand in their path of fire.





An island with Gun Data that isn't buried!? Anyways, this is the Cannon Data, Triple Cannon. It's like Scatter Cannon but fires all at the same time. Less rate of fire but it still, it fills the screen with bullets. I'll be using this for a while.



I have no clue what this room is for with its strange statues but hey, free refills on health and bombs!



Also, those pillar enemies are often in annoying places. Ride this force field and you're certain to get hit by this one. I'm about two frames from getting hit myself.



Why yes, I'll take a save!



Tougher variety of that worm from the Forest Planet. It's not any harder though, just takes more shots.



This is a really long ladder. Like, three screens long.



Tougher Hen'nk. Five shots but same strategy can be applied.





Almost there! Hidden underground here is the Cannon Data, Patrol Node. Nodes are pretty good but this one is rather basic. Later I'll likely be using a better Node Cannon variation.



Finally, we're here! (Not pictured, lots and lots of in-transit annoying Fire Planet navigation, backtracking and battles)



: Does this fissure look deep enough?
: We'll know in a minute.
: Why do you suppose Krill High Command is so interested in this planet?
: It's hard to say. High Command has conducted more of these kinds of scanning missions in the past few years than in our people's history. Since the original excavation on Earth it's been the Tyrannical Overlord's favorite pastime.
Wait, what!?
: You said excavation of Earth?! Are you referring to the first attack on Earth that started the war?
: Let's get something straight Earthman. The Krill are not at war with you.
Oh bullshit dude, I call bullshit.
: Not at war? What do you call the last 60 years?! Psyme, you yourself led an attack just last month! How can you say you're not at war?
: No one is trying to conquer your planet Recker. The excavation of Earth was deemed necessary by Krill High Command. Your people responded in violence.
: You nearly destroyed all life on Earth! It caused cataclysmic global damage! Don't you see that your actions have consequences? You have created an enemy of billions of people!
: That's their mistake. They can't stand against the Krill. Our armada is endless! We can stamp them out effortlessly whenever we choose!
: Yeah?! Well you did a pretty sloop job of wiping us out last month, didn't you?
: For your information, that was just a follow up visit to assess the damage to your planet! Your idiot pilots forced the battle!
: I refuse to believe you planet butchers were making a house call!!
: Give it a rest both of you. Understand Recker. Your people are like frightened animals. We drew a little blood, and they bit us. It's as simple as that.
: Are you actually saying that the attack on Earth was for our own good?
: I'm saying that with time you will see that things aren't so black and white.
And the plot starts twisting!
: For now, let's see what the scans turned up.
: I've got it. ...... This is impossible.
: What?
: These readings. They're the same. Recker, you must not have cleared out the old data from the Forest Planet scans.
: Don't blame me! We're not even using the same equipment!
: But then... How is it that both the Forest Planet and this planet are experiencing tremors that display exactly the same pattern?
: It's a malfunction. Two planets can't exhibit this level of synchronicity. There must be another answer. Psyme, see if there's a larger entrance to this fissure. One we could take a ship into.
: These readings suggest several openings. But it would be a hazardous journey.
: We need more information. Recker, can you navigate small spaces?
: You know I can. Call a ship.
: I'll ride shotgun. We'll proceed to the source of the tremors and see if we can't get to the bottom of things.
: Here's a DATA PLUG. You'd better record your progress first.



Next time, the Boss Mission! Plus, post-boss chapter wrap up maybe.

Man, I gained 10 levels this update. Fire Planet may be annoying, but it's EXP heavy.

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Current Weapon Data:

: 3 - Triple Cannon. Fires shots in a forward spread.
: 3 - Heavy Shot. A large projectile with a large hit area.
: 9 - Ignite. Bullets stop, gather strength, then blaze ahead in flame.