Launch Octopus is on the left of the top of the stage select map, next to Chill Penguin. This is a water level, and robots don't breathe, so it's a good water level. You'll be able to jump much higher than usual while under water, so get used to that. This level has a fair number of unique enemies and minibosses so let's get to work. Right away you'll run into this guy.
Amenhopper
These things mostly just slide along the surface of the water and try to run into you. They only have 2 HP and aren't very dangerous. If you're in an area where they can move above you, they might drop a bomb on you, but even that's no big deal.
Fight these guys and some Mega Tortoises and proceed. Keep heading right and you'll end up under water. Watch out when you see bubbles rising from the ground. It means these things are near.
Sea Attacker
These things pop out of the ground in groups of two or three, wait for a moment, then roll into balls and dash forward at you. Shoot them twice to beat them. You only really need to destroy the one directly in front of you. The other ones will pass over or under you. Don't rest, though. Once you find one of their spawn points, they keep coming.
Continue until you fight one of this level's many minibosses.
Anglerge
This thing is a pain. The main body has 32 HP and the light bulb has 5. The light is pretty harmless but you can destroy it anyway. This thing's two main attacks are to suck or blow water at you to move you towards or away from it (dash to fight the current), and shoot annoying eel torpedoes at you. These things turn at right angles and aren't easy to dodge. Your best bet is to destroy them entirely with charged shots when you see them emerge from Anglerge's body. Shoot it to death and get a move on. You'll almost immediately meet another new enemy.
Gulpfer
These things will inhale you and store you in their bodies, slowly draining your health until you destroy them. It's pretty easy to get out of them without getting hit. They have 10 HP which is nothing to sneeze at but nothing to write home about. Try not to get eaten, but if you do get eaten, don't panic. Just shoot.
Keep the course until you fight another Anglere. This one's more annoying because you're standing on a platform between two spiked pits that it will try to suck or blow you into. Jump and move to avoid the currents while pumping it full of hot X Buster. Dashing might be a bad idea since you'll take off in one direction or another after the current stops.
Immediately after this fight you'll find a turbine that will create a jet of water that you can ride to the surface. This one leads to a health pickup, which you might need.
Heart Tank
You can ride the third turbine you find to reach the top of a new enemy.
Cruiziler
Stand on its "nose" and avoid its bombs. Shoot it in the glowing blue orb 64 times to take it out and find a secret. Also avoid the Sky Claws that come out of it.
Sky Claw
These things don't attack you directly, but will pick you up and attempt to drop you into a hole if there's one around. The ones in this level will just toss you back into the ocean. They have either 1 or 2 points of health, depending on how lucky they are.
Ride the Cruiziler as it sinks to the ocean floor, avoiding any stray bombs on the way down. It'll hit the spiked floor below and keep on falling. Head right for miniboss number a million.
Utuboros
This crazy snake will swim around the room in a predictable pattern. Its only weak points are its head and tail. If you want to feel like a badass, stand on its neck as it swims upward, jumping over it when it turns, and shoot it in the back of the head. You can do the same thing to its tail on the way down. After 70 hits, down it goes.
Finally, your prize is the Heart Tank in a small alcove just past this room. Return to the dead Cruiziler and climb back up to continue.
Keep going until you fight another Utuboros. This one's similar to the last one. The only difference is this one can burrow under ground for a while so it's not always vulnerable. If you stand on top of it, it will stay above ground. If it does go underground, watch for flying dirt to see where it will emerge. After this, a few more Gulpfers are all that stand between you and the boss.
Launch Octopus
This fight takes place underwater, meaning you can still jump higher than usual. This is the boss' home turf, though, and he has the advantage.
The Hard Way
Launch Octopus likes to fire two types of torpedoes out of his tentacles. The regular ones are quick, but small. The fish shaped ones will home in on you, so beware of those. If he uses his typhoon attack, dash away to avoid getting sucked in. If you fail, he'll grab you and suck the life right out of you and add it to his own. He's vulnerable right after he uses either of these attacks, so take advantage and hit him with a shot or charged shot.
The Easy Way
First of all, you can disable his leeching attack if you happen to have the Boomerang Cutter weapon. Fire it at him to cut off a couple of his tentacles. Your real lifeline here is the Rolling Shield. Fire it to block his torpedoes and do a nice chunk of damage. Other than that, the fight is basically the same. It's just over quicker this way.
His parting gift is a good one.
Homing Torpedo
True to their name, these fire-and-forget projectiles will home in on enemies. They're more accurate than the ones used by enemies. You can use the arm upgrade to charge these to shoot out a weird fish bomb that splits into several parts that home in on enemies themselves. Huh.
What's Next?
This is another weapon that doesn't really do anything other than damage enemies, but clearing this stage will flood Sting Chameleon's stage and mix things up a bit, as well as granting you access to a Heart Tank there. We're not heading there just yet, though. We have a bug to exterminate first.
NEXT: Boomer Kuwanger
