Enemies

Throughout the games of *Electronic Super Joy*, *Groove City* and *Electronic Super Joy 2*, there are a variety of different enemies that players encounter and must navigate through to clear stages. Below are all the known enemies and their respective traits and attributes.

## Ghosts

### Mini Ghost

**Mini Ghosts** tend to appear as floating heads with one horizontal eye that sway back and forth. Though they do not have any true attacks, physical contact with them will kill players. They can be defeat through the use of the Stomp ability.

### Ghost Buffalo

**Ghost Buffalos** appear to be bigger and taller ghosts with one horizontal eye that function similarly to mini ghosts. Their vulnerability is also the same as are their true attacks being physical. The use of Stomp can defeat them.

## Pixels

### Ant

**Ants** are tiny, pixel-sized enemies that present no true attacks aside from physical attack. Despite being easy to avoid, clusters can prove to be detrimental. Stomps will kill them instantly if done properly.

### Crawler

**Crawlers** tend to roam the footholds similarly to ants and ghosts. Likewise, their size and speed poses a threat to players traversing small areas.

### Hammerhead

**Hammerheads** share the base appearance of crawlers; their differences, however, lie in that hammerheads use a horizontal laser that is emitted through their mouths. This will keep players from migrating through linear sections of the level unless they are killed in the process.

### Laserback

**Laserbacks** share the base appearance of crawlers but possess a laser that moves alongside their bodies. These enemies must be defeated by players in order to progress (if there are not alternate routes). The best places to aim for are their heads or their hindquarters.

### Beetle

**Beetles** are rectangular creatures that tend to move horizontally and temporary block the path. They can be stomped.

### Unicorn

**Unicorns** are spherical bugs that have a horn on their foreheads. Upon seeing the player, they will attempt to charge their horns into the body. Unicorns can be stomped.

### Chargers

**Charagers** are tiny, two-legged creatures that use their horns to attack the Wanderer upon sight. Often, they come in pairs and alternate between positions when players come across them. These enemies can be tricky to move from if paired with other obstructions such as Spikeballs. Their existence is limited to *Electronic Super Joy: Groove City*.

### Spike Minion

**Spike Minions** tend to appear as small, spikey creatures that spawn from a warp.

### Spiked Centipede

**Spiked Centipedes** are elongated creatures with backs covered in spikes. Like their smaller variants, they spawn from a warp.

## Launchers

### Missile Launcher

Sometimes referred to as **Missile Monsters**, **Missile Launchers** tend to place a threat towards the player by auto-firing **missiles** at them. Though the missiles are destructible, the launchers cannot be destroyed, even while performing a Stomp. Players must take note of their positions and act accordingly.

### Frog

**Frogs** function similarly to Missile Monsters, as they launch bullets that hinder the players from advancing. Their differences, however, are that frogs typically fire projectiles in a linear direction. In *Electronic Super Joy*, all frogs fire only a throwing star-like bullet, both of which can be stomped and destroyed in order for players to progress.

In the alpha of *Electronic Super Joy II*, some frogs have presented spikey bodies, leaving them invincible to stomps. They can also fire sharper projectiles that cannot be destroyed through stomps or through jumps.

### Discs

**Discs** are tiny launchers that cough star-like projectiles in a linear direction, functioning similarly to frogs. They are, however, only utilized in *Electronic Super Joy: Groove City* and is unknown if they can be defeated.

## Bosses

### Pope

**Phase One** consists of the player controlling a craft, similar in functionality to the Pope's craft. As you both fly through an abyssal canyon, avoiding cliffs as you are able to fire bullets. The level is short and, if you do not damage the Pope's craft enough, will cause you to self-destruct.

* The Pope will fire one long bullet before three in a narrow spread, followed by three in a wide spread.
* The Pope will also continuously fire tiny bullets in an eliptical pattern.
	+ They can become elongated as well.

**Phase Two** remains a single screen, the player stuck to fight through the use of rainbow rockets. Limited in space, players will have to use the terrain to their advantage to defeat the Pope.

* At the start of the fight, the Pope will move from left to right.
	+ When positioned on the left-side, he will fire three missiles that chase the player.
	+ When positioned on the right-side, he will fire a vertical laser downward that last through the duration of his transition from right to left.
* When damaged enough, the Pope will release a four-way laser attack that spins. After one swipe from left to right back to left, he will fire one missile.

### Evil Wizard

**Phase One** with the Groove Wizard is simple yet tricky. Upon entering his lair, he will immediately attack the player with consecutive magic missiles. In order to strike him down, players will need to stomp on his heart. Every time they attempt to shatter it, the heart rises a level. Utilize the bounce star at the far left of the room to scale to the higher floor and perform the stomps until all the missiles vanish.

**Phase Two** requires the player not to attack, but to evade. During the pursuit, heed these tells:

* The Wanderer is unable to perform their Stomps any longer. Their jump ability is also temporarily disable, replaced with the ability of Flight.
* Upon his appearance, a surge of magic missiles will trail behind the player.
* The Wizard will continue to project a pattern of five throwing stars in the direction of the player. Use the walls to hide and avoid being hit.
* Continue to avoid the missiles as they are fired; they will eventually be destroyed.

**Phase Three** follows the same strategy of the previous phase but leaves the player vulnerable to the onslaught of attacks. The pattern goes as followed:

* The Wizard will fire a five-star attack in a wide spread before launching an continous, linear spread of stars, following the Wanderer's position.
* He will occasionally release two magic missiles to keep the player from camping.
* Once out of throwing stars, the Wizard will summon a barrage of seven magic missiles every five seconds. It is heavily advised that players form a looping pattern of their own to keep each of these missiles from trapping them.

Afterwards, the player will finally be able to strike down the Wizard and reclaim the Wanderer's butt.

### Spike

**Spike** is a spikey cube whom constantly taunts the player with puns of pain. Upon spawning in the room, players need to avoid the frog and climb explosive platforms to a warp. Through the warp, the player will drop down to a wave of spikeballs that block their passage to the second warp. Fifteen seconds later and a fired missile, Spike will stomp down and attempt to kill the player. He will repeat this attack while missiles and spikeballs sway throughout the fight. Players have to counterattack using the silver bullets between two launcher platforms. The battle will continue to gradually become harder, as Spike will spawn more spikeballs; damage enough and closer to death, he will begin moving horizontal above the player, smashing against the wall and producing a five-way spikeball splash attack. Once defeated, the screen annouces that you have won and an exit portal will spawn.

## Trivia

* The name of many of the enemies in the game were slang terms used by Michael Todd Games.

## References

1. ↑ Touching the silver bullets after Spike's death will show them move offscreen to where the sprite had disappeared. If done repeated, they form in the shape of~~Strikethrough~~ a heart.