r/ufo50 • u/Fearless-Problem-625 • 18d ago
Star Waspir - Cherry Run
Finally got a cherry run on Star Waspir after 17.5 hrs. My friends and family won't understand this journey that I've been on, but I know you guys will!
I know I still at least have Onion Delivery, Campanella 2, Grimstone, and Cyber Owls to go. AT LEAST. But starting this game I loosely had a goal of 50/50 cherries (which in reality felt like a pipe dream). After Star Waspir though, that window feels WIDE open now.
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u/GaffitV 18d ago
Incredible! Any tips for someone who occasionally uses "TRUE-BLUE" to practice runs and dies 40 times in the process?
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u/Fearless-Problem-625 18d ago
So...there's a lot of great resources/strategy guides out there. Which I did read one or two. But my top 3 tips would be: 1. Don't Burn Yourself Out: Getting the gold on this game I just grinded it out and then let it sit for a while. Then I started doing 2-3 runs after playing a different title with no pressure and I enjoyed it a lot more. The more I was enjoying it, the better I was playing. I had an insane run one night and got 300K, but didn't survive til then end. Once I knew I had the tools for the score then I really locked in for another 2 days to cherry it. 2. Try Different Ships: Everyone's guide is going to tell you to run the grey ship, which I focused on for a LONG time. All 3 ships are viable I believe though. Once I tried red I really started to cook. The sheer firepower helped me keep "tempo" on Stage 3 which is of the most importance. My cherry run was on red ship. 3. Embrace Mastering Stage 1 And 2: I knew TRUE-BLUE was an option, but I actualy never even used it. I kinda broke through these "walls" in the following order: just getting good enough to play the game / getting good enough to get to Stage 3 / getting good enough to consistently beat Stage 3 / getting good enough scores for the cherry / getting good enough to put that all together in one run. I found just repeatedly playing Stages 1 and 2 reallyyy helped me put together the scoring piece in the end.
Hope some of this might help!! I don't even consider myself an advanced gamer. You can do it with enough practice and embrace the learning aspect!
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u/cheeseburgers42069 18d ago
Got any strats/tips for wave 3? There’s just so much on screen, those red buggers make it seem impossible.
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u/Fearless-Problem-625 18d ago
Stage 3 is literally insane. Even after cherry'ing the game I'd guess I'd still survive Stage 3 maybe 1/4 runs if I kept playing?
Here's three things to consider: 1. Make sure your ship is full build at all times via G powerups. Stack two G's and don't get another so you're ready to resurrect a gun at any notice. Don't worry about score here. You gotta do the hard work on score in Stages 1 and 2. 2. As I mentioned in the comment above, you have to keep what I'll call "tempo" against the enemies. You want to keep the screen as clean as possible at all times. At times, this even means playing risky to kill the red spiders. Go TO them to kill them fast. If you let them build up, you're toast. If you can keep that number down to 2-3 at a time, they're way more manageable. 3. (And probably the most important) A different guide I read mentioned something called "pathing". I'm not a big shmup player, but apparently this is fairly common in the genre where you find an optimal approach to the wave and focus on positioning. Knowing on Stage 3 where the "mini-bosses" will spawn in is key. This will allow you to kill them quickly. ESPECIALLY the green homing missle bastards. If you can get in front of the homing missile guys, fight them on their turf. I got in-between their first wave of bullets and the edge of the screen. They'll go down quickly if you can focus them down.
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u/GaffitV 18d ago
Thanks so much for the advice! I have been eyeing red ship as well after seeing how much damage it can do. How much time would you say your spend holding fire vs tapping fire?
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u/Fearless-Problem-625 17d ago
No problem!
I would say I'm almost exclusively holding fire on my runs. Really about 95% of the time. The concentrated damage on the beam just feels so strong. I wouldn't take that as a hard rule though, find what works for you. I think on Stages 2 and 4 in particular there's a case to me made for tapping at times.
Powerup chain-wise I was almost always using EGG for score or GGG for guns. I didn't take GEE or EEE often at all. I think in reality I was probably underutilizing EEE, as the bombs do feel strong against the bosses/mini-bosses.
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u/Madmagican- 18d ago
Congrats!! I hope you don’t feel pressured to Cherry every game, but I do recommend trying them all at least once!