[ SECRET BOSS BATTLE (STAGE 9) ] --------------------------------------
You can fight Athena for your ninth opponent if:
- You don't lose any rounds for stages 1 thru 7.
- You don't win any round via block damage
(this is when you hit an opponent with a special move or S^ move,
and they block it but still take a little bit of damage as a result).
You can fight Red Arremer for your ninth opponent if:
- You don't lose any rounds for stages 1 thru 7.
- You win at least 5 rounds with a special move (winning by block
damage is okay).
(Author's note: What they really mean is that you have to win five
rounds by block damage from special moves only. You'll know if you
killed an opponent who was blocking because they slump to the floor
slowly instead of just falling on their backs.)
(Author's note #2: Nothing you do during the 8th stage affects your
chance of meeting Athena or Red Arremer. Therefore, if you win by
block damage in stage 8, you can still fight Athena. And if you only
have four block damage wins and you get your fifth on stage 8, you
will not fight Red Arremer.)
Otherwise, the game ends after the 8th stage. Obviously, you can do
whatever you like during the eighth stage and it won't affect the chance
of meeting Athena or Red Arrmer.
If you do lose a round during stages 1 thru 7, just lose completely
and continue, and you can still meet the Secret Bosses (since the key
is to not lose any _rounds_. It doesn't matter if you lose the whole
battle and continue).
Finally, the number of continues and current game time have nothing to
do with fighting these characters.
When fighting Athena or Red Arremer, the game ends if you lose both
rounds to them, and you cannot continue. Furthermore, your character
will be turned into a different form upon dying (what form they take
depends on whether they fought Athena or Red Arremer).