• Team Mode is the way to go. Lonly Wolf is good only for its funny typo and larger bomb maximum (which doesn't help at all on a Version 1 game). Playing a team lets you have diversity, as it's recommended that you use one fast character (for regular gameplay) and one big character (for bosses). The third character? Pick whoever you want, preferably someone specialized for your route, or someone with a good bomb.

• Rolling. It's very important. I can't stress this enough. If you don't get accustomed to using that B button then you're going to be taking a lot of damage on bosses and such. But on the other hand, don't over-use it since you're vulnerable coming out of it, and there just might be a bullet there waiting for you.

• As mentioned before, the switching animation in Team Mode can also be used for its invincibility. Beware though, I've seen instances in which repeated gunfire actually did damage to me during it. Most of the time though, you can use it as a safe switch against single projectiles... laugh as a rocket harmlessly explodes on your teammate :)
  

• Another plus of rolling is that doing it repeatedly actually moves you along FASTER than just regular walking, so if you need to get somewhere in a hurry...

• One more tidbit about rolling. There are a lot of animation frames that can be "interrupted" by a roll! For example, let an enemy approach you, do your close-range attack, and then immediately push B. If done right you will stab/punch/shoot them and then IMMEDIATELY roll without letting the animation finish. If you push B too soon the attack won't come out at all. But as you can probably guess, there are other applications for this as well... you can move Up towards a boss, throw a bomb with C, then immediately push Down+B to roll away...
  

• To get a high score, you must master close combat. Enemies drop 30,000 point gems a majority of the time, so the more you can kill this way the better. "But isn't that dangerous?" Not when you learn their patterns. Most Green soldiers only fire one bullet, pause for a while, then shoot another. The pause gives you enough time to move up and stab/punch them. The soldiers with bazookas and rocket launchers only fire one shot, pause, then fire another too. White soldiers usually fire two bullets in a row. Purple soldiers... who knows what they'll do, but you have to shoot them once before you can get a close-range kill. There are always exceptions to these rules, but using that pause is the key to getting in!

• If you're going for a high score, avoid red gems like the plague. Why? Sure they kill everything on the screen, but that's just it. You're awarded minimal points for all those kills when you could have earned much more. If you're still learning the game, then by all means pick them up.

• An alternate means of racking up points is the "multi-shot kill". Just fire repeated rounds of ammunition into a single enemy, and you get points for every shot. This isn't exactly the most reliable method, as sometimes the enemies will drop after only one shot. But this is definitely worth trying on the Purple soldiers, since you're awarded 5,000 points a shot! Note that you can only do this trick with the regular gun, Heavy Machinegun, Vulcan, and 3-Way. Anything that causes an explosion or sends an enemy up in flames won't work.
  

• Here's an awesome trick that GREATLY helps out both your life bar and your score. When fighting one of the human bosses (3rd stage of all routes, 5th stage of all routes, route switch train stage, final stage, and the "clawed dudes" that show up on Jungle 3 and Valley 5), shoot him down to when he's flashing red. Then, try to get in for a close-range kill! Might take a few attacks, but just keep pounding away. Even if you take a hit in the process, don't fear... the boss will drop a first-aid kit!!! (of course, the last boss won't) So you can gain back half the life bar on a Version 1 game, or a character's full life bar on Version 2. But that's not all! You're also given DOUBLE points for your bravery... finishing off the last boss with a close-up attack will award a whopping 1,600,000 points, as opposed to the 800,000 you regularly get! This is yet another incentive to focus on close-range attacks.
  

• More to come...

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