The most challenging Xbox Live Achievements in the Windows Phone version of Galaga Legions DX involve reaching high score milestones on Area 1, Area 2, Area 3, and Championship. These goals are no easy task, and it seems that the developers forgot to factor this version’s terrible movement controls into account when choosing the scores - let's hope for a patch. That said, none of the Achievements is impossible and we’ve got some tips to make things easier.
The warm up
First I recommend playing Area 1 on Beginner and getting a feel for the game. Learn the different configurations for Satellite B, because utilizing them correctly (and switching to Satellite A for concentrated shots in specific directions) is key to doing well on Expert and/or getting high scores. Also, learning the differences between the Galaga Leader, Mid Boss, and Bomb enemies is important. Killing Bomb Enemies when they’re close to Leaders and Mid Bosses is key to victory in many stages. This should net you the Area 1 Clear Achievement.
Expert runs
Now play through Areas 1-3 and Championship on Expert difficulty. If you understand the gameplay well enough, beating them on your first try (with no Beginner run) shouldn’t be a problem. That said, you can make things easier by playing with the game’s time system.
See, you only get credit for clearing an Area or Championship if you finish Level 5 of that Area by running out of time. Losing all of your lives won’t cut it. So if you’re focused solely on completion instead of score, try to take as long as possible on the preceding Waves. The less time you have when you reach Level 5, the easier it will be to finish it. Avoiding death and not making things harder on yourself should always be the main priority, but sometimes you’ll see situations in which you can safely ride out a lot of time.
Another tip: learn to grab the maximum number of helper ships on the first Wave of Area 5. To do this, stay at the top-center portion of the screen until you collect the Galaga Trap – that way you won’t have to kill potential allies before they join your cause.
Note that you have to beat Championship on Expert in order to get the True Completionist Achievement, not just Areas 1-3.
Score runs
The penultimate step will be going after the score Achievements for each Area. These Achievements can be unlocked on Beginner difficulty, which gives you more lives to work with. But Expert generally gives you more time because waves end faster, which may be necessary on Areas 2 and above. When you’re playing for score, clearing each Wave as fast as possible is essential. You want as much time to work with as possible during Level 5. Also, with luck (and skill) you may be able to get Safety First! for clearing Area 1 without dying at the same time you reach the high score goal, though I actually find Area 2 easier. Otherwise, give it another shot while running out the clock as described earlier.
Here are three videos that show players reaching the score targets. You might want to mute the first video to avoid the speaker’s annoying commentary.
5,500,500,000 Points (Championship)
This time consuming and difficult Achievement might require multiple attempts to unlock. Championship consists of five levels just like the normal areas, but the number of waves is generally larger and the difficulty on many waves is super steep.
- Level 1: 15 waves
- Level 2: 9 waves
- Level 3: 14 waves
- Level 4: 13 waves
- Level 5: 99 waves
The easiest thing to do is just follow the YouTube video as closely as possible, pausing after every wave to see the optimal positioning and strategy for the next wave. The Windows Phone version's smaller number of follower ships and drastically worse controls make following the player's patterns difficult at times, but they're a much better guide than just figuring things out as you go along!
If you need to jump to a particular level in the video, here are their starting times:
- Level 2: 1:31
- Level 3: 2:50
- Level 4: 4:10
- Level 5: 5:49
Following the video as closely as possible, here are the scores I got on the first four levels:
- Level 2: 420K
- Level 3: 478K (beat him on this one!)
- Level 4: 478K
- Level 5: 474K
Waves where I died:
- Level 1, Wave 14
- Level 4, Wave 10
- Level 5, Wave 3 - Died 3 times. This is the toughest pattern in the game, so don't take any risks. Always keep your distance from the stream of ships while pointing your satellites drectly at it.
- Level 5, Wave 9
- Level 5, Wave 10 - This one can be exploited for points, assuming you have lives to burn.
My first attempt at this Achievement was foiled by a glitch during Level 5, Wave 9. After I died, the enemies never respawned and I helplessly watched as the timer counted down, causing my game to end with only 4,345,800 points. Frustrating! I finally got the Achievement on my third try with a score of 6 million or so.
Following the video successfully should take about an hour, so make sure you've got the time when going for this. Good luck!
