There's a tough battle ahead of you when you enter Gyro Man's stage, particularly if you haven't first defeated Gravity Man. The stage leading up to the final encounter isn't too rough, but the showdown with the robot master at the end can prove quite difficult.
The stage begins on a nondescript platform in the clouds. Head right one screen and continue toward the right. You'll find that you've arrived on a giant elevator. It ascends, and then finally comes to a stop.
Head right from the elevator and you'll see a platform ahead, with a shielded enemy waiting. As you get near, it lifts its shield to fire a shot, but you can take it out first with a charged shot of your own. You don't even have to leave the first platform to shoot it.
Continue along the ledges that lead right from there, shooting floating pods out of the sky and dealing with more of the enemies with shields, as well. There are quite a few of them, but soon you'll reach the far right side of the area and can ascend a ladder to the next screen.
Now you can start left along more floating platforms connected by ladders. Spiked orbs circle the platforms, but it's easy to pass along safely while the orbs are passing along the underside. Ascend the ladders to the next screen.
Here, some floating enemies await your arrival. Take them out with charged shots and push to the right, making a long leap to clear a rather wide gap. On the other side, an enemy with rooster plumes waits. He'll send out miniature eggs you can shoot for power-ups. You can shoot the bird at about beak level to take him out, as well, and there's a nearby energy capsule within easy reach. Grab it and then continue toward the right. You can drop to the lower level and slide through a narrow opening for a 1-up, as well.
Further right from there, you'll find more floating ledges and slowly flying enemies like you encountered to the left. There also are glowing, spinning platforms here, which you may recognize from Stone Man's stage if you've been there already. When you jump on them, they fly along a set path and then drop off the screen, so make sure you're ready to bail when necessary. You should reach the far right side of the area, where you can blast an enemy and climb a ladder.
At the top of that ladder, take a moment to shoot the flying purple orb enemies that converge on you, and then climb the ladder into the next screen.
Here, you'll find ledges along three levels. You should hop up to the top or middle level for the easiest time. Head right and fire blasts at waiting turrets, which fall easily to charge shots. There are some flying enemies here, too, but nothing should give you any trouble. Then you can climb yet another ladder to continue your ascent.
In the next screen, there's a giant pink robot. He means serious business, so be ready to head toward him and slide under him when he springs toward you. It's risky to try climbing the ladder, but you may be able to stand on the higher ledge and pelt him with shots before he rams into you and does much damage.
Now climb to the next screen and start toward the right. This is a tricky but important area. As you advance along the ledge, you'll see three enemies that look almost like electrical plugs with teeth. They plummet downward at a certain point, and shouldn't pose much of a problem. However, you'll be dealing with more of them as you continue to the right.
When you leap onto the green blocks that form a ledge to the right from there, know that they won't remain in place long after you touch them. They'll start to fall away, and you need to keep moving right while watching for more of the orange enemies like those you just saw. Some of them will try to knock you from your perch. Often, you can slide to stay ahead of them.
Something else to keep in mind is that you can also find the letter
A here, but you'll have to let a block drop while you stand on it. As it falls, dip low enough to collect the letter, then try jumping to safety and proceeding. It may not work, but you should at least grab the letter. Keep going from there, along the same unreliable blocks, and you'll eventually reach safety on the far side. You can pass through a gap to the next challenge.
This area is as dangerous as the last one was. You're on another elevator like the one at the beginning of the stage, but now your ascent takes you past a series of spikes. You need to be ready to slide to the left and right, as brushing against those pointed tips is fatal.
As the elevator ascends, you can sometimes jump up onto a green ledge and give yourself more time to maneuver, but slides should otherwise serve you just fine. Then when the ride ends, you can proceed toward the right.
In this area, you'll have to make some riskier jumps, while floating enemies move back and forth. Make sure to take them out with charged shots as you advance, so you don't have to worry about anything but jumping safely. They fire shots that could otherwise knock you in a pit. Fortunately, it's a short series of ledges, and then you can drop down to a chamber below and blast a waiting cannon before heading through a gate to face the level boss.
Gyro Man
This guy is the sneakiest robot in the game, or maybe the shyest. Either way, he'll spend most of his time hiding in the clouds and that won't stop him from doing a lot of damage.
As the battle starts, Gyro Man will most likely toss a whirling gear at you. They don't move all that quickly, but they do a lot of damage if they connect.
You can shoot your foe, and he'll soon leap into the clouds that blanket the upper portion of the screen. From there, he will send down blades that are rather difficult to miss, because you have so little warning. After a few shots, he'll come down to join you, as well. Any of those activities can seriously drain your life meter.
While Gyro Man is in the air, you should use your Gravity Hold move, if you have it. That will do a lot of damage if he's not on your level, but you're wasting the weapon's energy if you try using it while he's closer to the grand. Choose your moments. If you put the weapon to its best use, you'll win the battle in almost no time. Otherwise, you'll have to finish the job with the arm cannon, which could lead to a longer fight than you're quite ready to endure.
Password: B-1 (red), B-4 (blue), D-4 (red), D-6 (blue), F-1 (blue), F-6 (red)
NEXT: Crystal Man
