Alright. Let's do this thing.



Oh, not this again. Yes, the arcade game makes you go through an absolutely tiny and completely insignificant section just before you get into the real final stage. What's with this? I mean, they're just so short and so easy, these extra sections, that they seem to be there purely to bump the number of backgrounds up or something. It's... Bizarre.



Ah, so here's the proper start to the level, and this is where the Mega Drive version of this level begins. I suppose it's fitting that the majority of the enemies in this segment are Bees, or at least resemble them vaguely (Mega Drive, I'm lookin' at you) as we are, very clearly, in a beehive. Funnily enough, I don't remember the Laser Bee Death Squad appearing in this little segment, as they're later in the level... There's also an 'open air' segment in the hive, similar to the place in Stage 2 where the strange looking insects rise up to try and ram you. There's little to say, though, as this bit is over pretty quickly, to make way...



... For this fresh hell! A fairly intense section in both games, this is doubly so in the Mega Drive game, due to the incredibly annoying Middle Boss bug that appears- it launches what I think are basketballs at you in a bullet pattern that's very difficult to avoid- there's literally pixels in it, and fluffing up even slightly results in death. The Middle Boss in the arcade version is much more lenient, and isn't even in this section- it does a 5-bullet spread too, but all in a line, so it's a lot less confusing. There's still a lot of enemies to fight, mind you, but you should be used to this by now.



Once again, the Mega Drive version goes rogue here- the arcade game carries on with a short section involving spikes, whereas the Mega Drive one starts a new segment in some caves, seeing the return of the Improbable Orb That Does Nothing and, of course, those Bloody Annoying Mushroom Things. And more Spiders. This bit isn't really that difficult, though, although the spikes in the arcade game are accompanied by Those Damn Flying Things... I think they're dragonflies. I don't know. I hate them too much to care about what they are. So yeah, this section? Piece of cake.



This section? Piece of death. The arcade version isn't too bad- a Middle Boss bug here and there, a few of the Laser Bee Death squad... It's standard stuff. The Mega Drive version, though, is what Hell looks like. Just look at it. I swear, when I'm sent down to the fiery pits of Hades for my various crimes against humanity (most notably actually taking screenshots of Hard Head 2) this is what my Hell will be. Non-stop LASER BEE DEATH SQUAD ACTION. To make matters worse, not one, but two Middle Bosses show up, both at the same time! I think it's fair to say that this is the single most aggravating section in the entire game, and the one that cost me the most lives. Yeah, screw you too, Hot-B.



Here, the two games start to match up a little better... Both games have a spike segment, with the Mega Drive one being more intricate and maze-like, seeing you weave through the spikes. Whoever coded the Mega Drive version really had a hard-on for puzzley-type bits in their shooters, they're all over the place here, whereas the arcade is more focused on the shooting of bad guys. Kait's huge size makes getting through the spikes pretty dicey, though. The colony of frogs living here doesn't help. Yanmer has a much easier time of it, with only 2 spiked walls getting in his way. Little Yanmer gets all the perks, while Kait has to work his ass off. No justice, eh?



And here it is, ladies and gents, the final push! In this rather long segment before the boss (which also happens to be the final checkpoint in the game) the forces of Baglon throw everything at y- wait a second. Wait one cotton-pickin' minute here. There's something fishy about that Mega Drive screenshot. Computer! Magnify Quadrant 140.15!



YANMER?!

Oh my God! They finally did it, those maniacs! Your eyes do not deceive you. Along with the other 'graphical changes' to the game, the diligent workers at Hot-B worked in the decapitated head of the former player character amid the insect carcasses that make up the floor of the final stage. I didn't actually spot this the first time I got here, you know. By absolute chance, one of my screenshots managed to catch Yanmer's disembodied head. When you know how the game came to be, what with the original intent being to have a realistic appearance than getting that shafted for a cutesy look... No, I have no idea what putting Yanmer's decapitated head in here could possibly be for. If any of the developers of the Mega Drive port of Insector X are reading this, please get in touch and explain yourselves!



Ahem. The final stretch is brutal in both games. Literally everything but the kitchen sink comes between you and sweet, sweet victory. The Mega Drive version, however, does deserve the accolade of the hardest version of this scene, as it throws no less than two of those damn Dragonfly things at you, another one of those Middle Bosses for you to fight, and dozens of annoying Bees, which basically leads to the screen being awash with bullets. Getting through this section alive takes either a sizable amount of luck, or a sizable amount of save state abuse (but to be fair, by this point I'd played through the Mega Drive version about three times- twice on the original hardware- and I was tired. I wanted this to be over) but once you get through...



So, here's the final boss, and this time, there's actually a difference between the two versions here. The arcade version opts for a ridiculously cheap boss that never ceases to irritate you- he launches several projectiles into the middle of the screen, then they dash off one-by-one to your current position. Since the boss takes up so much room, though, you don't have a lot of space to avoid them in. It gets very frustrating very quickly. Also, the weak-point, like all the arcade bosses, is really hard to pick out.

Just like the Stage 2 boss, though, the final boss in the Mega Drive version is a wuss. All it does is sit there and launch arched projectiles at you, which are incredibly easy to dodge. His weak point is his stomach, and the arms of the creature lift up every now and then to expose it. Sometimes, however, it charges a laser beam when it opens which will, rather obviously, kill you. If you can't tell when it's charging to fire said beam, however, you'd better test your eyes because you are clearly as blind as a bat.

Once the final boss is killed... Well, we get to see the ending, don't we?

This is the last page, I swear. You'll be free soon enough!