It helps to draw another angle. Can't say it's great, but if this thing is launching into space, another angle helps make the sequence work.

...and here's the wind-up frame.

It only appears for four frames, and each animation state has its own proprietary wind-up setup, so the animation continues to flow.

Also, now I have incentive for guns, but probably need a fourth button for punches only.

Okay, so maybe looking up how NASA does shuttle launches isn't the best solution, but it's at least less '50s than a Flash Gordon-style rocketship.

I never said perspective was my strong suit, but I'll try, anyway.

As mentioned before, I've got a little variable called ScrewIt for testing purposes.

At the end of the level, we'll see this wall, followed by a sequence leading up to the level's boss.

...IIIIIN SPAAAAAACE!

You know what? I think I'm almost done with this level. All I need to do now is put a cap to it, then a transition to the boss fight.

Thankfully, it'll be the ONLY sequence like this.

I didn't want to work on that one boss, so I'm working on the scoring system. Yes, I'm gonna dock points for losing lives.

As for why the old convention level's in the background, it's the easiest level to test.

When drawing a mock-up of a multi-sprite boss, your canvas size can be limited. These gorilla proportions will be adjusted, but it can give you a glimpse into what the final robot will look like.

There. MUCH better.

In The Future, space jets come with their own air-to-space rockets, and consume less liquid fuel. They might need to drop the rocket fuel tank, but at least it's not a giant cylinder. It's a big wedge instead.

...yes, it's small, but I decided that the boss for the second-to-last level should be inspired by the final from Mischief Makers.

Sadly, there are only so many ways to draw a mech's head, and Megazords take too many cues from Transformers.

It's taking me some time to figure out all this 3D nonsense, but it all seems to work.

Each one of those robots can launch twelve missiles from the background, and you have to dodge them.