Ah the bubbler. Isn't that supposed to be a (Lethal?) Joke Weapon?
Well, it's very weak in the first level, and mediocre in the second, but at level 3, it's very useful, if one of the weaker weapons. At least, in my opinion. Then again, I love the Bubbler. Holding down the shoot button to build up bubbles floating around you, protecting you from projectiles, then releasing the button to send them all flying at an enemy at once. Beautiful.
edited Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:01:41 by Starbound2
Yeah, the bubbler's odd. It's crap offensively, but it makes a decent sheild. It's easy to ignore though. When my sisters got to the twin dragon boss, that's how they eventually got through the one time "double fire blitz" attack and beat the thing, though I advised them to run to the bottom left/right corner as soon as they started that attack and switch to the bubbler for extra protection. My strategy, though, is to use whatever weapon does the most damage, since if you stun them quick enough you can do the whole battle with them using one attack (ideally).
Oh, speaking of which, what would you say if I told you my 8 year old sisters have gotten up to (but not beaten) the final boss rush in this game? And then played again and gotten up to more than halfway through the hard version of last cave? Would you say something different if I mentioned that they thought the Core battle and Toroko + were an absolute joke for some reason, but had some trouble with Balrog 2 and that frenzied mimiga in grasstown?
I'm still scratching my head on the core battle, personally, especially since they always came in with less than half their health.
I actually find the Toroko battle quite easy myself. When she jumps into the air and throw blocks at me, I just run right underneath her before they get thrown. I also use the fireball for that fight, since it travels along the ground and deals with the flower spawn.
edited Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:07:25 by Starbound2
Are your sisters some sort of symbiotic hivemind?
Nah, they just share a computer, tend to like the same things and have never, ever, despite all attempts on my part to convince them, embraced the idea of keeping separate save files from each other, even on games that explicitly allow multiple saves (rather less games like this). They mostly just take turns. Actually, one of them was significantly better than the other at this game and beat nearly all the bosses herself.
This'll actually probably become less true in the future, as I believe that we just got them another computer, so they don't have to share. Although it had to be sent in for some mistake on the manufacturer's part...
A secret weapon. You have to hold onto the Polar Star until after the Labrynth if you want it, which means not getting the machinegun or the snake (another secret weapon). This means that you only have it for the last few levels and bosses, but it's very overpowered—you can charge it up to fire laser beams.
It's actually a roundabout subversion of a Death Speech. You see, if the person about to die has no one to give a dying speech to, he can't die because it's not dramatic enough. By ignoring the hurt and the maimed, you are actually helping them!
And when you see red, use it as a guide. For timing. Also, there's going to be a save point nearby so there's no worries about accidently having to help out that poor guy instead of doing the right thing and leaving him to die so that he can survive.
edited Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:11:05 by TheAdversary
Yeah, but if you're gonna do two playthroughs, why use the same weapons twice?
Course, the spur makes the Bonus Level of Hell much easier than, say, the snake. If you skipped it, though, the machinegun's a lot of fun and should at least be played around with in a spare save file in Sand Zone.
I think I mentioned it earlier, but here's a screenshot of my problem:
Clickies
◊.
Any idea why this might be happening?

I like using the level 3 Bubbler for that boss. Stand still and let the bubbles shield me from the flames of fury!