Day 6: The Meanie Spaceship

We've been keeping it pretty retro these first couple of days, what with all the talk of bosses from the Genesis, N64, and Playstations 1 and 2.

Yes, as of everybody's favorite year, 2020…at least 20 years is what I think the amount of time for something to become retro should be, the PS2 is now considered a retro console.

Feel old yet? So do I.

So, let's take a look at a boss from a game for the Playstation 3, a console that's going to be retro in…three more years! Where the hell does the time go?!

(I take a minute to regain my composure)

We're talking about the Meanie Spaceship from Little Big Planet 2.

If there's one thing the Avalonia level from this game is known for, it's how they switched up traditional platforming by having you do an assortment of vehicle sections for each level. One minute you could be rolling around in a cat mech, the next you're shooting stuff up in an on-rails shooter section on a camel mech, and the next you're flying on the back of a bumblebee mech during a shoot 'em up segment. Avalonia is one of the more interesting levels from the game, is what I'm trying to say.

And of course, the vehicle sections continue with the level's boss fight against the Meanie Spaceship.

Mounted on the back of one of the bumblebee mechs, you must shoot down the Meanie Spaceship as it bombards your Huge Spaceship with a huge laser. You must dodge this laser as well as shots from the two turrets on the sides of the ship, all while shooting down the weak point in the middle.

After destroying the weak point, the Meanie Spaceship will become a lobster-like mech where it'll shoot two more lasers from its claws. These claws open and close as the shoot, and when they open up it'll reveal two Possessed Sackbots that are controlling the thing. While the Meanie Spaceship's claws are open, you must shoot at the Possessed Sackbots as they're the weak point of Phase 2.

Other than the fact that another laser is added, nothing changes about the Spaceship's attacks as its only other move is its turrets.

After destroying the two Possessed Sackbots, Phase 3 will have you destroy one more Possessed Sackbot in the middle of the mech. The Meanie Spaceship's arms still open and close when it does its double laser attack, so be aware of that and make sure you time your attacks and movements just right.

Defeat this third Possessed Sackbot, and the Meanie Spaceship will go down.

Like with the fight against N. Tropy from Crash Bandicoot Warped, this is a simple fight as all you're doing is dodging two attacks, those being the Meanie Spaceship's lasers and turret shots, but despite it being only two attacks, dodging them can actually be pretty hectic.

The fight also has this sense of urgency as your Huge Spaceship keeps taking the Meanie Spaceship's lasers to the point where the lights on it start flashing red. I haven't tried it, but I feel like the Huge Spaceship has its own health bar and you must take the boss down before it takes your own ship down. Again, I haven't tried it, and I'm probably wrong, but it's still an interesting thought about how the fight is a race against time.

And finally, I want to talk about the music that plays during the fight because as you shoot down the Meanie Spaceship you are listening to an instrumental version of Nightwish's 'Whoever Brings the Night!' I'm no metal head, but I know epic music when I hear it, and boy does it fit the situation. Flying over the skies of Avalonia at night as you engage the boss in a dogfight is the perfect time for a song like this to start blasting.

What else can I say, the battle against the Meanie Spaceship is frantic, fun, full of energy, and the music just sweetens the deal.

The boss' name may have the word 'meanie' in its title, but to me, it's an absolute 'goodie.'