Xeno Fighters R new objectives for Stages 2, 3-A, and 3-B
23Stages 2, 3-A, and 3-B have long had objectives that are too difficult to fulfill and pad out the length of the stage needlessly. These objectives are one of the most heavily criticized design decisions in the game. For v0.288, these stages will have much more streamlined objectives that focus on what Xeno Fighters R is all about: shooting things until they die.
To make some of these objectives more interesting, a new recurring enemy is added to Xeno Fighters R: The Stranger from Giga Wing.
Stage 2 (2035 American Midwest)
Old objective: Wait until Silver Banshee's radar lets out a warning before destroying it. Forcing the player to wait out an opportunity to destroy the radar needlessly pads out the length of the stage and slows down the game pace.
New objective: Cripple The Stranger's craft before they escape. Don't die during the encounter. Now, you have to destroy a target as quickly as possible before it escapes. You also cannot die against it, or it's an automatic failure. The radar no longer is part of the objective.
Stage 3-A (1995 Chechnya)
Old objective: Defend all 4 houses from Jasper Gigas' bullets. This is the most controversial objective since it forces players to use bombs; not all ships have bombs that can fulfill this objective.
New objective: Destroy the time bombs before they destroy a house. Instead of forcing players to use bombs, the time bombs Jasper Gigas drops can be destroyed with regular player weapons.
Stage 3-B (1974 Vietnam)
Old objective: Wait until Jade Hydra's turret lets out a warning. Same issue as Stage 2's old objective, this objective makes an already long stage longer by forcing players to wait out an opportunity to destroy a target.
New objective: Cripple The Stranger, who is patrolling outside the fortress, before they can escape. Do not die during this encounter. The new objective is moved from the endboss to The Stranger, who appears just before the fortress section.