Slash & Bead - Stage 4

Slash & Bead - Stage 4 is the fourth and final stage of the Slash & Bead Sub-Game in Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn. This stage bears a strong resemblance to the Battleship Halberd stage from the main game, and it even features both the Combo Cannon and Reactor. To unlock Stage 4, the player must defeat Meta Knight in Space Land. The main theme of Slash & Bead plays throughout the stage.

Overview

Meta Knight battling the Reactor along with other enemies

This stage takes place in the sky, and as such Meta Knight is forced to fly through the first section. As he flies, he will collect plenty of Fuse Beads and contend with bead-carrying Bronto Burts as well as UFOs that shoot dangerous lasers. The masked swordsman will then arrive at the nose of the Halberd, and, with no entrance in sight, he will be forced to move along the ship's surface. In this short stretch, he will encounter various obstacles, including a Halberd cannon, a group of Yarn blocks containing beads, and more Bronto Burts and UFOs. As Meta Knight battles these foes, the screen will scroll up and to the right until he comes across a Combo Cannon, beginning the first enemy ambush section of the stage.

The first ambush requires Meta Knight to destroy the Combo Cannon blocking his path, and to do so he must land hits while also avoiding the cannon's laser blasts and cannonballs. Along with the Combo Cannon, there are pairs of Orbitflies that fly toward the middle of the screen as well as a variant of UFO that flies horizontally without shooting lasers. After completing the first ambush section, Meta Knight will finally enter the Halberd and have to navigate a narrow zig-zagging path littered with Cloth Blocks, UFOs, and Halberd cannons. Then, he will arrive at the second enemy ambush in which he will do battle with pairs of horizontally flying UFOs, groups of four Orbitflies that fly outward in every direction, and several Chain Flamers.

The next section of Stage 4 demands agile maneuvering around walls and the many Flamethrowers attached to both the floor and ceiling. This part of the stage also includes intricate bead formations and Luminas for Meta Knight to collect if he is quick enough. Scattered along the way are a few harmless Waddle Dees and Bronto Burts. The screen then briefly converges into two paths - the top containing a long series of Yarn blocks and the bottom some Luminas in between Flamethrowers - before the stage scrolls down and to the right. As Meta Knight follows the path deeper into the heart of the Halberd, he will once again be tested with Bronto Burts and laser-shooting UFOs. He will also come across plenty of Cloth Blocks and a Combo Cannon that he can slash through before facing off against the final boss of the stage, and of Slash & Bead.

In the final enemy ambush section of this stage, Meta Knight will have to fight a Reactor. To succesfully destroy the Reactor, he must deal damage to the crystal in the center while being careful to avoid the streams of fire that the machine shoots in his direction. Meta Knight must also be wary of UFOs and Orbitflies that continuously rain down from the ceiling throughout the fight. After defeating the Reactor and using up all the available time, Meta Knight will have completed the stage and the Sub-Game.

Obstacles

Listed below are the blocks, enemies and other obstacles that appear in Stage 4 of Slash & Bead. Obstacles are listed in the order that they appear.

Blocks

• Yarn block: A block that is easily slashed through. Yarn blocks can either be large with a bead in the center or small with no bead.
• Cloth Block: A large bead-containing block that can be broken with a slash of the sword.

Enemies

• Bronto Burt: A creature that flies forward holding a bead.
• UFO: A small flying saucer enemy. UFOs can either shoot lasers horizontally or not shoot lasers at all, depending on the variant. The behavior of UFOs may also depend on the area of the stage in which they appear. UFOs can move in a straight line across the screen, float down from the ceiling, or follow their normal movement pattern and make short lunges toward Meta Knight when he draws near.
• Halberd cannon: A large cannon that shoots cannonballs at Meta Knight. Halberd cannons can be small or large; the larger cannons can take more hits before they are destroyed.
• Combo Cannon: A large and powerful cannon that shoots cannonballs as well as a dangerous laser blast.
• Orbitfly: A small flying enemy. Orbitflies appear during ambush sections, where they can spawn in various locations around the edge of the screen. In the final ambush section of Stage 4, Orbitflies can be found flying outwards in formations of four.
• Chain Flamer: As the name implies, a chain of Flamer-like enemies. Chain Flamers contain multiple green Flamers along with one pink Flamer in the middle. Defeating the pink Flamer will instantly destroy the chain.
• Waddle Dee: A small harmless creature that Meta Knight can easily defeat with a slash of the sword.
• Reactor: A machine with two attached Flamethrowers and a vulnerable crystal in the middle, the latter of which Meta Knight can hit to deal damange.

Other obstacles

• Raised platform: A solid ground platform that is raised slightly above ground level. Meta Knight can hit these platforms with his sword to level them.
• Flamethrower: A pipe that spews fire and then turns off in a cycle. Flamethrowers can be positioned vertically or horizontally, and Meta Knight can pierce through their jets of fire with a Piercing Slash.

Rank thresholds

Listed below are the minimum number of points required to achieve each rank threshold in Stage 4 of Slash & Bead.

• C Rank: 0 points
• B Rank: 1000 points
• A Rank: 2000 points
• S Rank: 2500 points

Lumina locations

The table below describes the locations of all 10 Luminas in Stage 4 of Slash & Bead. Luminas resemble regular Fuse Beads, but they are larger and rainbow-colored. Collecting a Lumina nets 50 points to the player.

Lumina locations in Slash & Bead - Stage 4
Lumina	Location	How to obtain
1	In the short stretch from the beginning of the stage to the nose of the Halberd.	This Lumina is in the middle of the screen and is thus hard to miss.
2	Just after the nose of the Halberd, in a series of Yarn blocks.	Slash through the Yarn blocks or use Meta Knight's Special.
3	Contained within a balloon, found at the opening of the entrace to the Halberd.	Slash through the balloon to obtain this Lumina.
4	Contained within a balloon, found along the path into the Halberd.	Stay close to the ceiling and pierce the balloon before it travels off-screen.
5	At the bottom of a braching path, in the section of the stage with Flamethrowers on the floor and ceiling.	Take the bottom path, but make sure to be careful of the three Flamethrowers there in the process.
6	At the bottom of a braching path, in the section of the stage with Flamethrowers on the floor and ceiling.	Take the bottom path, but make sure to be careful of the three Flamethrowers there in the process.
7	At the bottom of a braching path, in the section of the stage with Flamethrowers on the floor and ceiling.	Take the bottom path, but make sure to be careful of the three Flamethrowers there in the process.
8	Contained within a balloon, shortly after a tunnel that brings Meta Knight deeper into the Halberd before the final enemy ambush section.	Sash through the balloon to obtain this Lumina.
9	Immediately before the final enemy ambush section, inside a Halberd cannon.	Quickly break the Halberd cannon before the screen scrolls past it.
10	In a Cloth Block located directly above the final Halberd cannon of the stage.	After breaking the Halberd cannon to collect the ninth Lumina, quickly fly upward to slash through the Cloth Block and obtain the final Lumina.