This is a very easy practice stage. Most enemies don't even shoot. I played a little sloppily, but it doesn't matter much since there are plenty of chances to recharge. Remember to slow down over recharge strips to maximize the energy boost, but be aware that if you slow down too much, the ship will actually start taking damage. The boss of this stage is pretty simple, too.

Things heat up a bit in the Blast Furnace. The trickiest parts are the two runs where you have to weave around the indestructible fireballs that "dance" up and down, especially when enemies show up at the same time you're moving through them. The first of two segmented dragon bosses isn't tough to handle at all.

We finally get a ship upgrade - the H Wing. Now we can use charge shots, but the H Wing is the slowest ship to fully charge. This is a very basic stage, but a little more bullet-intense than the previous two. Circle around the boss to keep from being hit by its shots and destroy the four colored buttons. When all four buttons are gone, the boss can no longer attack you, so just keep firing until it explodes.

You'll get the P 7 ship upgrade in Grass Land. Pretty much the only difference between all the ships is the look and the speed at which it charges. The hardest part of this stage is the multiple path run through the Mumoky enemies (giant green caterpillars). I advise taking the left or right path instead of going down the center because I sometimes get overwhelmed by the Mumokies and bullets on the middle path. The boss, a giant floating flower, can be one of the harder ones to beat without taking a hit. If it loses all of its petals, it will start firing a stream of bullets. Aim for the center and keep circling around to avoid taking hits as much as possible.

RW 91 is the ship you'll receive in Ripple Field. This is one of the tougher stages to get through without dying. The Yufo enemies make this extremely difficult, as do a lot of other factors. Just like Blast Furnace, this stage has indestructible fireballs that bounce up and down and the Yufos will be attacking as you pass through them. The only difference between the dragon boss on this stage and the dragon boss of Blast Furnace is that this one can disappear into the water above and below. But that actually makes it easier to beat him because it gives you a chance to charge up your weapon.

There are enemies called Yokabary that form laser barriers across the track in two parts of this stage. All of these are avoidable by staying as close to the ground as possible, except for the lowest ones. You'll need to climb up slightly to avoid those and then try to dodge back down before running into the next one. Admittedly, I messed up in this video demonstration, but I got lucky and didn't sustain enough damage to die. If that happens to you, remember that there will be recharge strips coming up, so just try to hold out. This stage also has enemies that come in from behind you, which can sometimes be a pain because they can hit you before you notice they're there. The boss is a slightly-upgraded version of the Area 1 boss and shouldn't pose too much of a threat.

You'll receive the X 003 upgrade on the Bio Plant stage. Try not to hit the Pycet enemies on this stage. If you do, they open an eyeball and fly straight forward, but if you just ignore them, you can dodge around them. The hardest part of this stage is a section of broken track near the end where you're forced to fly over damaging terrain while constantly being attacked by bullet-shooting enemies. Watch what I do carefully in this video if you're having trouble - be sure to slow down over the recharge strips and stick to the far left or right paths. Don't go dead center. The brain/worm-like stage boss is easy once you know a certain trick - when he's moving towards you, he never fires any bullets. He only fires them when he's moving away from you. So when he comes towards you, fire with extreme prejudice!

And finally, you'll get the BM4 Reform on this stage, an upgraded version of the very first ship you had (and you'll keep it if you loop the game after beating the final boss). Well, this area certainly looks trippy, but it's a bit of a disappointment because it's just a boss rehash stage. You'll rematch every boss in the game except the first one, and there are no recharge strips at all. So, if you want to beat the game in one life (or even just beat it if you're new to HyperZone), you'll have to be really good at taking them out without getting hit yourself.

The final boss looks like a giant alien fetus in a bubble-thing of sorts. In the first phase of the fight, circle around to avoid the bullets. When it flies forward and disappears off the screen, move to the left or right of the track because it will come flying back and hit you if you're not far enough over. After it takes so much damage, it will go into its second phase where it no longer leaves the screen and comes back, but instead surrounds itself with bullets and fires them off. Keep up the shooting and dodging until it's gone for good.

Yes, I messed up during the second phase of the fight. Yes, I beat the game with just one life block remaining on my power gauge. I got lucky, I suppose, but this actually marked the first time I'd ever beaten the whole game without dying. I'm glad I recorded it.

Video includes the ending sequence.