Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 4/10 [skill dependent] [Achievement Difficulty Rating]
- Offline: 17 [1000gs.png]
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1000gs.png: 8-10 hours [skill dependent] [Estimated Time to 100%]
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1 of Story, 1 of Arcade, 1 of Survival, and grinding for money
- Missable achievements: None [level select in Story mode] 
- Does difficulty affect achievements: No difficulty option
- Unobtainable/glitched achievements: None

Introduction:
Welcome to Riddled Corpses EX, an auto-scrolling twin stick shmup that pits you against hordes of undead and demons as you work your way through six increasingly difficult stages. This game actually has some serious roguelite vibes in story mode, because you'll need to collect gold on each attempt to upgrade between runs to stand any chance of progressing further. And, like many roguelites, much of your time will be spent on this loop of progress a bit farther, use the gold you got to upgrade so you can progress farther, and so on until you eventually succeed. The gameplay is very simple and enjoyable though, like any shmup should be. The achievement list is also a simple and straightforward one, with the only skill based achievements being those for beating the game in story and Arcade modes. Let's get started. 

Abbreviated Walkthrough:
Despite this game having three different modes (Story, Arcade, and Survival), they're all tied to the same characters and progression. You therefore should follow this roadmap of general progression to minimize wasted time and frustration with modes or things that you aren't ready/upgraded for yet.

Step 1: Story Mode to Stage 4, Maxing Jon
Start with Story mode, and your only playable character is Jon. Do your best to survive as long as possible, but make it a point to collect as much gold as you can from enemy drops and breakable objects. You stand no chance of even beating the first stage without upgrades, so just get as much gold as you can. Once you (inevitably) die, you can now use that gold you collected to upgrade Jon. You may need to repeat this process a couple more times depending on your skill, but once you get Jon to at least level 5, you should finally be able to beat the first stage of Story mode. Continue with this same process for the second stage. You'll likely need to level up significantly more to be strong enough to handle some of the more hectic waves in this stage. Don't be surprised if you need to be upwards of level 15 before you finally make it through the second stage. Thankfully, the enemies aren't any more difficult in the third stage, so no real leveling is required. The third stage is more a matter of luck with dodging the electric fences during the autoscrolling, which can be a huge pain. Once you get through it though, you never have to play it again. Now that you're at stage 4, you're going to hit a massive brick wall for some time. Enemies are present in huge amounts and take way more shots to kill. You can continue to collect gold and max Jon out at level 20, but this is where you should move on to the next step.

Step 2: Liery, Gold, and Full Upgrades
Now that you're at stage 4, this is the best stage to get gold in general. I highly recommend using gold you earn as Jon to unlock Liery. Liery gets double gold, making it way faster to unlock all upgrades. I know what you're thinking: Liery's damage is pathetic compared to Jon's. Despite the stats showing that, her fire rate and bullet speed more than makes up for it. I actually have an easier time surviving and progressing with Liery than with Jon. So, what I recommend doing is using Jon to try to get through stage 4, but collect gold and use it to level Liery up. Once Liery is level 10 or 15, start playing as her on stage 4 instead of Jon, so you get double gold. Continue to level her up between attempts to max her out at level 20, and then once she is maxed, assuming you're still struggling to get through stage 4 (which was the case for me), start using your gold on the MK1000. Unlock it, and then max it out (at level 5). A level 20 Liery and level 5 MK1000 was all I needed to finally break through stage 4 and beat it, as well as the rest of the game. The Turrets can also be bought, but you just get one and it's a special item that you drop on the stage and it stays in place shooting. I found it to be very weak and worthless for anything other than a boss fight, so I don't recommend wasting much (if any) gold on it.

Step 3: Grinding Gold, Erika, and Story Mode Completion
Erika is the best character in the game, both in terms of damage output and how quickly she gets gold (she has the magnet to pull all gold to her, double gold, and double lives). To get her though is a bit of a grind. You need to unlock Chloe, Liery, and Fael, and max them all out at level 20. While you don't necessarily have to do this now, having Erika makes Arcade mode far easier than it otherwise would be, and you have to do it anyway for the completion. Also, if you haven't completed Story by now, having Erika will make it much easier. Here's what you're going to do.
 
  1. Play as your max level Liery (with a maxed MK1000) and start Story mode on stage 4, even if you already beat it.
  2. Focus on gold collection throughout. You should be able to clear 4000 gold every run of stage 4
  3. If you die at all, use that gold to buy and level up Chloe and Fael
  4. If you don't die, and make it through stage 4, which you should likely be able to do pretty regularly now that you've practiced it a bunch and are fully upgraded, continue on through stage 5 to continue getting gold and get some practice on it
  5. During this gold grinding, if/when you manage to get to the boss of stage 5, throw everything you have at it. Use dynamite and clocks liberally to maximize the likelihood of beating it. Once you beat the boss of stage 5, you're home free. If you beat the stage 5 boss, before starting stage 6, use the gold you've amassed during the previous stage to buy some lives (even four is plenty) and some clocks and/or dynamite (even two or three is plenty). Stage 6 is a piece of cake after the previous two stages, and is really short. The boss of stage 6 is quite easy too, especially the first phase, and the second phase will go down very fast with just a couple clocks and dynamite. Take this opportunity to beat Story mode
  6. Once you max out Liery, Chloe, and Fael, you'll then need to grind out an additional 9999 gold to purchase Erika. Go ahead and do so with the above method
  7. With Erika purchased, if you've already managed to complete Story mode along the way, you're now done here. DO NOT waste time grinding gold to max out Erika if you've already beaten Story mode
  8. If you still haven't been able to beat Story mode, continue grinding money to max out Erika to level 20. With her at level 20 and the MK1000 maxed, start at stage 4 and put all the gold you collect toward lives and dynamite after every stage. You will get a huge amount of gold while playing as her (easily 6000 from stage 4 alone). Use that gold to max out your lives and dynamite after stage 4 and stage 5, and you should be able to make short work of each stage, completing Story mode
Step 4: Survival Mode
The only Survival achievement, for surviving five waves, will be very easy at this point, now that you have a character fully upgraded and the MK1000 unlocked and fully upgraded. Use your best character, and you should have zero issues. More tips can be found in Survivor (50G) if need be.

Step 5: Arcade Mode
Clearing Arcade mode is the hardest achievement in the game. However, with Erika unlocked, it is significantly easier. As noted in Step 3, there's no need to grind Erika up to level 20 for Arcade mode. Arcade mode starts you at level 1 anyway, so it's a waste of time to level her up to level 20 for this mode. Basically, Arcade mode does what you'd expect: you have to play through the game from start to finish without dying. Because you're using Erika, you will get a huge amount of gold, and can use all of that gold to stock up on lives and dynamite between runs, making this playthrough very manageable. The hardest part, in my opinion, is the third stage, since it has so much luck involved. Once you get past the third stage, you should have enough gold to max out your lives and dynamite before each stage, making this achievement very manageable. Refer to Arcade winner (100G) for much more information and tips to clear this mode. With it done, you've gotten all of the skill based achievements out of the way.

Mop Up:
If you're still missing any miscellaneous achievements, now is the time to knock them out, such as setting enemies on fire or electrocuting them. With the experience you now have with each stage, these will be a piece of cake. Refer to the guide to see how to quickly and easily unlock each, wrapping up this achievement.

Conclusion:
I found this game to be quite fun and addictive, despite it being really short with not many stages. It will feel tough and insurmountable for much of the time, and then suddenly you reach the tipping point, beat the story, and before you know it you're finishing off all of the achievements really quickly. This is pretty much exactly what I like in a shmup: short, sweet, fun, and satisfying. Hopefully you survived the final stages in both modes, and if so, congrats on the completion. 
 
[XBA would like to thank Necrophage33 for this Roadmap]

Riddled Corpses EX Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
Show completed achievements
Show secret achievements

There are 17 achievements with a total of 1000 points

  • Complete stage 1 in story mode

    Refer to Story completed! (100G) for more information. 
  • Complete stage 2 in story mode

    Refer to Story completed! (100G) for more information. 
  • Complete stage 3 in story mode

    Refer to Story completed! (100G) for more information. 
  • Complete stage 4 in story mode

    Refer to Story completed! (100G) for more information. 
  • Complete stage 5 in story mode

    Refer to Story completed! (100G) for more information. 
  • Complete stage 6 in story mode

    Don't be fooled by the fact that this is story mode. This won't be a simple straightforward progression through all six levels. In fact, this game has quite the roguelite feel to it, where you'll only be able to get so far before enemies overwhelm you and you die. You'll then need to use the gold you collected during the stage to level yourself up and/or buy new characters. I have provided much more detail on my recommendation for progression in the roadmap, so refer to that for more information.

    You'll likely need to level up to level 4 or so to clear the first stage, and then to level 10 or so for the second stage. The third stage comes down more to luck with dodging during the autoscroller than level, because enemies are about the same strength as the second stage. Thankfully it's a shorter level and a boss that's pretty simple. Once you beat that, though, you'll assuredly hit a brick wall on stage 4 for some time. Even when I hit max level of 20 I still couldn't beat the fourth stage. It wasn't until I bought the MK1000 that I finally beat the fourth stage. You'll then likely need the MK1000 maxed out to beat the fifth stage, which is a tough one. What I did was, instead of starting on the fifth stage, start on the fourth once you're comfortable beating it. That way, you can amass some more gold and some powerups before you get to stage 5. Then, you can be better stocked for stage 5 than if you just started directly on it. 

    Stage 5 is the hardest stage and boss fight in the game, so be prepared to throw all your powerups at it to finally beat it. You can actually save up gold between runs and use it to buy more stuff before stage 5 to improve the likelihood of beating it. The stage 5 boss is the toughest in the game. Take out the two faces on either side first, and keep a lookout in the upper corners once you destroy them. They often drop health packs, and it's really easy to miss them while you're busy dodging bullets. Once you get through stage 5, you're in the clear for beating the game essentially. Be aware though that you cannot start from stage 6 from the main menu. The only way to play and attempt stage 6 is by beating stage 5. Thankfully, I found stage 6 to be quite easy compared to the previous two. Enemies don't charge at you aside from the football player enemies, and it's a really short stage with no real waves. The final boss is also quite easy compared to the previous one. The first form of the final boss is an absolute joke after the stage 5 boss. There is barely anything to dodge. The second phase has a lot more to dodge, but if you stay on the outside of the screen, you should have plenty of room to get between bullets. Don't hold back - use up all of your clocks first and foremost, because they make it really easy to dodge bullets and just constantly unload on him. Dynamite is useless to give yourself a break by destroying all bullets on screen. Assuming you're max level with a max level MK1000 by now, it shouldn't take long to finish off the boss and beat the game. 
  • Complete arcade mode

    Arcade Mode has you play through the entire Story mode in one sitting from start to finish without dying. Your character starts at level 1 and with no gold. The difference is that, in this mode, you don't use gold to level up. Instead, after killing enough enemies, a little capsule will shoot out and bounce around the screen, eventually stopping for a bit before it disappears. Pick this up to level up. Once you hit level 20, subsequent capsules will add the MK1000 and level it up. The max level is 25. If you get hit, not only do you lose a life, but you lose a level. The capsule will shoot out of you and bounce around the screen before stopping and giving you time to pick it back up. Make sure to do so to not lose firepower. 

    While this is assuredly possible with different characters, I recommend just waiting until you unlock Erika while going for Full cast (25G) before trying for this achievement. Erika is not only strong and fast shooting, but her abilities make this run significantly easier. She has a magnet to pull all gold on screen to her, and she gets double gold. Gold is what makes this achievement relatively easy and doable. With Erika, you'll be collecting so much gold that you'll have more than enough to spend it maxing out your lives and powerups before the final stages. 

    The hardest part of this achievement will be stage 2, to an extent, but definitely stage 3. In stage 2, enemies won't die as fast as you've been used to, so be careful and don't be reckless. Stage 3 is, in my opinion, the hardest stage of the run. Those electric fences are so hard to watch for and avoid. The good news is that the boss is fairly easy. The better news is that, if you can clear stage 3 with Erika, the rest should be smooth sailing. Use your gold at the start of stage 4 to max your lives and buy some dynamite if you don't have any. You likely have played stage 4 a ton on Story mode by now, meaning you should know exactly what you're doing, and run little risk of dying. So, after stage 3, go ahead and max out your lives and dynamite. Don't worry if you spend most or all of your gold. You'll be getting a huge amount on stage 4.

    Stage 4 shouldn't pose many problems. Use your dynamite once or twice during the second wave if need be, so you don't get overwhelmed, and don't hesitate to use another three or more dynamites during the third wave with the two Tentacle hands, since it's really easy to get overwhelmed in that wave. Thankfully, the stage 4 boss is really easy, and you shouldn't need any powerups on it.

    Stage 4 should've given you easily 6-7k gold. Go ahead and max out your lives and dynamite for stage 5. By this stage, you should be level 25, and most of this stage shouldn't be a problem. The second wave is tough. I like to use a clock right away to slow time while I take out both minibosses, then use a dynamite or two if enemies overwhelm. I don't find any of the rest of the waves in stage 5 to be problematic. I recommend saving as many clocks as possible for the stage 5 boss. In my opinion, the stage 5 boss is the hardest in the game. With a bunch of clocks, some dynamite, and being at level 25, it shouldn't be bad. Take out the two heads on either side first, and check the upper corners after each is destroyed. I find they often drop health packs that are easily missed while you're dodging bullets. I would routinely slow time when things get hectic, but remember that dynamite also eliminates all bullets on screen, so that can be very handy too. Give this boss everything you've got. Be liberal with dynamite and clocks, because this is the tipping point of the run. If you beat this boss, you're home free. 

    I find the final stage to be very easy. You should easily be level 25 by now. Go ahead and use all the gold you've amassed to max out lives and dynamite. The sixth stage is really short and easy, since almost no enemies are aggressive. It should pose little problems at this point. I also find the final boss to be a piece of cake. The first phase is a joke, since there's barely anything to dodge. For the second phase, plop your turret right next to him and hang out in a corner while you focus fire. Use your clocks to keep time slowed. I finished him off with one clock and one dynamite, but you should have way more than that available to use. Once again, be liberal with special items and you should mow right through the final boss. 

    This achievement will unlock at the end of the stage. The game will loop back to the beginning, but feel free to quit out once you get this achievement. 
  • Survive through 5 waves in survival mode

    Don't bother attempting this until you are level 20 and have the MK1000 unlocked and maxed out.

    Once you have a max level Jon or Liery, and a maxed MK1000, this achievement should pose no real problems. The first three waves will be very easy. Things get a bit hectic on the fourth wave, and you'll have to fight the boss of the first story stage here in its small form. The fifth wave has you fighting the big form of the first story stage boss. The only problem is that, for both boss fights, there are a ton of regular enemies too. If you can get a dynamite or two along the way to the fourth wave, that will be a life saver. Dynamite will take off over half of the boss's health, making things far easier. If you can use a dynamite on the fourth wave boss, and then another on the fifth wave boss, you should have no problems getting through the fifth wave. 
  • Unlock the MK 1000

    Refer to Turrets ready (25G) for more information. 
  • Unlock the turrets

    Both the MK1000 and Turrets are available to purchase for 9999 gold each. As soon as you've maxed Liery, I recommend saving up and getting the MK1000. I wouldn't recommend wasting gold on the Turrets until you've done everything else, as I found the Turret to be largely useless.

    Refer to Full cast (25G) for grinding out gold. 
  • Unlock all the characters

    Aside from the starting character, Jon, here are the characters you need to unlock:
     
    • Chloe - purchase for 2000 gold
    • Liery - purchase for 5000 gold
    • Fael - purchase for 9999 gold
    • Erika - reach level 20 with Chloe, Liery, and Fael, then purchase her for 9999 gold
    • Nora - beat Story mode with anyone
    Refer to the roadmap for progression on unlocking these characters, and Story completed! (100G) for tips on beating the Story mode. 

    Unlocking Erika is the longest process, since you need enough gold to buy all three characters, and then you need a ton of gold to level them up all the way. The best way to grind gold is to first, using Jon and likely maxing his level, progress in the Story to stage 4. You should be able to do this before reaching level 20 with him, but worst case, he'll be able to do it at level 20. Once you reach stage 4, you can get a lot of gold from enemies. You likely won't be able to survive stage 4 even with a max level Jon, so amass gold every time you attempt the stage, and use it to unlock Liery, and then continue to use gold to level her up. Once she's level 10 or so, start using her on stage 4 instead of Jon, since she gets double gold. Now, you can basically just replay stage 4 as Liery to farm gold. Once you max her out with gold you've farmed, then unlock and max out the MK1000. With her and the MK1000 maxed, you should be able to beat stage 4. Feel free to continue on, but in terms of amassing gold, just keep replaying stage 4 as Liery. You can buy Chloe and Fael then, but don't bother playing as them. They're terrible. Just keep playing as Liery to get gold and max out Chloe and Fael, which will finally unlock Erika. 
  • Upgrade at least 4 characters to max level

    Max level is 20 in this game. Realistically, you're going to end up maxing out Jon, the starting character first, just so you are strong enough to progress to the fourth level and grind money there to unlock other characters. With Jon maxed, your next priority should be getting enough gold to unlock Liery and max her out. Now you can use her to get gold even faster, which you should then use to buy and max Chloe and Fael. Maxing those three unlocks Erika, who is the best character in the game.

    Refer to the roadmap for more details on this progression, and refer to Full cast (25G) for more details on farming gold. You may end up maxing more than four characters, but your first should be Jon, then Liery to farm gold, then Fael and Chloe (while still playing as Liery) to unlock Erika. Once the fourth character hits level 20, this achievement will unlock. 
  • Burn 100 enemies during the same run

    This can easily be achieved in stage 1 in Story mode.

    Enemies get set on fire when you blow up a car or barrel near them. Wait until you've leveled up a decent amount, then return to stage 1 to go for this achievement specifically. Right at the start of the level is a car. Shoot it down to almost no health. Then, stop shooting at all and just let enemies spawn all over. Kite them around until the wave is just about over, then get near the car and finish it off to blow it up (explosions don't hurt you). You'll likely set every enemy on screen on fire. There are two more cars on the way to Wave 2 (one of which is just visible where the wave starts), but there is another car in good position for Wave 3. Repeat the same kiting tactic during this wave. It was here that I unlocked the achievement, on Wave 3 of the first stage, but this achievement only requires it to be in one run, so you can continue to get more burned enemies throughout the rest of the stage and the second one. 
  • Electrify 30 enemies during the same run

    This can easily be achieved on stage 2 in Story mode.

    Right at the start of the stage are electric fences, and you'll see more throughout the level. Basically, you want to hide behind them and let enemies walk into them and die. You can knock out the majority of the 30 kills right at the start of the level. I went to the lower left corner and just stood back there. Shoot any enemies that approach from directly above you, and be ready to shoot any that squeeze between the fences. Then, as the level progresses, just make it a point to stand behind the various electric fences you'll pass, and let enemies run into them. I unlocked this achievement shortly after changing direction back to going down, where there are electric fences everywhere. 
  • Complete stage 4 in story mode without using any special item

    The special items referred to in the description are just the dynamite and clock items that you can buy/pick up while playing (as well as the Turret when you eventually buy and unlock it). So, as the description says, you need to play through and beat stage 4 of Story mode without ever pressing button-a.png or button-x.png to use any special items you have. It's okay if you pick them up, just don't use them.

    What's nice, and what makes this achievement significantly easier, is that health packs aren't considered special items. You can therefore spend gold to buy up to the maximum number of lives before you start stage 4, and then hope to get more along the way. 

    It should go without saying, but wait until you're much more leveled up before worrying about this. Wait until you're level 20, and have the MK1000 maxed out too, and this will be significantly easier. I did it as a max level Liery, but you can do it with any max level character as long as you save up some gold to buy lives before you start. Don't forget about the guaranteed health pack drop from the barrel on the bottom right before you start scrolling up. The second and third waves can be pretty hectic, but with nine lives and maxed everything, you should have no problems getting through them with a hit or two. Thankfully, the Boss is very easy and will go down extremely fast with full upgrades. 
  • Die in any mode

    This is essentially unmissable. You'll die within the first five minutes of any mode you play when you start the game. 
  • Get at least one of each collectible item

    Collectible items are random drops, either from enemies (unlikely) or destructible objects (much more likely). They look like little character icons, and then give you 10 gold when you pick them up. That seems to be the only purpose they serve. Unfortunately, since they're random drops, there's nothing you can really do to get certain ones. Thankfully, there are only ten different ones in the game. You should therefore unlock this achievement naturally as you progress through all of Story mode to complete it, not to mention the other modes.

    To put it in perspective, I unlocked this achievement before even beating stage 4 of Story mode. Even after beating Story mode, there's plenty of grinding for gold to buy everything. You'll assuredly unlock this achievement naturally along the way.

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