A for-fun 4000pts run of Ark 2, segmented for entertainment value – I don’t think I could get a real 4000pts run on Hard without playing in boring ways and heavy use of defensive chips/bursts. I got a single segment 4000pts on Normal, but it ended up being very sloppy. Then I went for a minimalist segmented perfect on Circuit Crystal and quickly grew tired of that… and then I decided on this; the usual “stage 1” conditions (only Energy Absorber and the starting 4 bursts), but with a twist at Circuit Crystal – I swapped out bursts at each checkpoint! I hope you enjoy what I could come up with with tools I don’t normally use. For what might be my last video on Gravity Circuit, I wanted to make it a little special!
The conditions for maximum clear bonus on this stage are clearing within 12’30 in-game time, defeating 40 enemies, and taking less than 16 damage. This takes out around 60 enemies based on a test run I did! I have the timer off just in case I were to accidentally select ‘restart stage’ which would be disastrous, but it should be a high 10:xx or low 11:xx if you don’t account for the very, very numerous restarts it took to rig the order of bosses, let alone settle for a segment I was happy with.
This is absolutely the most difficult stage in the game casually and I was burning myself out trying to get everything I had planned in one take – I managed the important things, at least; the whole motley of uses for Heavenly Piledrive in stages! Using overkilled enemies when they’d normally be intangible; breaking through shielded enemies quickly; using fresh enemies to instantly defeat shielded enemies; and showing how Piledrive is invulnerable both on approach and after connecting, letting you nab enemies hiding behind their flamethrowers. It might be a little obvious where something went off-script or I lost concentration, like the near-misses, platforming issues, and singular foolish hit right at the end of the stage because I didn’t want to wait for a cycle (bookends with Power Plant, the first video I did in this style…). Many of these rooms can be done faster and fancier, but I think I’d be at this for hours if I didn’t cut myself off.
If you’re fast, you can grab the Battie at 0:36 out of the air and throw it at the Shielded Soldier immediately.
With precise timing and positioning, the piledrive at 1:25 can take out both of the Hover Shields (completely unnecessary but looks cool!)
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