A playthrough of Launch Octopus’s stage without taking damage or dashing and using only the Mega Buster.
-- More info below --
Launch Octopus’s stage, while difficult to figure out, is actually not that bad once you’ve mastered it. The main problems here are the two Anglerge mid-bosses and the part with the bombs. With the Anglerge mid-bosses, it’s all about avoiding the eel-like enemies they send out. If you have a Lvl. 2 Charge Shot ready when they’re coming for you, you can take out the eel that would otherwise hit X’s feet. Stand in a specific spot on top of that and they’ll never be able to hit you. For the first fight, you should stand in front of the second green coral from the left. For the second one, go to the leftmost green coral and stand slightly to the right of its stalk. Finally, there’s the problem with the bombs, which are being dropped by the Cruiziler on the water’s surface. If you want to play it safe, you can just take out the Cruiziler so you can safely get across, but doing so with just the Mega Buster is pretty time-consuming. The path with the bombs is much faster, but there’s one major issue: the pattern of the bombs is completely random. Sometimes you can get past them just fine, other times you’ll get completely surrounded by them with no way out. Basically, just take the path with the Cruiziler for consistency and the path with the bombs if you’re willing to take the risk.
As for Launch Octopus himself, he’s not only one of hardest Mavericks in the entire game to beat under normal circumstances, but also the hardest one alongside Sting Chameleon to beat without taking damage. Whereas with Sting Chameleon it was only due to his attack where he makes spikes fall from the ceiling, with Launch Octopus it’s because of… well, everything. There are a metric ton of things to talk about when it comes to Launch Octopus’s attacks and patterns, but, to keep it brief, here are the most important things you should know:
1: Take out his Homing Torpedoes with the Mega Buster and walk under him if he jumps. He has a couple different jump heights, including one that goes pretty low, so make sure you’re ready to walk under him immediately when he jumps.
2: Stay either relatively close to Launch Octopus or a full screen away from him. These are the most effective distances to stay at to avoid getting cornered.
3: Launch Octopus’s attack where he spawns four piranhas is the number one problem here. All of the other tips after this are all about different ways to deal with this one specific attack, which goes to show just how problematic it is.
4: Make sure you always use Charge Shots when destroying his attacks (Charge Level doesn’t matter) in case he spawns piranhas. Not only are Charge Shots extremely good at taking out the piranhas, but a Lvl. 1 Charge Shot also does two points of damage to Launch Octopus. You can also land a free Lvl. 2 Charge Shot on him after he uses his whirlpool attack for three points of damage.
5: When he does spawn piranhas, shoot the first two that are coming for you with your Charge Shot and jump over the other two. Rinse and repeat if he spawns piranhas again immediately after.
6: He can also use any of his other attacks after spawning piranhas, all of which you can dodge with well-timed jumps. Just make sure you don't jump too high in case Launch Octopus jumps himself. If he uses his attack where he shoots Homing Torpedoes twice in a row while staying on the ground, then you should jump over the first wave, land, and take out the second wave with the Mega Buster. If you try to jump over both waves in anticipation and he suddenly decides to jump, you're getting hit.
7: If he corners you at any point and starts spawning piranhas, it’s pretty much game over.
Hope you enjoy!