I finally got all medals from this game. It was insanely hard. Sadly I don't feel any joy. Just misery from all failed attempts.
It has some cute graphics. I give it cudos for that.
The upgrade system does not really fit for this game. They are not many enough to make this game beatable for most players. If it is supposed to be a challenging game we would be better off to start fully upgraded so we can make serious attempts from the beginning in my honest opinion.
To beat this game is not THAT hard, but doing it without taking damage is. You need to have full health through all prior stages to get the medals for it and not just the current stage.
Here are some things that annoyed me:
In the second stage the boss can summon the three small spirits two times in a row and only take one or two hits in between. This could make the battle long.
After you defeat the small spirits in the second stage, the boss could keep hover higher than you can reach for a rather long time.
The small spirits spawn very suddenly and you take damage if one spawn where you are. They always spawn in the same order though so if you stay in the middle you can avoid them.
If the small spirits hit you they can easily drain all your HP in one go.
The boss at the first stage hits very frequently and it is very hard to get away before the next blow. Though you can finish it rather quickly with the best weapon if you keep mauling it but there is one attack that you cannot avoid by doing so.
The ghost that can be summoned at the second stage sometimes makes a turn after you have jumped over it. If you are unlucky it hits you without you are able to avoid it.
The boss does a seemingly identical pose when summoning a ghost and summoning lightning strikes to the point you see the blue glow in its eyes, but then it is too late to react. If it is a ghost you would like to stay in the middle but if it is lightning strikes you want to keep moving. The ideal is to move forth and back in the middle but then you need to turn often and you don't want to turn just before a strike. Though, this is a skill issue.
At the third stage it is pretty unclear which move the boss is going to make because some guestures are very similar to each other. Is it going to cast lightning strikes? Is it going to drain the mana from the totems so I can hit them? Is it going to throw blue fireballs all over the place? This could be pretty well predicted after a lot of practice but I often got caught by surprise by those lightning strikes.
I am not sure if I am supposed to be able to do this but sometimes I can get through the totems even if I cannot hit them (before they are drained from mana). I think it works best if I stand next to them, try to run into them and then dash.
Some attacks at the third stage can only be avoided if you are in the middle or at the far sides. The fireball rain can overlap the next attack and give you no room to dodge.
Basically what I complain about is the game being too hard.
What I liked though:
It takes very little time to start playing the game from when you boot it, so although you cannot go back from the battle without any of you losing, it is not any problem to restart it if you get hit and try to go for a hit-less run.
No major game-crashing bugs.
SOME PLAYING TIPS AND STRATS:
To keep your sanity, please consider not going for the no hit run.
If you do however:
Get all upgrades. You can farm the chest at the beginning. Just die and open it again.
Remember that you can duck! The only place where you actually need to do this is at the first stage when it shoots the lower laser beam. You can jump over it but that is much harder.
Do practice runs.
Try to dash to the first boss and just maul it. Its health depletes quickly and if it hits you with that fire attack just close the game and start it again.
If you get hit, really the fastest way is to just close and re-open the game. You can skip the intros.
The three small fighters are annoying, and they can spawn all of a sudden where you stand, but remember that they always spawn in the same order, so even if you cannot avoid the first you always have time to avoid the last.
Try not to attack the second boss in the middle unless it has a shield. You can actually hit through the shield if you jump at the middle, but if it spawns a blue orb just when you attack it you can take damage if you are where it spawns. Otherwise the blue orb gets destroyed by your mid-air attack.
The second boss throws three lightning strikes.
The third boss is very hard. I recommend to do practice runs before you try with a flawless victory.
The boss is going to alter between three fireballs and a random attack, so it casts three fireballs, do another move, three fireballs, something else, three fireballs and so on.
To damage the boss you need to first let it deactivate the totems so you can hit them, and you should hit all three heads in the same go to save time. When you have destroyed the six of them the boss lowers its head to let you hit it for a short while. Try to dash to it and jump into it from below to get as many hits as possible without getting knocked away. Try to aim at 2-3 hits but it can still cast attacks so if it does it is better to avoid the attack instead of hitting it.
When the third boss appears you should be at the far side of the screen and wait for it to deactivate the totems so you can hit one of them. Just be alert and pay attention if it is going to make an attack that can hit you. The lightning attack looks very similar to the move it does to deactivate the totems and I have not really a good strat for telling them apart more than maybe practice to the point when you can tell them apart fast enough that you can get away from the strike.
The third boss throws four lightning strikes.
While moving between totems the next attack should be the three fireballs attack. Wait for it and dash to the other side to smash that totem as soon as possible. Do not risk to be hit by an attack when you are at the inner side of a totem close to the boss' hand because you are very vulnerable there. Either move to the middle or try to get through the totem somehow. Moving to the middle is safer although you cannot hit any totem heads there, because getting past the totems doesn't always work and you can dodge the fireball rain easier from the middle.
While the first two bosses could be rushed through it might be a good idea to take your time and play through the third boss carefully. The reason for this is that it is a bit easier to predict and the battle takes a bit too long to rely on luck. Stay in the middle when you are not smashing totems and wait for the next attack if it is not those three fireballs. If you are unsure if the next attack is those fireballs or not it is still a good idea to be in the middle because if you are fast enough you can dash away before it hits you.
If you have a hard time and think you don't have enough to make it do more practice runs. Practice practice practice. Sure the game has many random unforgiving elements but most of them can be avoided. Not all though.
For a secret medal hint: Try the left way instead to avoid a boss fight?
I liked that little dance I make at the end.
