I didn't want to use the golden hammers on parts I consider "beating" the game. So far I used my first 3 for unlocking stages and one song(play on/as XXX so many times, etc).
It's really just a matter of putting the time into beating Boss Battles on Intense. After a while you start to recognize exactly what the bosses are about to do as soon as they move and your response will become second nature. It may take you a while(took me long enough), but it will come in time. I should have started off by practicing against the bosses in the SSE stages on Intense. I'd suggest going to Gamefaqs and checking the Boss faq; it has the SSE stages listed where the bosses appear, so you can go and practice against them. I'd do that, and instead of trying to beat them, just try to evade them and last as long as you can. That way you'll learn how to avoid them quicker, and adding attacks in later won't be a problem.
"I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself."
