I made a
post on this game earlier. Not certain I agree with everything said in that post any more; particularly, the Riot is far more powerful than I gave it credit for.
Maximizing score runs into trouble in stage 6, since it would involve waiting around until the last minute to abuse the infinitely-spawning enemies. For that matter, if the laser drones Hyperion launches (or the reflectors used by Gecko, or the shield used by Schwartzgeist, or the fighters launched by Spinne, etc.) are worth points enough to counteract the boss repulse time bonus, then you'd have to drag every one of those fights out as long as possible. Not very entertaining.
Similarly several of the S-bonuses require waiting for a boss to use a particular move.
If you want to go for a "boutique" set of rules, I'd suggest the following:
* Every S-bonus that doesn't require wasting time waiting.
* Every boss must be fully deconstructed before dying (destroy every destructible part that doesn't actually cause the boss to die).
Einhänder's main claim to fame is in its bosses, which sadly can be taken down ridiculously quickly once you figure out what you're doing, so the second condition would probably improve the entertainment value of the boss fights. Of course it'd render armor-piercing attacks basically moot. The first condition just gives you something to do while you're playing through the normal levels.
I agree that showing off gunpods is a good idea. The problem really comes down to whether you use the Astraea or the Endymion Mk. 2. The Astraea has incredible potential power output, but using it effectively would require rationing your gunpod use (one gunpod would probably be dedicated continuously to cannons, for example) which would limit your ability to show off the more obscure pods. Endymion can of course stock up ridiculous quantities of ammo, and could use one of its slots to play with gunpods. It just can't unload as quickly, or show off pod combinations. Personally I'm leaning towards Endymion for the playaround potential, but Astraea would do straight-up bossfights better.
Your YouTube link is malformed. Here's an
Astraea no-miss run though.
