Time - How to Plow Through Lots of Robots (Part I)
Submitted by mike89
As all the Robot Carnivals and Storms have different layouts, I'm going to do up separate guides for all of them. This, however, assumes I maintain my sanity throughout.
This is probably the worst of all of them (except perhaps Robot Storm Dark) in terms of the lucky levelup drops you need. But here we go anyway.
Wave 1: Five simple enemies. Make sure you restart before your first attempt, otherwise you're losing three seconds. As you know, every fifth enemy gives you a levelup for one of your partners - you want this first one to be for Tails.
Wave 2: Now hurry over to the springs and pick up the Team Blast balloon. It's only another five simple enemies, but there's not really a more effective place to use it. Again, you need a Tails levelup.
Wave 3: Four enemies slightly above ground, and three metal ground enemies. You should have a level 2 Tails at this stage - however, having just used a Team Blast, this next attack is a bit tricky. If you Thunder Shoot after the enemies actually appear, then you will launch Sonic, and he'll do his silly Team Blast thing which is not what you want. However, go too early, and poor old Sonic isn't going to have a clue where to go. So either time this attack, or jump, throw him very early, and throw Knuckles as the enemies appear instead. Pick up the levelup, it doesn't really matter who it belongs to right now. As Tails, in the gap between waves, throw a few Thunder Shoots to build up your TB meter.
Wave 4: 9 flying enemies. Tails takes these out in groups of three - I personally prefer to take the middle one first, but it probably makes more sense to work from one side to the other. You should have got two levelups from this set - if Knuckles is already level 2, you're making good time, but if he's level 1, you've still got one more shot.
Wave 5: 4 electric flying enemies. Move out to the edge of the circle and pick them off as they appear with Tails. You should be very close to a TB now, and finish off the rest of the gauge with either Tails or Sonic. You will definitely want a level 2 Knuckles by now.
Wave 6: 4 flying enemies and 4 heavily shielded ground enemies. An obvious TB candidate. Switch to Sonic when using the TB as you don't need him at any stage.
Wave 7: 8 simple enemies. Here's why you wanted a level 2 Knuckles: if you try to get the levelup that came from wave 6, you'd have no idea where it was, for starters, be fighting a tricky camera angle, and at any rate have no time to get back for this attack. After Team Blasting, move to the centre with Knuckles, wait a little, and use his combo attack. The best way of doing this is to stand in the very centre, attack in one direction then second-attack in the reverse direction, then try to land right in the centre with the combo attack. Knuckles at at least level 2 will, even if it doesn't seem like it, hit every enemy in this wave. You should make contact with the ground while the enemies are spawning, and they will be destroyed immediately.
Wave 8: 8 klagens. Same as wave 7; combo-attack them all off the circle. Pick up some of the stray levelups if you feel like it (and especially if there was a Knuckles one in wave 6).
Wave 9: 8 turtles and one gold turtle. Same again, but let me make one key point: after you've attacked, do not move and do not switch characters. As long as you're standing where the gold turtle spawns, it will die and you will take a hit, but if you prepare for the worst case scenario and switch to Sonic, the worst case will indeed happen.
Wave 10: 8 flying electric enemies. These are much harder to take out efficiently than you would think, so I use my final TB here. You may opt to use it on the next wave though.
Wave 11: The widest assortment of enemies yet. Further complicating the issue is the fact that three enemies spawn later than the rest. A TB will take care of them, but otherwise set yourself up directly opposite the springs, use your first combo attack there, and use a second back towards the middle where there are three metallic enemies waiting.
Wave 12: Loads of enemies with a gold spiked-shield commander. Simply use a combo attack underneath the commander's spawn point (directly opposite the springs again) and watch the whole wave fall to pieces.
The usual analysis:
My time: 1'26"18
Potential: Should go to 1'22 if nothing else, maybe even further if wave 11 proves the better third TB option.
This is probably the worst of all of them (except perhaps Robot Storm Dark) in terms of the lucky levelup drops you need. But here we go anyway.
Wave 1: Five simple enemies. Make sure you restart before your first attempt, otherwise you're losing three seconds. As you know, every fifth enemy gives you a levelup for one of your partners - you want this first one to be for Tails.
Wave 2: Now hurry over to the springs and pick up the Team Blast balloon. It's only another five simple enemies, but there's not really a more effective place to use it. Again, you need a Tails levelup.
Wave 3: Four enemies slightly above ground, and three metal ground enemies. You should have a level 2 Tails at this stage - however, having just used a Team Blast, this next attack is a bit tricky. If you Thunder Shoot after the enemies actually appear, then you will launch Sonic, and he'll do his silly Team Blast thing which is not what you want. However, go too early, and poor old Sonic isn't going to have a clue where to go. So either time this attack, or jump, throw him very early, and throw Knuckles as the enemies appear instead. Pick up the levelup, it doesn't really matter who it belongs to right now. As Tails, in the gap between waves, throw a few Thunder Shoots to build up your TB meter.
Wave 4: 9 flying enemies. Tails takes these out in groups of three - I personally prefer to take the middle one first, but it probably makes more sense to work from one side to the other. You should have got two levelups from this set - if Knuckles is already level 2, you're making good time, but if he's level 1, you've still got one more shot.
Wave 5: 4 electric flying enemies. Move out to the edge of the circle and pick them off as they appear with Tails. You should be very close to a TB now, and finish off the rest of the gauge with either Tails or Sonic. You will definitely want a level 2 Knuckles by now.
Wave 6: 4 flying enemies and 4 heavily shielded ground enemies. An obvious TB candidate. Switch to Sonic when using the TB as you don't need him at any stage.
Wave 7: 8 simple enemies. Here's why you wanted a level 2 Knuckles: if you try to get the levelup that came from wave 6, you'd have no idea where it was, for starters, be fighting a tricky camera angle, and at any rate have no time to get back for this attack. After Team Blasting, move to the centre with Knuckles, wait a little, and use his combo attack. The best way of doing this is to stand in the very centre, attack in one direction then second-attack in the reverse direction, then try to land right in the centre with the combo attack. Knuckles at at least level 2 will, even if it doesn't seem like it, hit every enemy in this wave. You should make contact with the ground while the enemies are spawning, and they will be destroyed immediately.
Wave 8: 8 klagens. Same as wave 7; combo-attack them all off the circle. Pick up some of the stray levelups if you feel like it (and especially if there was a Knuckles one in wave 6).
Wave 9: 8 turtles and one gold turtle. Same again, but let me make one key point: after you've attacked, do not move and do not switch characters. As long as you're standing where the gold turtle spawns, it will die and you will take a hit, but if you prepare for the worst case scenario and switch to Sonic, the worst case will indeed happen.
Wave 10: 8 flying electric enemies. These are much harder to take out efficiently than you would think, so I use my final TB here. You may opt to use it on the next wave though.
Wave 11: The widest assortment of enemies yet. Further complicating the issue is the fact that three enemies spawn later than the rest. A TB will take care of them, but otherwise set yourself up directly opposite the springs, use your first combo attack there, and use a second back towards the middle where there are three metallic enemies waiting.
Wave 12: Loads of enemies with a gold spiked-shield commander. Simply use a combo attack underneath the commander's spawn point (directly opposite the springs again) and watch the whole wave fall to pieces.
The usual analysis:
My time: 1'26"18
Potential: Should go to 1'22 if nothing else, maybe even further if wave 11 proves the better third TB option.
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