Even if you're unfamiliar with beat-em-ups, using this guide, you too can get that cherry!
I noticed a lot of people online mention this is one of the hardest cherries in the game. As someone who struggles with beat-em-up type games normally, I noticed this game is quite easy if you learn its tricks and avoid its (noob-)traps. You'll be able to nab that gold or cherry with confidence after reading this guide.
Be careful, there be spoilers for Fist Hell ahead
Completion requirements
Gift
Beat wave 9 in the gym (head left immediately when starting level 1)
Jay is simply the best character stat-wise: the most important stats Power and Tough can be upgraded to maximum level early on in the game.
Recovery is low meaning you can get stunlocked easier, however this is only a concern later in the game, at which point you will have been able to have upgrade this stat.
Her stats don't seem very good. She can't take or deal damage at all. Recovery is high but the best defense is offense and the second best defense is actual defense- i.e. thoughness.
She does get an exclusive move: she can jump again in air after landing a jump kick
Starting with maximum power seems pretty good but the first stage doesn't feature any enemies that really necessitate this.
His other stats are all so low! Still, if you played the game a few times you should be able to avoid getting hit as much.
His punches seem a bit faster than most charcters.
Also, you can stack like 10 books on his perfectly flat head.
She sucks and I love her.
1 Power is very rough to play with and her star stat Throw is more of an annoyance to use than anything. She does get the exclusive move Charged Throw.
However, she throws parties much better than she throws a punch and she likes locking her little sister in a closet so what's not to love?
Double tap a sideways movement key to dash
Double tap up or down to dodge.
This will not give you invincibility frames and has a few frames of end lag at the end so it's not wise to spam this
Jump up while keeping your sideways momentum.
This may seem like a good way to jump over projectiles but this will often just get you hurt.
If you have been knocked down, you can roll vertically or horizontally by holding the corresponding movement key.
This will not give you invincibility frames
A simple punch. If you punch 5 times in a row, you will do a kick that will knock enemies to the ground.
It is usually best to not attack 5 times in a row so you can keep enemies stun-locked. Pause after your fourth hit for half a second so you can reset the combo.
This is THE way to improve your cherry runs. And pretty much always the best option in your arsenal. Don't bother with the flashy moves when going for the cherry.
NOTE: If you kill an enemy, you will always do a kick, knocking down all enemies in front of you. In the gif you can see how killing the wolf messed up the combo and forced me to take a little bit of damage
Not very useful. As far as I can tell it has absolutely no purpose. It can't break a block and it can't reflect a projectile.
Victor, The Brash Boxer, can one shot most basic enemies with this move. It's still inferior to a regular Attack though!
A very useful move. If you time it right (right before impact), you can reflect projectiles or cancel enemies' charge or pounce attacks.
If you hit an enemy with it it will cost you some HP. If you only use it to reflect a projectile it will not cost you any HP.
Its main purpose is moving enemies that are on either side, to the side you are facing.
You need to get familiar with this move to reliably fight the final boss.
You can move around with a grabbed enemy and you can Throw, Charged Throw or Suplex.
The enemy will escape the grab after some time has passed.
It's best to avoid grabbing enemies. There are only 2/3 moments in the game where it is useful in any way. Other times it will get you hit.
If you accidentally grab an enemy when trying to dodge out of danger, you may be able to escape using a Suplex (Jump+Direction when holding enemy).
Does very little damage and is usually not worth it. However, you can use this move to throw powerful enemies into pits sometimes, instakilling them.
When holding an enemy, hold the Attack button until the held enemy starts blinking.
This is an absolutely worthless move and it was difficult to even get footage of me using it effectively. On top of that it's difficult to use because enemies usually break out of your hold while you're positioning and charging your attack.
It does not appear to do any more meaningful damage to the squid boss either.
It does look cool.
I only use this when I accidentally grab an enemy when trying to get out of danger. You can cover some vertical distance moving you out of most are of effect attacks like Molotovs or Charge Attacks.
Not very damaging and it leaves you open for a long time after using it.
It can be used to reflect projectiles but it's very hard to time properly. Avoid using this at all.
If you time your attack you can reflect pretty much anything. This includes throwing axes, Molotovs, Chargers, Wolve Pounces and even Laser Beams
It does not do a lot of damage so it's mostly a defensive move.
One useful edge case is clearing junk of the ground during a combo by kicking it.
NOTE: Cat, the Track Star, can jump again in mid-air after landing a Flying Kick
Bluntly put, don't use these. Your basic punch attack is always better.
Even one hit kill items like the shotgun or chainsaw are unreliable or laggy or both.
When fighting, take care to not pick up an item by accident. It will leave you open for attack. As mentioned above, jump kicks can be used to quickly move items out of the way.
These guys will help you a little bit if you break their leash by hitting them.
They can take a few hits and are a good distraction but don't put yourself in danger to keep them alive
If you manage to destroy it, it will drop a watch worth $10.
Be mindful of it's explosion when you destroy it!
In the story mode civilians are just set dressing. However, in survival, hitting civilians will drop useful items. Read the survival section for more info.
Your basic fodder enemy. They have a few tricks though.
Sometimes they like to walk around you and try to gang up from both sides. If you have enough Power you should be able to clear out one side before they can walk around.
One other trick is they often like to back step when you do a flying kick. You could use this to create some space but usually it's better to just kill them.
They may drop a head or a leg when killed. Be mindful to not be fighting on top of these as accidentally picking them up makes you completely defenseless against attack for a split second.
Oh man these guys blow.
They throw Molotov cocktails and they will explode after a second or 2 upon death.
They can't melee attack so getting close is usually the right move.
Their Molotovs can be reflected by your jump kick, desperation move or dash attack (not recommended). They can also be caught with a well timed punch but this is usually ill-advised.
I normally focus on killing these guys on one side of the screen first
Axe throwing pests.
Their axes are blocked by trash cans and enemies so if you manage the crowd well they can be pretty harmless.
They have a little bit more HP than a zombie, so if you want to take them out quickly on < 3 Power, pause after your 4th attack for a second before attacking again to prevent the knockback.
Their axes can be reflected by a well-timed jump kick, desperation move or dash attack.
The first boss but also a regular enemy later on.
Its dash should be sidestepped but if that's not possible it can be interrupted by a well-timed jump attack or desperation move.
You can stunlock this guy same as any other enemy. It has a lot of HP though so you may get swarmed from the back while pummeling him. I recommend using your desperation move when this happens to move all enemies to the same side and continue the pummeling.
These guys are pretty harmless by themselves but they can really complicate a big fight.
Keep an eye on when they get ready to pounce and move away. If you are unable to move away, time a desperation move to cancel their pounce and move them to your side.
If you knock them to the ground, they get a few invincibility frames where they will jump over the spot they were knocked away from. You can prevent this by pausing after your 4th punch for a second before continuing the attack.
Pigman
Pigman can seem very impressive but he's a total pushover if you know how to deal with him.
Practice stun-locking him and pause after every 4th hit to keep him locked down.
They can spit a poisonous cloud that will deal damage while standing in it.
They have a melee attack they can use sometimes.
They have a lot of HP but otherwise they don't have a lot going for them
Alien
Aliens can ruin your run.
They can teleport, fire their laser gun and they have a pretty good melee attack.
You basically want to avoid getting hit at all as they are able to stun-lock you and stack up the damage. Even a laser blast is sometimes followed up with a teleport and 1-2 punches, costing you around 50% HP.
Your best strategy is moving to the edge of the screen so they are unable to teleport behind you. They can be stun-locked so try to do damage without knocking them on the ground.
Their laser beams can be reflected for minimal damage.
These funny little guys go down in a few hits and make weird faces, I love 'em.
The only other thing they have going for them is their speed; they're a bit faster than most enemies
Not much to say about these fellas. They'll jump back up after being knocked down but they don't have any special attacks or a lot of HP.
Beefy Boy likes to block your attacks. Just keep attacking. Special moves like flying kick or charged punch don't break their block so don't even try.
You usually have to move up a little bit after breaking their block. Be careful not to accidentally grab an enemy when doing this.
After breaking their block they can be kept stun-locked until they're dead
You can just walk around them. If you want to you can kick their ass (?).
Always max out in this order: FULL HEAL > POWER > THOUGH > RECOV
- Attack hitboxes extend up a lot farther than down. This means you can hit enemies while they can't hit you if you are below them and vice versa.This is probably the most important mechanic to understand when playing this game.
- ALL enemies are susceptible to a short stun when hit, use this to interrupt annoying enemies or crowd control a big clump of enemies
- Your 5th hit in an Attack combo will knock back an enemy. It is nearly always more beneficial to pause for half a second after the fourth hit to reset the combo. The enemy will not have enough time to break out of its stun
- Killing a boss ends the level, no matter what enemies are remaining
- Take it slow when progressing through levels, enemies spawn whenever the screen scrolls past a certain point, even if there are still enemies on the screen.
- Don't bother with items. Even shotguns and chainsaws are noobtraps
- Dogs are alright but sometimes
If you are full health when picking up a healing item you get money instead:
Immediately when starting, hit the trash can for some coins worth $1
Move to the right until 3 zombies spawn. Stick to the bottom of the screen and take them out with normal attacks.
In the next section, 2 zombies will jump over the chain-link fence. You can take out the first one without spawning the second one.
Free the dog or save him for later, it doesn't really matter. There's a feeding zombie up ahead, leave him for a while.
You can spawn a single boomer if you move slowly enough. Let him move towards you so you can take him out without spawning the other enemies.
If you move further after this, 2 zombies will walk out the door while 2 more zombies will come in from the left.
Take out the zombies at the door first, you should be able to do this easily before the Zombies reach you from the left side of the screen.
Next, move down and approach the left side Zombies from below to take them out.
Maybe the feeding Zombie is still just chilling there, kick his ass.
Break the trash can, it will drop some Fries for a small heal or, if you haven't taken any damage yet, $2.
When going for the cherry, it is absolutely necessary to take out the Campanella/UFO coming up in the next section. The $10 are crucial to have a stress-free run. Reset if you miss it.
Once you move past the small chain link fence, a UFO will fly down the screen towards you, take it out for a cool $10.
A little bit further along, a car will come crashing in from the left side of the screen. Make sure you're not caught in its path!
The car will take out enemies caught in one hit but if you're trying to not get hit, in my experience it's not worth it to run ahead to spawn more fodder for the car. Just let the car pass and take out the remaining 0-2 Boomers and 0-4 Zombies one by one.
There's some coins here and there's a $5 bill in the trash can. Grab it. You're probably at $19.00 right now.
Move up to the green club building slowly. It is possible to spawn 2 Chicks first, making them a lot more manageable to take out without taking damage. Let them move towards you and knock them out before moving further right. If you move past the door of the club, a single boomer will spawn. Again, take him out carefully.
The final group of enemies will spawn from the left side of the screen. You are now free to use the full width of the screen. No more enemies will spawn if you move up. Beat the enemies going right to left.
NOTE: Sometimes the Boomers here will just blow up in your face if they're the last enemy to die on this screen. Try to prioritize killing them first.
Before moving inside the club, grab the $5 and the Pizza. If you played perfectly you're now at $28 Dollars.
It's fine to take a little bit of damage this level but it's still easy enough to get all the cash you can get. If you end up below $25 you may want to practice a little bit more to build a nice money base for the rest of the game.
If you have over 1 Power it is possible to rush to the Charger and start punching him with 4-hit combos to end the fight very quickly. The Zombies will all despawn when the Charger dies.
You will take some damage from using the Desperation Move but we should have enough cash for a full heal and an upgrade by now.
If you don't want to use the above strategy, take care to not accidentally pick up items or grab Zombies when trying to dodge the Charger.
There's $1 in the trashcan, and a feeding zombie to the right. Leave him for now.
If you move right, 1 single zombie will spawn. Knock him out and then proceed to killing the feeding Zombie.
Next, a Boomer will come in from the right while 2 Zombies, and a Charger will come in from the left.
Focus on taking out the Charger first. There are not that many enemies on the screen so it's not that difficult to move around danger or reflect attacks with Flying Kicks. Just make sure to stick to the middle to left side a little so you don't spawn the next 3 enemies early.
The next 3 enemies in question are 1 Boomer and 2 Zombies. Very manageable. Take them out.
Grab the $1 in the trash can and enter the train. If you want to you can grab the shotgun but you definitely don't need it.
The rest of the level is a lot easier!! Good job on making it this far. Don't worry if you took some damage, there are a lot of heals and money coming up.
Get the attention of the Zombie on the bench to kill him 1v1, then proceed doing the same with the feeding Zombie
The Campanella will fly in, destroy it for $10. It's not worth a reset if you miss it.
Next are 3 crates containing 2 $5 Bills and some Fries. 3 Wolves will come in from the left side.
Wolves can be tricky but if you bait out a lunge you can isolate one for a quick 1v1. They also tend to keep their distance if they're about half a screen away so this is a nice method to tackle them one by one.
Pick up the Cash and Fries if you haven't yet and move right until you wake the zombie on the bench. Kill him 1v1.
Next, wake up the first zombie on the next bench and kill the enemies coming in from the left.
Wake up the final Zombie on the bench and 1v1 him bro.
Beat up the Wolf and you will transition to the Arcade.
If you do get overwhelmed, take a breath, take it slow and don't panic.
Did you beat the train section and boss without taking damage? If you did, you probably don't need the rest of this guide to get the cherry. If you didn't, don't worry. We should have more than enough cash now to buy upgrades and fully heal before every level.
Walk around the first landmine to drop a Snail next to it, run back to its left and hit it a few times until it's dead.
Disturb the 3 feeding Zombies and kill them.
Next up is a big pit. Falling in is an insta game over, so don't. Take care to not stand too close to the side of the pit and try not to double tap up or down when walking above it.
Move right a bit and a Chick will spawn. She'll throw an axe almost immediatly. I don't recommend trying to dodge the axe as it can quickly end your run here. Instead, take the hit or try to reflect the axe with a Flying Kick or a Desperation Move.
Moving further spawns 2 Zombies to the left and 2 Wolves to the right. If you move 1 centimeter further it will spawn another Wolf to the left and a Charger to the right. You should try to fight these groups separately but it's okay if you don't.
To the right are 3 three stumps. Break them for $5, a Pizza slice and a Molotov.
A flattening truck whatchamacallit will come in from the left while Zombies will flow in from the right. The 2 tree stumps in this section will both drop $5 and there is a chainsaw hidden in the bushes in the bottom of the screen.
Don't bother with the chainsaw, it's too slow to use. Only get the money if its safe, we should have enough anyway. Stick to the bottom of the screen and move right steadily, taking out Zombies with regular 3-4 hit combos as you go. If you get swarmed from both sides, use your Desperation Move and finish off the Zombies before moving further right.
The next section is quite easy. There's a dog that can help you but you don't need it.
There are some hidden Fries for a small heal in the bushes below:
Near the second grave Campanella will show up again. Destroy it for $10 but again, you don't need to reset if you miss it.
After dealing with the third grave, 1 Chick, 3 Zombies and 2 Chargers will come in from either side. Admittedly I still take a lot of damage in this part sometimes. The general strategy is to not get hit by a Charger as it usually leads to a cascade of damage from other sources.
Don't hesitate to use your Desperation Move to move all the enemies around you to the same side so you can take them out quickly. One of the main causes of taking damage here is trying to move out of a Charger's path and accidentally grabbing a stunned enemy, keep this in mind.
Next are 3 Slugs and 1 Zombie, although sometimes, you can skip this battle. I think this can happen if you kick a Zombie head ahead to the right but I need to test this some more.
This fight isn't hard, just go right to left and take it slow. You shouldn't take any damage here.
You can see me do a Flying Kick in the gif, this was because I thought the laser beam would hit me. I don't recommend actually doing this as the margin for error is quite small. It is often more reliable to dodge or use a Desperation Move.
Next, you need to trigger the remaining Zombie and Beefy Boy to the right. This will also spawn 2 Zombies and a Wolf to the left. Try to keep an eye on the Wolf as it can cause the most chaos, it likes to dance around the perimeter but it's a priority if it goes for you. The other enemies are easy to kite around and take out one by one. You can use the entire screen without spawning more enemies so go wild.
Move up slowly and break the sign for $1. Moving a little to the right spawns 2 Beefy Boys to the right, 2 Zombies and a Boomer to the left and 2 Clowns from the store window.
I like to run towards the Boomer and fight from there, Molotovs can be hard to play around when there are this many enemies all around the screen. You don't need to take out the Boomer first if you stick close to him near the edge of the screen; he won't be able to do anything there.
There's $1 in the trash can after the fight and another $1 in the sign.
After the fight, pick up the Fries and cash and move right. 2 More Chicks will walk up, take care of them.
We are now entering the victory lap part of the level. Just take it steady and you'll be fine. If you made it this far this part is easy.
Some Mermen will jump out of the water up ahead. These guys are a joke, just take them out as usual. There's also a feeding Zombie here, no problem for a champ like you.
The next part, some tentacles will spawn, around the second set the Campanella will also show up, destroy it for $10.
The tentacles can just be walked around but it's also completely safe to knock them out, whatever you want.
You can also punch the Mermen into the Squid but this is a bit more unreliable to set up.
If you are low on cash and need to choose between an upgrade or a full heal, pick up the heal now. The next level has sparse healing at the start
Another Wolf will spawn on the right side as you aggro the 3 feeding zombies.
You may get hit here a couple of times, it's fine. There's still enough heals coming up and most fights after this section can be cheesed. Keep it up!
In the next section, 3 zombies will come from the ground near the top of the screen as you move right. These zombies sometimes tend to get some cheap hits in as they climb out of the ground so I recommend standing a little bit below them and letting them walk into your fists' range themselves.
After these 3 zombies, you'll get some freebies from the ocean before the next part: some trash but also some fries for a small heal and a Dog (??). The next section can potentially really screw you over but there are some tricks to make it much more manageable.
Once you walk up to the white beach-side mansion, walk up as slow as possible to avoid aggroing too many enemies at once:
Your dog will occupy the other enemies well enough so don't worry about them too much. Don't move up. Let whatever survived your Dog come to you, and take it out.
You should see there's 2 aliens on the right side of the screen just chillin'. Walk up slowly towards the bottom one to aggro him, run back and take him out 1v1. Repeat for the top alien.
If you're low on HP, that's fine, the next section is very manageable and there are heals coming up.
If you walk slowly enough, there are some small manageable fights up ahead. First is 1 single zombie. Kick his ass.
Next are 2 zombies.
Move up and drop the chandelier. Immediately run back to the lower left side of the screen. 2 Zombies will walk up from the right.
From the left side, 3 Chicks will walk in. If you're in position here, you're fine. Just let them shuffle down into your fists' range and take them out safely:
Next up are 3 snacking zombies. Just walk up until they aggro and take them out.
Further up are 5 zombies and a big vase containing a pizza for a moderate heal.
Once you drop the next chandelier, 2 Zombies and a Boomer will spawn
A bit further to the right 2 more Zombies. Pretty easy so far!
One more Boomer a bit further up, followed by 2 Zombies.
In the vases up ahead are Fries for a small heal and a Hotdog for a large heal. You can safe the hotdog for later until you can move into the elevator. It will be on the screen as the final enemies of the hallway spawn.
The chandelier up ahead will drop a shotgun. In my opinion, don't bother with this, it's unreliable. Instead, walk up slowly until 1 Armored Dude walks up. Take him out.
Next, take it very slow to spawn 3 Clowns. For some odd reason, beating 2 or 3 of these clowns will open the elevator and you will be able to move to the second-to-last screen. Skipping a difficult fight:Pick up the Hotdog if you haven't yet and move into the elevator.
From this point on I will not be as chill about taking a little bit of damage here and there- this was the final heal until the boss and we need every bit of HP to ensure success. Luckily we're nearly there.
NOTE: If you move right too fast, you'll be forced to fight a Charger and a Pig Man. It's pretty difficult to fight these two at once so don't hesitate to use your desperation move when you need to.
Focus on stun-locking the Pig Man with 4 jabs, pausing and repeating. If the charger runs at you, either move to the side or time your desperation move to cancel it.
The next few battles are confined in a very small space, it's not that hard to not take any damage here and you need all your hitpoints for the next and final screen so stay focused.
Enemies will appear on the top of the elevator in the same order they'll jump down so you have some time to move to a good position to take out an enemy while the rest are jumping down.
Wave 1: 4 zombies, easy peasy
Wave 2: 2 beefy boys, the one on the right will jump down first. If you can hit him while he's falling he can't block your attacks. Again, do 4 jabs, pause and repeat to safely take down the first enemy move on to the next and repeat. Still very doable.
Wave 3: 4 zombies, keep an eye for clowns jumping on the elevator- they may jump down during this wave!
Wave 4: 2 clowns, the first clown may jump down while you're still fighting the zombies from wave 3
The wolves will be very aggressive and move towards you while the second Beefy Boy usually takes it a bit slower. Use this window to take out the dogs. It's okay to use a desperation move if you are caught in a bad position.
We made it to the final showdown. This fight can be complete chaos so I can't give as specific steps as usual, however, focus on these tips:
- There's a Burger (Full Heal) in the trash can to the right. While it may seem like a good idea to break the bin at the start of the fight. I wouldn't; you're better off going for the mayor before the chaos breaks out
- Chaos is bad and Boomer explosions can really escalate the chaos. If you can take out one of these safely do so.
- Use your desperation move. There are no invincibility frames in this game and this room is packed with danger so getting hit once usually means you can get stun-locked and knocked around the arena. It's best to trade a little bit of HP to prevent an instant loss.
- When attacking the mayor: Punch, Punch, Punch, Punch, Wait, Repeat. This method lets you put as much damage as possible in as short a time as possible.
- Go for the Mayor immediately. The arena will get very chaotic very fast but it's possible to take out the Mayor's first phase before it gets really crazy
- The Mayor has transformed into some kind of freaky mutant! Luckily you can still stun-lock him
- The Mayor can now spit gas clouds that can do a lot of damage over time while standing in them
- If you survive long enough without taking out the Mayor, a lot of friendly dogs will run in to help you! However:
- Don't focus on just surviving until the dogs spawn. It's a nice help but you should be doing damage to the boss as much as possible.
- The score board shows your current wave under 'Home' and your best score under 'Away'
- Hit the panicked people running to the left side of the screen in between waves to spawn pickups and weapons
- I'm not sure if continues count after doing survival mode so before going for the cherry it's best to reset the game to be sure
- You get the house gift after beating stage 9
- Jay is probably the best character here. He can take a hit and his 2 Power is enough to take out enemies before being overwhelmed.
- The most important aspect is managing enemies to always be on one side and slightly above you.
- Use regular punches. They do the most damage and leave you open for the shortest amount of time.
- Some moves, like the jump kick or the desperation move, can reflect projectiles when timed properly.
- Using your desperation move to reflect a projectile without hitting an enemy will not cost you any HP
- Boomers spawn often and move enemies all over the place with their Molotov cocktails. Their range is short so you can try to kill all the boomers on one side of the screen first to give yourself some space to reliably fight enemies.
- Your desperation move is better than you think: it can move enemies all around you to one side and can let you regain control of the enemies' placement.
- At the start of every third wave, hit the panicked civilians for a chance to get healing items, weapons or a dog