Stage 4 Old Pier S Ranking HARD

[jasonorme666]

No matter how many times I try I can only get a B.
I've S ranked nearly every other level.

Any advice?

[0restes]

Copypasta from another thread:

- Long combos don't matter that much to get a S Rank. It is in fact much more preferable to cash them in the moment you start feeling uncomfortable losing them.
- Deal with enemies quickly. Bonus points are not based on the amount of hits but the damage. Throwing them into holes or letting them walk over acid is perfectly fine.
- Combos carry on between zones of the same stage. This is specially useful at the police station where you can go from the initial area to the desks office.
- On the same note, if there are policemen and thugs fighting you won't lose your combo. Use this to your advantage.
- Use your specials as much as you can if you can't keep your HP full. It is the same to eat a turkey at 95% HP than 15% or 30% with 50% green bar.
- Use your stars. They are 500 each and can save your combo that is probably worth more. I saved a 10K+ once.
- Don't go to the retro areas. They are a massive waste of time and points.

Now this was crucial for me so take it with a grain of salt:

- Don't reset unless you were around 1 minute in. You can be punched losing a combo at 2 the minute and not mean a thing because you can relax and practice risking more. In my Mania Police Precinct S Rank I died and still managed to pull a S Rank.

You also won't get burned out that much if you don't repeat the start of the stage over a hundred times. It is better to reset if you are at the very beginning and complete the stage frequently.

I made this video this morning to show in some other forums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jktvb268LEE

[Young Erusean Officer]

You also need to finish it in just over five minutes preferably.

[Wolfe]

It's disproportionately harder to S rank than the other stages, as I've been trying to S Rank it on Hard for about two hours now and haven't been able to. I've beaten the damn game on Mania, but can't even S Rank stage 4 on Hard. It's a bit infuriating and I'm not sure why it's so strict. It's the last stage I need to S Rank too.

[Kavaliro]

Do not give up. I has trouble with stage 4 but i used Shiva and got lucky connecting combos. Just keep trying. You need more than 25k points to get S.
You have to get to Estel with 13k and get to 16k in the boss fight, so you get another life.

[jasonorme666]

Shiva has been my best so far at 22k. I'm doing it in under 5 minutes, chaining combos, knocking enemies down holes. Picking up food at full health and still can't get it.
It's those tazer cops mostly.

[venerable mort]

beat this stage today with Adam. I took first chicken at full health and got 1000 points. Played retro level. Got star there. After it I took second chicken and apple, 1300 points. So my advice go to retro level every time,

[Kavaliro]

Originally posted by jasonorme666:

Shiva has been my best so far at 22k. I'm doing it in under 5 minutes, chaining combos, knocking enemies down holes. Picking up food at full health and still can't get it.
It's those tazer cops mostly.

As soon the cops appears, use a star move.

[jasonorme666]

Okay, so I did it, nearly hitting 30k too.

- Use Shiva.
- Don't use any stars.
- Don't lose any lives.
- Don't go to the secret level.
- Pick up health items at full health.

- End the pier with around 8k-9k
- Reach Estel with 13k
- Use Shivas double tap / dash attack and get some combos on Estel & the cops she spawns.

You should gain an extra life at 16k.
Eat the chicken at full health or beat up Estel so she just had a tiny block of health, then eat the chicken and land the final blows on her.

[harleyquinrazer]

Originally posted by jasonorme666:

Okay, so I did it, nearly hitting 30k too.

- Use Shiva.
- Don't use any stars.
- Don't lose any lives.
- Don't go to the secret level.
- Pick up health items at full health.

- End the pier with around 8k-9k
- Reach Estel with 13k
- Use Shivas double tap / dash attack and get some combos on Estel & the cops she spawns.

You should gain an extra life at 16k.
Eat the chicken at full health or beat up Estel so she just had a tiny block of health, then eat the chicken and land the final blows on her.

Congratulations.

[Grampire]

I love this stage, didn't have too much trouble S-Ranking it with Blaze. The music is just awesome also, especially when you drop down below the pier.