♪ BGM: Dandy N.D. ♫

Mission 4 is apparently a raid on a secret factory, although you'd be hard pressed to tell from the onset.



This mission introduces the last new enemy type, who won't appear in the final one- Bennet, the motorcycle punk. Fortunately, unlike the considerably speed-limit-averse motorcycle enemies you'll see in games like Streets of Rage II, they start out a little less speed-happy- they start out just slowly cruising on-screen, sometimes choosing to pop a wheelie at you. Most attacks will just knock them back and make them adjust their helmet, but the next hit should finish them off (which will of course make the bike instantly explode). The first section is pretty much a solid wall of these motorcycle guys, with them getting progressively cockier and stronger, taking more hits and getting steadily faster until they begin zooming from side to side. You can earn a lot of Finesse Points from these guys, so try and show off- hitting them with running jump attacks is especially satisfying!



We do get back to basics eventually, though, with a section with both normal punks and motorcycle punks eventually seguing into just our old, cycle-less friends. In particular, there's now Kenjis with glass bottles and the most prominent enemy here, the box-carrying Brads that drop grenades everywhere. Those last guys in particular are so prevalent, some of them will even drop grenades twice as the first set doesn't kill them. You're eventually stopped in front of a set of hatches that open up and drop three of the same enemy at a time- starting with Kenji, then Dooby, Fox, Brad and then two Makakus- and between them, box-carrying Brads will show up and drop grenades and, uh, actually really mess up their allies. Dodge the grenades either by getting in the corner or doing a Desperation move (preferably away from enemies so you don't lose health!) and just try and keep up with the sheer amount of chaos on-screen.



After this section you'll see a Dooby and Kenji chillin' in front of what appears to be the Interceptor from Mad Max (ta, HokutoNoShock)...

But be careful! Once you scroll along a little way, the red carpet gets rolled out for the boss!



Mission 4's boss is Balbarotch (Japan) / Cone Head (US) and while he's still a pretty tough boss, he's not nearly as obnoxious as Moguralian β. This is mostly because while he does have a teleport, he doesn't abuse it nearly as much. What will catch you out, though, is his tendency to react to running attacks- he'll jump back and torch you with a dragon head he hides in his coat! His other attacks include an oversized boxing glove and cudgel for his melee stuff, a projectile where he'll smash the rug and cause ripples to shoot out, and his rolling attack where he'll dash around while spinning. Jockeying for position to throw him is the way to go, but when you do knock him down, get ready for him to either do his carpet-ripple or, more likely, his spinning attack- both of them can be avoided by jumping (and with the spin attack, jump-attacking) so get ready with those, and you'll find him much easier than the previous bosses. Once he's defeated...



... Blimey. Going out in style, huh.



Before the final mission, we get a little monologue from Dr. Crayborn (unless you're playing the World version, it's not there).

The... the universe? You're using this low-tier crime shit to take over the universe? Come off it, old timer!


♪ BGM: Than Hawk Anger ♫

D.A.S. is probably the name of Crayborn's crime organisation, as it comes up again in the Game Boy game (which we'll see later).



Anyway, I'm not gonna lie, Mission 5 is easily my least favourite in the game because, while the rest of the missions have been pretty well-paced and sensible with their enemy placements, this one goes a bit all over the place. We'll be seeing the full extent of that a little later in the stage, but at least it starts fairly sensible- a few big Dooby groups, a big set of Makakus backed up by some Brads, and a nice pile of weapons that would've been nice to have for the larger group of Makakus but you only get to use them on a few instead. It's pretty short so let's move on.


♪ BGM: Chaca Chaca Move Ya ♫

Next is something a little novel- a trip down a hill where the screen scrolls down for once! Well, technically diagonally, but you'll just have to move dow to get the screen to move. There's not much to this section either, just the last chance for the Moguralians to shine, as they'll slide down the hill to get revenge from Mission 3! Fortunately you get a steel girder and a concrete pole to play with, but there's also a little gauntlet of Madcas- try and hang on to the weapons until then. Once you reach the bottom of the hill, you'll find Dr. Crayborn's personal airship, guarded by Doobys, Brads and, of course, a Makaku. Clear them out and you'll hop on, and the airship takes off, for our showdown in the sky!


♪ BGM: Sarah Sowertty ♫

This is where the true slog begins. Dr. Crayborn's airship is the final area, and it's just way too long. Credit where it's due, it does do some novel things, but it really drags things out. Let's start with the positives, we get a new enemy here... Sort-of. Flesh-stripped Parcs is back, this time as a palette-swapped enemy called T-900, and he always spawns in front of the rather large and obvious holes in the airship. The game is actually pretty smart about this- he can still grab you, this time doing his best to drop you out the hole and kill you instantly, but he'll try to avoid being in a position to be thrown in the hole himself. You can lure him there if you walk into the top-left corner and keep walking until he gives in, but be sure your attack won't just launch him to the other side! That can happen (especially with Zan's throws- he's better off with a jump-attack). One other neat touch here is that it gets closer to dusk each time you pass one of the holes.

Sadly, the rest is just massive, massive groups of one type of enemy, including Dooby, Fox, Brad and- oh no- Makaku. Thrown into the mix are box-carrying Brads with grenades. It just goes on for far, far too long- the fact that it's usually only one kind of enemy in each pack really doesn't help, neither does the fact that the exact same 'here's a hole, here's a T-900 and Makaku' scenario plays out about three times- which is such a shame as the game was doing so well up to this point! All I can advise is push on. You're really close to the end, buddy, and only you can save the city!



Oh, and the only other notable thing in this section is a red palette Madca who appears nowhere else.

He takes a couple more hits, but that's it really.


♪ BGM: Indifferent Zero Other ♫

Ah, Dr. Crayborn! He's ready with his big nasty bomb, and this is where you get to determine your ending.

Attack him before the bomb drops out of the hole for the good ending, or let it drop for the bad one.

In the World version, the bomb moves quickly but no enemies spawn. In the Japanese/Alpha Renewal versions, it's slow but enemies appear to stop you.

Also, the music doesn't change in the World version just yet, that's later.

Whether you stop the bomb or not, we're on the last stretch- after two test-tubes with Fox enemies, we find...



Ah, a reflection of Matt's inner turmoil. Or, more likely, mirror match, baby!



Obviously Dr. Crayborn's put that PhD of his to good use, and he's managed to clone our three City Sweepers. You'll fight Matt first on his own, then the Zan and Rosa clones will pop out at the same time once he's defeated. These guys can mostly do everything you can- no grabs, Desperation or Super Desperation Attacks, of course (why, that'd be cheap!) but they do have jumping and run-and-jump attacks which are surprisingly effective against you. Sadly, you can't grab them the traditional way, but you can if you nail a combo on them and get the auto-throw at the end. Jump attacks aren't recommended against them as they tend to counter them with their own jump attacks, so instead outmanoeuvre them so you can get a clean combo on them to get the auto-throw at the end. Alternatively, if you have the health to spare (or you happen to still have a live food item running around), they'll go down after two Super Desperation Attacks. Might put you in bad standing before Crayborn if you don't have a health item, but hey, that's the risk you gotta take.



After Crayborn's clones are down, he finally decides to fight you himself, by morphing into a horrible beast!

(In the World version, the music changes to Indifferent Zero Other- all others, it's the standard boss music, Nasty Loud Quack).



So, Dr. Crayborn. At first brush this guy seems like a nightmare. And he kinda is. He's only got three attacks- he starts with just one, an extending head that can interrupt anything you throw at him, and gains explosive-orb-chucking and missile-throwing attacks as his health gets lower- but they all hurt, and his extending head can stop your combos, break out of throws, etc. My own strategies weren't working, and it didn't help that the only one credit clears I could find on YouTube basically stockpiled lives then spammed Super Desperation Attacks until Crayborn was dead! Luckily, here's a run that was very, very helpful in actually winning this fight. The key to it is simply that, when knocked down, Crayborn is still vulnerable to attack. The tricky part is actually knocking him down- you need to bait him into using his extending head attack by moving downwards, then as he recovers, jump-attack him. This'll knock him back, then keep jump-attacking, even when he's off-screen, as you'll keep hitting him! He'll eventually break out, but it works! And you'd better stick with this, otherwise he's just gonna interrupt anything you do.

A tip I found out myself- see, I'm not that useless- is when he's using either his orb-throwing or missile-spewing attacks, while it looks like he can't be grabbed, he can- the game is just a little finicky about exactly where to grab him. This can do a ton of damage to the good doctor but you have to be fast, as his projectiles might hit you before you can finish off the throw. If in doubt, break out with a normal Desperation attack which should keep you safe until the projectiles go away. The fight is still going to be frustrating, I won't lie- there's still a lot that can go wrong, especially if you lose confidence and he keeps nailing you. You can do it, though! I believe in you, scrolling brawler player!



With Crayborn back to his usual self, the game is over. The City Sweepers are victorious... Or are they?

Justice prevails on the final page.