Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 3/10
- Offline: 12 (200)
- Online: 0 (0)
- Approximate amount of time to 200: 8 - 10 hours
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1
- Number of missable achievements: 2 (Modal and Arms Dealer)
- Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No cheats
- Does difficulty affect achievements?: No
- Glitchy achievements: None
- Unobtainable achievements: None
- Extra equipment needed?: None

Introduction:
Star Raiders is a space-based shooter, somewhat like Freelancer, Elite or Darkstar One, but without the trading aspects. It was released on May 11, 2011 for 800MSP (a bit pricey if we're being honest) and is a very completable title. Albeit a very, very average one.

Abbreviated Walkthrough:
Star Raiders is a very easy 200 and the majority of achievements in the game are story based and cannot be missed.

"Pilot", "Warrior", "Commander" and "Star Commander" are awarded for rank progression as you go through the story and are not missable. You'll also nab a tidy 50 and the "Star Raider!" achievement for completing the game Note: you'll get that achievement after beating mission 10A even if 10C is still uncompleted.

"Zylon Collector Master" and "Zylon Collector Legend" are awarded for shooting down 50 and 100 Zylon Fighters (the small attack ships that have a triangle lock-on indicator) respectively. These can't really be missed either. "Turret Expert" is awarded for shooting 30 Zylon Fighters in your turret form (press  twice in game to transform into it, it's the rapid firing, slow moving form). Note: for all these achievements primary () or secondary () weapons are fine.

"Bully" and "Kingpin" are missable to some degree but you'll get plenty of chances to win them. "Bully" requires that you destroy a Zylon Frigate without destroying its weapons. This is easy, you're pretty durable and get infinite respawns anyway. Target the green generators (the little green cylinders that pop in and out of the Frigate). Don't shoot anything else. The achievement pops as soon as the Frigate is destroyed. "Kingpin" works exactly the same but with Zylon Cruisers instead.

"Modal" and "Arms Dealer" are both missable and will require a second playthrough if that happens. Check the achievement guide below but bear in mind that you want to score a kill with all three of your ship's transformation modes (press  to transform) on every story level (story levels are the 1A, 2A etc ones). Also make sure that you milk every level for salvage credits. Shoot the little gold asteroids, shoot the fuel cells on level 7A and kill any Zylon ships (all types) whenever possible. Especially if they aren't a mission requirement.

Conclusion:
An easy but slightly tedious 200 (especially if you miss an achievement like I did) but not an awful game. Darkstar One is a better option if you like a slow-paced adventure in space and Aces of the Galaxy if you want better combat. That said, it's easy to max out and that's what it's all about.

x360a would like to thank PeaceSquid for this Road Map.

Star Raiders Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
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There are 12 achievements with a total of 200 points

  • Obtain the rank of Star Commander.

    All ranks are story related and cannot be missed. You will reach the rank of "Star Commander" during the 8th or 9th set of missions.

     

  • Shoot down 50 Zylon Fighters.

    See "Zylon Collector Legend".

     

  • Destroy 30 Zylon Fighters in Turret Mode.

    Shoot down 30 Zylon Fighters in Turret Mode. This would be hard to miss. Turret Mode is your ship's third form. After the third tutorial mission and equipping an android co-pilot, you'll be able to transform by pressing . Get to Turret Mode by pressing  twice. It's a very slow moving mode but has excellent rapid fire. Get 30 kills with it but do it across several levels so that you don't miss the "Modal" achievement.

     

  • Obtain the rank of Pilot.

    See "Star Commander".

     

  • Obtain the rank of Warrior.

    See "Star Commander".

     

  • Obtain the rank of Commander.

    See "Star Commander".

     

  • Buy all the Weapon Upgrades and Android Co-Pilots in the game.

    This achievement is missable. You can't replay missions at the end so it's important that you raise all the funds you can from each level. Nearly every level has little gold asteroid things (worth 50 credits each) and also enemies that aren't main objectives. Shoot any Frigates, Fighters and Cruisers that you can. Save the main objectives until the end.

    Level 7A is great because it has blue fuel cell things (a main objective) that are worth 300 credits each. There are loads of them on this level. Get them all for loads of cash.

    If you're having problems buying anything, it's because the game was developed poorly. At the end of a mission, go to the galaxy map screen and press  to return to your main base. This is where you can buy weapons. Buy everything but note that some of the heavy weapons are hidden at the top of their respective lists and not always the bottom, so make sure you scroll through each complete list.

    The final upgrade is the android "Brain". You rescue him on level 9A from the Base Star. The achievement pops as soon as you do (if you've bought everything else). I had all the money I needed by the end of mission 7C.

     

  • Modal

     

    20

    Score a Zylon Fighter kill in each Transformation in every Story Mission.

    This achievement is missable. After the three tutorial missions, you'll be instructed to buy an android co-pilot. Doing this will allow you to transform your ship between three modes by pressing . On each story mission (these are the missions that have an A after the number: 1A, 2A and so on) make sure to take down Zylon Fighters with kills from each mode. It doesn't matter what weapon type you use ( or ), just get the kills.

    At the end of the mission, you'll get a summary screen that gives the number of kills in each mode - it'll look like 3/4/2 or whatever. Make sure you get a number in each stat. You can press  here to go back into a level, sometimes there will be Fighters there to kill.

    The other mission types don't seem to count (the B's and C's). This achievement popped for me during mission 10A (I got one kill of each type right at the start and it popped then and there) but I still had mission 10C left to play. 

    Important note: this has to be done in one playthrough! (Thanks to BudzMcGee for the confirmation).

     

  • Complete the game.

    Story related and cannot be missed.

    Simply complete mission 10A and it'll pop at the end of it. Mission 10A is the hardest of the bunch though. You've still got infinite respawns but there is a time limit at the end. The main objective here is to shoot the generators to open the entrance. Follow your white indicator arrow to the hole in the ground and go in. This section is difficult to navigate but here's what to do:

    • Enter the hole and go through tunnel, go through either of the next two tunnels (shoot the spinning things, they'll just get in your way later), go through either of the next two tunnels (same again), go through the single tunnel (you'll see bright orange at one end).
    • Follow the lava to another entrance, go through that tunnel, look for the next entrance on the other side of this area, go through that to get to the 'Core'.
    • You'll get a checkpoint here. Destroy any gun emplacements and enemies, they'll just get in the way. Shoot the 6 yellow target things (the main objective). At this point I'd consider crashing the ship so that you get full health. Enter the orange cube of light (to 'drop the bomb').
    • Now, you have three minutes to get back to the surface. It's not much time given that enemies will be shooting you and you've got to navigate these dark tunnels. If you can make it back the way you came, the whole place explodes and it's game over (in a good way). Get lost in the tunnels and the whole place explodes and it's game over (in a bad way).

     

  • Bully

     

    10

    Destroy a Zylon Frigate without destroying any of its weapons.

    You'll encounter many Frigates in the game and many of them will be main objectives for certain levels. Take one down by shooting the green 'generators' on them - these are cylinders that pop in and out of the Frigate. Generators turn yellow, orange and then red as you damage them. Shoot these, avoid the guns and you'll take the frigate down. The achievement will pop right away.

     

  • Destroy a Zylon Cruiser without destroying any of its weapons.

    These are the bigger ships that'll turn up around mission 4A. They have more generators to shoot and more guns (to not shoot) but are easily dealt with. Occasionally they'll self-EMP (they'll flash blue and their generators won't pop out) but they'll return to normal soon enough.

     

  • Shoot down 100 Zylon Fighters.

    Zylon Fighters are the small ships that attack you throughout the game. When targeted (with the  button) they have a triangle-shaped lock-on indicator. Many missions involve shooting a set amount of these. Make sure you shoot one in each transformation mode for the "Modal" achievement.

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