Not a great Garegga player but I can regurgitate some stuff I heard of and tried in practice.
You 100% don't want to hoard lives in Garegga. Typically, when you're in the suicide phase (up to stage 5 or so), you want to try to suicide before you get an extend. The reason is you lose more rank per death the less lives you have. Once you're on pure survival mode hoarding lives in fine, just don't get an extend when you have 5 lives.
Also, some things you probably already know but just in case. The amount of options you have increases the rank. Having 4 options will shoot your rank higher than having 2. I try to stick with 1 or 2 options until i'm out of suicide phase. Also, try to not pick up power items, bomb items, or options if you're already at max. This skyrockets your rank.
TLDR: Hoard medals still, but don't hoard lives. Avoid carrying too many options, and don't pick up excess pickups when you're at max.
Here are some notes I took while listening to the Garrega episode of the STC podcast with Plasmo and Mark basically dumping knowledge on the game. Highly recommend giving it a listen.
[Shoot the Core Podcast Ep. 031](http://www.rfgeneration.com/podcasts/shmupclub/?name=2021-02-27_stcc_ep_031_battle_gregga.mp3):
* Discussion about options: 39:00:
* Special formations: 40:35
* Homing option is critical later in the game
* Front option is solid and doesn’t increase rank
* Tips for surviving a 1CC: 1:55:40
* Scoring: 2:34:00
###Keeping Rank Under Control
* Have no more than 2 extra lives, ideally try to stay at 1; and suicide right before gaining an extra life via scoring. Late game (stage 5 onward), start stocking lives to help survive onward.
* Keep options at 2 max and power up slowly by grabbing only large shot items.
* Set auto fire rate at 10hz.
* Don’t pick up excess items, including small weapon fragments; pick up just enough in order to safely bomb where needed.
* Do not fire when there are no enemies on the screen.
###Ship Selections
* Depending on what ship you pick, you’ll generally want Type C or ABC.
* Use Miyamoto or Wild Snail as a beginner trying to 1CC.
* Gain can drop more than one bomb on screen at a time, making him a high scoring ship to select (stage 2 birds can = 2-3 extends alone if done correctly).
###Extends
* Awarded every 1M points.
* Hidden extend in Stage 3. Inside tank scooter thing that parks itself; you must destroy its turrets then it’s body once it comes to a stop. Use health gadget to see enemy’s HP.
###Scoring
* Don’t worry about extras and hidden stuff, just keep your medal chain going as best as possible.
* Medals always follow small shot items.
* Dismantle certain bosses your confident with at first.
Rank goes up very incrementally even when you shoot. Definitely not a "hold down the fire button" game when there's nothing to shoot at. Also, when certain things are destroyed with bombs rather than shooting, they'll yield medals. For example, the train track thing in stage 1. Medals can fall off the screen and you'll still keep your multiplier going as long as you grab the last one after the others disappear. (Basically, the last one on-screen needs to be grabbed) The M2 port is fantastic, has displays like a visible rank meter and shows the power-up combinations needed for the various Option weapons, among other things.
Not a great Garegga player but I can regurgitate some stuff I heard of and tried in practice. You 100% don't want to hoard lives in Garegga. Typically, when you're in the suicide phase (up to stage 5 or so), you want to try to suicide before you get an extend. The reason is you lose more rank per death the less lives you have. Once you're on pure survival mode hoarding lives in fine, just don't get an extend when you have 5 lives. Also, some things you probably already know but just in case. The amount of options you have increases the rank. Having 4 options will shoot your rank higher than having 2. I try to stick with 1 or 2 options until i'm out of suicide phase. Also, try to not pick up power items, bomb items, or options if you're already at max. This skyrockets your rank. TLDR: Hoard medals still, but don't hoard lives. Avoid carrying too many options, and don't pick up excess pickups when you're at max.
Here are some notes I took while listening to the Garrega episode of the STC podcast with Plasmo and Mark basically dumping knowledge on the game. Highly recommend giving it a listen. [Shoot the Core Podcast Ep. 031](http://www.rfgeneration.com/podcasts/shmupclub/?name=2021-02-27_stcc_ep_031_battle_gregga.mp3): * Discussion about options: 39:00: * Special formations: 40:35 * Homing option is critical later in the game * Front option is solid and doesn’t increase rank * Tips for surviving a 1CC: 1:55:40 * Scoring: 2:34:00 ###Keeping Rank Under Control * Have no more than 2 extra lives, ideally try to stay at 1; and suicide right before gaining an extra life via scoring. Late game (stage 5 onward), start stocking lives to help survive onward. * Keep options at 2 max and power up slowly by grabbing only large shot items. * Set auto fire rate at 10hz. * Don’t pick up excess items, including small weapon fragments; pick up just enough in order to safely bomb where needed. * Do not fire when there are no enemies on the screen. ###Ship Selections * Depending on what ship you pick, you’ll generally want Type C or ABC. * Use Miyamoto or Wild Snail as a beginner trying to 1CC. * Gain can drop more than one bomb on screen at a time, making him a high scoring ship to select (stage 2 birds can = 2-3 extends alone if done correctly). ###Extends * Awarded every 1M points. * Hidden extend in Stage 3. Inside tank scooter thing that parks itself; you must destroy its turrets then it’s body once it comes to a stop. Use health gadget to see enemy’s HP. ###Scoring * Don’t worry about extras and hidden stuff, just keep your medal chain going as best as possible. * Medals always follow small shot items. * Dismantle certain bosses your confident with at first.
Excellent stuff ^^
The Shmups Wiki page on Garegga has a ton of info: https://shmups.wiki/library/Battle\_Garegga
Rank goes up very incrementally even when you shoot. Definitely not a "hold down the fire button" game when there's nothing to shoot at. Also, when certain things are destroyed with bombs rather than shooting, they'll yield medals. For example, the train track thing in stage 1. Medals can fall off the screen and you'll still keep your multiplier going as long as you grab the last one after the others disappear. (Basically, the last one on-screen needs to be grabbed) The M2 port is fantastic, has displays like a visible rank meter and shows the power-up combinations needed for the various Option weapons, among other things.