Shmups

[Stanshall]

Bravo, mon clip! Bravo! Gonna be in the terrordome for about eight days now but I'll have a proper watch when I get chance.

Michiel, I really like 1.5 but BL is a much more fun and chaotic mode to me. Glad you're enjoying Rolling Gunner so far. It's great to have a modern Cave style game without all the teddy bear stuff to contend with.

And haze, definitely worth a good go. Interesting C&R issue on Jamestown, too, sparked some debate when it aired!

[hazeredmist]

And haze, definitely worth a good go. Interesting C&R issue on Jamestown, too, sparked some debate when it aired!

Aye! I listened to that. I found the focus and worry about the content of a daft shmup story from some contributors a bit strange personally, but we're all different and have different boundaries about what we find OK or offensive. It certainly made for an interesting listen, if a little frustrating as I just wanted to hear how the actual game played in more detail! It did get on track eventually though.

The most interesting takeaway was how the game seems to force you to "git gud" with the way the difficulty levels work to progress, not in a grindy way but forcing you to go up in difficulties if I recall correctly from what Tony was saying. And by the end of it, reporting a great sense of achievement. I fancy that

[KSubzero1000]

For what it's worth, I recently played a bit of Jamestown again to compare and contrast with the rest of the genre classics I've now become familiar with, and I found the game to be much less impressive than I remembered it being when I first played it a few years ago. The native widescreen, disjointed weaponry options and occasional visibility issues all work to the game's detriment, I feel.

Definitely worth a try at that price, though.

[Michiel K]

Alright, you fellas have me convinced to dig into Black Label! Though I secured the DLC ages ago, I always put it off as I felt I had to clear 1.5 first.

[ratsoalbion]

Psyvariar D is out on Switch.

[KSubzero1000]

Okay, I have officially no idea what's going on.

I looked some more into what's causing my BWR+ framerate slowdown problems, and apparently it's a documented issue that occurs with a certain type of intel graphics when entering full screen mode. There seems to be a complex workaround for this that involves downloading and tweaking some random MacGuffin, but for the time being I've settled on playing the game in windowed mode, which instantly fixes the issue and lets it run at a buttery smooth 60fps again. What.

In other news, Blue Revolver kinda runs okay today. It still crashes in the tutorial and some of the other extra options, but I was able to play up until the third stage today without any difficulty. Why.

Anyway, the Sisters of Fate have apparently decided to prevent me from having any console quality time these days, so I opted for the next best thing and treated myself to some quick sessions of Crimzon Clover instead. And... you know what? The more I play this game, the more I love it. It's an incredibly well-designed game through and through and I'll go so far as to say that it can totally hold its own against the CAVE/Treasure line-up at the best of times. Which is... not something I say lightly. I wish I had known about it sooner, and I'm really excited to see what Yotsubane will create next.


Oh, and Haze? In case you're still looking for suggestions, I would strongly recommend you look into Crimzon Clover. Unfortunately it's PC-only, but it's 2 euros on Steam at the moment, and also regularly discounted on GoG. The reason I mention it isn't just because it's excellent, but also because despite looking a bit intimidating at first, the Novice mode is very forgiving and accessible. I think it'd be perfect for your current skill level and, quite frankly, I can't think of a better entry point into proper vertical shooters than this one. Once you're done with Neko Navy, of course.



I don't think you'd regret it, especially given the price.

[hazeredmist]

Psyvariar D is out on Switch.

UK? Now? I haven’t spotted it yet... Stanshall speaks highly of this one I believe!

*edit* just found it. Yikes! I’ll be waiting for a sale on this one

[hazeredmist]

Query - is Rolling Gunner suitable for arcade sticks? In videos it looks like it’s got twin sticks mechanics...

[Stanshall]

No twin stick but I can see why it might look that way! Very suitable for arcade stick, yep.

[hazeredmist]

Oh, and Haze? In case you're still looking for suggestions, I would strongly recommend you look into Crimzon Clover. Unfortunately it's PC-only, but it's 2 euros on Steam at the moment, and also regularly discounted on GoG. The reason I mention it isn't just because it's excellent, but also because despite looking a bit intimidating at first, the Novice mode is very forgiving and accessible. I think it'd be perfect for your current skill level and, quite frankly, I can't think of a better entry point into proper vertical shooters than this one. Once you're done with Neko Navy, of course.



I don't think you'd regret it, especially given the price.

Cheers! Might just grab that!

[hazeredmist]

No twin stick but I can see why it might look that way! Very suitable for arcade stick, yep.

Brilliant. I will get this for certain - watching videos reminded me I love the aesthetic and the music is great, plus it sounds accessible. Just a bit out of my price range right now but knowing it’s there when I can pony up (or it’s in a sale) is good to know.

[hazeredmist]

Aye, cheers clippa. I wouldn't say I'm convinced by PC gaming, but I've got my laptop with me today and am going to compare specs against specs for these games, see if I'm good. Should be hopefully.

[hazeredmist]

Right. I'm going to buy some Steam shmups. Fuck it. My arcade stick works on PC and I'm willing to try this out...

My basket right now has Caladrius Blaze, Danmaku Unlimited 2, Crimzon Clover: World Ignition for £5.02. Seems good...

My laptop:

i5-4200U
4GB RAM
Intel HD graphics
SSD

Looks like I'm comfortably over the recommended specs for these games... What do you think? My desktop is higher spec, just without an SSD

[KSubzero1000]

Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily recommend Caladrius Blaze at this point. It's difficult, really pervy and not particularly good. At least not on the same level of quality as the DU games, let alone Crimzon Clover.

DU2 and CC should be enough to keep you occupied for a long time and judge whether or not you like playing on PC. By the time you've caned and rinsed both of those, there'll surely be another Steam sale.

My laptop's system specs are lower than yours and I can run both of these games without any issue, btw.


No matter what you choose, let us know how you get on!

[hazeredmist]

Awesome, cheers

I bought all 3, but put in a request for a refund on Caladrius. Sounds like I don't need that one.

[hazeredmist]

My Steam username is hazeredmist by the way. Add me!

The way I see it, my stick is kinda my platform now for shmups so if there are golden deals like this on Steam I might as well try it. I'll get past the PC bollocks. Shmups are literally changing my whole gaming landscape, it's weird.

[KSubzero1000]

Shmups are literally changing my whole gaming landscape, it's weird.

They... They grow up so fast.

[hazeredmist]

Haha!

[Michiel K]

Really loving Rolling Gunner. I reached deep into Stage 5 in Casual and got a 60 mil score for it. Laff all ya want, but WHAT A RUSH!

[hazeredmist]

Nice one, accepted

Is "Futari" called "Mushihimesama" on Steam? Forgive the despicable n00b query.