Atom Heart no Himitsu

This is the game that James gave me at the NOVA Christmas party. I've been playing it on and off, and finally got stuck near the end of the first stage (next to last picture, the red-legged robot insect thingy).

So this weekend, James pointed me to the message board on GameFAQs for the game, suggesting I could find hints there. No go. Everybody there just talks about how to find the various hidden characters, and how easy mode is too easy. This is the mode I'm stuck on.

I suppose I could post a message asking for help/hints, but I have to 'work up my courage' as I'm sure all these hard-core guys will snicker at where I got stuck. Oh well.