I keep finding new ways to die in Gradius II. This time it was during possibly my best run to date. 1-lifed to the final stage, breezing past all my usual choke points, and then it happened.. In the second room, with the enemies that suddenly appear, my brain switched off, I forgot the pattern and one appeared on top of my ship.. aargh. Couldn't recover from there, and annoyingly finished just short of a new high score.

Sexy Parodius saw a better run though, albeit an unexpected one. I'd given up on the scoring attempts for the day, and was just trying out a couple of ideas, as well as the Auto power up system. New high score followed, as well as my first 1 credit clear of the game.. go figure. No special stage though, as I'd failed two stages.

It is possible to time out the bosses in the Sexy Paro Boss Rush stage. Obviously it's not recommended if you're chasing points, but it is handy if you have problems with that stage. You'll fail the stage, but at least you keep your powerups, and don't lose a life.