Er, OK. So “Pluto” (no, not Mickey Mouse’s dog, the big hornéd robot thing) wasn’t impossible after all. Sodding hard, but not impossible. I’ve spent more time trying to kill him than actually playing the rest of the game so far.
Yes, “so far”. Despite being the end of game boss, Pluto isn’t the end of the game. Oh no – there’s more. Lots more. Only, it’s the same as before only different. Er. Yes.
Basically, after killing Pluto, you die. And so does everyone else. Game Over, credits, all that stuff. And then, you’re resurrected at the beginning of the game, only knowing everything you knew already and are now supposed to prevent the nastiness that occurs (robots take over the world). This does explain how you’re supposed to fill up the list of people you’ve met, I suppose.
In practice, this means you play all the levels again, only with a few differences here and there. I’ve done all of Stage 1, and three “bonus” bits. It isn’t linear any more though, since you can jump from level to level at will, which allows you to “get clues” and open new areas. Or something.
The storyline was already confusing, and now it has become even more so. Tch.