Shmups

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Michiel K
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Re: Shmups

Post by Michiel K »

Had a small handful of runs on Futari Black Label Original. I feel good about quite consistently being able to no miss until after the stage 3 mid boss, but afterwards all bets are off and the spider end boss says “NO”.

Nevertheless, even though I took a long break from this game (1.5), I can tell that I’ve grown. Bullet patterns that had me reaching for the panic bomb button, I can navigate quite confidently now... even though I still can’t breach into stage 4 on one credit. Maybe I should just play more and longer, instead of 30-60 minutes at a time with these week long breaks in between.

As a side note, last night my boy asked me if I could show him God Mode and it wasn’t as huge a disaster as I thought it was going to be! Canceling enormous clouds of bullets right before you get washed is fun and I managed to micro dodge through a few very oppressive hail storms. But yeah... first things first.
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

Post by Stanshall »

Totally totally agree re: God and Maniac. The latter is like a more intense Original where the route and tactics and approach seem fairly similar. God is learning by rote. Can't be arsed.
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

Post by Stanshall »

I mean, I did get out a phone video of my S Rank Ikaruga run at a mate's wedding so that's a bit close to home.
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

Post by Stanshall »

"Ladies and gentlemen, will you please be upstanding for the..."

"ESSSSSS RAAAAANNNKK!"

And there's nothing wrong with that spaceship suit.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

He’s back!
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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Think I’m done with Neko Navy. Chased a Hard clear but died on the final stretch, midway through Day 7. First real time I’ve felt real frustration playing it I think, I HATE those pink homing missiles and I lost loads of lives / continues on Day 6 / 7. I don’t think I have it in me to fight my current skill ceiling and don’t want to turn the game into an unenjoyable grind. I’ve completed it, done some good stuff on all difficulty levels, done some secret stuff, I’m considering it off my plate. 1cc chasing can fuck off, I’m no longer interested in that, I don’t have the time or the patience or the natural skills to get that good at a shmup. I just can’t see it happening. I’m not drunk tonight and not massively tired (despite a 12 hour bastard day at work) so there is no excuse I can blame on this failure other than my own ineptitude. Onto other shmups. I may return some day. We’ll see.

Crimzon Clover is my new thing from what I’ve tried lately. I’m gonna play more of it.

On Switch I really, really want Rolling Gunner. I’ve got that familiar buyers desperation. It’s fucking £18 though, I can’t justify it. Need to find a way... that beautiful Dreamcast aesthetic. The music. Lord knows why I can’t just be happy with the shmups I’ve got. I’m gonna try and ignore it for now.

Right then. Off to scream into a pillow for ten minutes for not finishing hard Neko. Punch some of my son’s toys. And bite my arm.

Yeah that’ll do it. I’ll bite my stupid fucking arm off. Talentless bastard that it is.

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

FUCK
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

Post by KSubzero1000 »

hazeredmist wrote: July 1st, 2019, 11:45 pm Right then. Off to scream into a pillow for ten minutes for not finishing hard Neko. Punch some of my son’s toys. And bite my arm.

Yeah that’ll do it. I’ll bite my stupid fucking arm off. Talentless bastard that it is.

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

FUCK
We've all been there, man! :lol:

Nothing wrong with switching onto something else if Neko Navy is proving too frustrating, however.

Looking forward to your Crimzon Clover progress!
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

Post by KSubzero1000 »

clippa wrote: July 2nd, 2019, 8:50 am Post that picture you showed me the other day, ksub! That was spooky.
Oh yeah! Here it is: https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 60A885C35/

What are the odds, right?

Shout-out to "Feedlord Nito" & "The Heliocentric Agenda", of course. 8-)
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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Oh you both know I'll be playing it again pretty soon :lol: :lol: :lol:

@clippa - the recommendation was definitely a good one as I have grown with this game a lot, I'm just trying to do hard mode and wanting too much too soon perhaps! I still got to the last level on a hard mode of a shmup. That was unthinkable recently. I've achieved so much with this game and I absolutely love it. I wouldn't have the love of shmups I do without it. So don't hold back recommending it to others! This is a me issue, not a game issue 8-)

I've calmed down a bit from last night, and haven't gnawed too many of my limbs off
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Michiel K
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Re: Shmups

Post by Michiel K »

KSubzero1000 wrote: July 2nd, 2019, 9:07 am
clippa wrote: July 2nd, 2019, 8:50 am Post that picture you showed me the other day, ksub! That was spooky.
Oh yeah! Here it is: https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 60A885C35/

What are the odds, right?

Shout-out to "Feedlord Nito" & "The Heliocentric Agenda", of course. 8-)
I see Cats on there as well. All our high score definitely are not belong to them.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Just bought Rolling Gunner.

- I whined on saying “bring it to the west!” And they did

- my stick should have cost a bit but fell into my lap courtesy of clips

- soon I’ll be even less able to buy random shit with a second bairn on the way

Happy to support the dev and contribute to the scene! 18 quid. The wife is gonna kill me when she sees the charge. Fuck it. Let the fun begin
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

I can confirm I really like this!! Just ran all the way through novice mode and will go into more detail about the experience next time I post but aye, I’m so glad I got this. Great way to end a shite day smashing into a new shmup.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Right then!

Totally get why you had reservations about recommending this, but it is immediately appealing and satisfying while playing. Here's your long post clippa:

- When I first asked for a recommendation for a modern hori shmup, this was Stanshall's. I immediately fell in love with the aesthetic. Pure Dreamcast to me, busy, vibrant, hori, the lot. I knew I had to have it.

- The gun mechanics - this is SO fun! It's a hori, but mechanically this makes it a hori, vert, reverse vert, shit can come in all directions and weirdly, I've taken to it. It's different to all the other shooters I play in this respect, and that's what you want really. Unique. It didn't stress me out bizarrely, I think I thrived on it if anything.

- I read this review which was pretty ridiculous, claiming the bullet patterns were "random" and it "lacks features". Disagree with both of those points completely. I think it's feature heavy and has lots of unique aspects.

- The boss fights are fun. I used a few continues (2 or 3) to complete Novice mode, but by the end I felt like I was already getting better. I actually tried to take a capture at one point for the mad screen-filling bullet frenzy on the final boss, and inadvertently reset the game. Rather than piss me off, I just dived straight back in and did it all again and got the end credits.

- Replay saving. Yes! I am gonna go and check out how I've done and see where I could improve etc. and during one boss in particular I was trying this "tap dodging" technique big-shot-mark-who-talks-to-stanshall went on about on his podcast. It's probably laughable but I felt like I was doing it.

- The music. Christ. I love it. Cowie heaven. Really gets you going, particularly during boss fights.

The wife hasn't spotted the charge yet. But it's coming.
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

KSubzero1000 wrote: June 30th, 2019, 11:22 am Lastly, The Hurricane of the Varstray including DLC for 1,55€ probably represents some of the best value for money in the whole sale. I haven't put that much time into it, but everything I've seen so far suggests that it's an excellent game in its own right. Hard to go wrong at that price.
Oh - I bought this by the way, since your Crimzon Clover recommendation went so well. That's 3 Steam shmups in the library now.
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

clippa wrote: July 3rd, 2019, 3:17 pm
hazeredmist wrote: July 3rd, 2019, 11:31 amI read this review which was pretty ridiculous, claiming the bullet patterns were "random" and it "lacks features".
What fucker said that?
Lacks features? The devs have gone above and beyond. It's got replays, a training mode, 4 separate difficulties. What more do you want, tea making facilities?
Gertcha!

It's weird, I was all over the demo, then I was a bit lukewarm with the full game when I finally got it, and now I love it again, it's proper grown on me. Maybe I'll hate it next week, who knows, but it's a fascinating journey I'm on anyway.
I'm not finishing normal any time soon so there's plenty of meat to chew on there. Good game, good game as a great man once said.
https://www.gamingcypher.com/rolling-gu ... do-switch/

It's a pretty terrible review ("you can't even turn your ship around"!), but at the same time I can understand writing about shmups this way if they aren't your thing.

That's cool, great that it's on the rise for you. I finished casual last night which was a fair step up from novice. Also tried expert and did stage 1... that was tough!

The scoreboards are strange mind - you don't seem to be able to put your initials in them, and they're offline too. I don't really get that, for a score chasing genre it should be standard to have online leaderboards and at the very least, the ability to put your initials next to a score locally. What if you're passing the pad? That's nit-picking though.

Still not been bollocked off the wife, she's too excited getting cheap baby grows to notice I think. Not that I want to jinx it.
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

The entire review is bollocks, the quotes you've picked out are hilarious. I've played entirely with my stick using the adaptor, and in terms of responsiveness it's PERFECT to me. I think the guy is just lashing out for whatever reason? Something against the dev? Maybe he just regrets his purchase? Because there's no way he's qualifying for a free code. Right? Either way, it's safe to completely disregard the content!
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Re: Shmups

Post by ratsoalbion »

He mentioned Galaga (1981), not Garegga (1996) - twice in fact.

Galaga is one of my all-time favourite games but if it’s your best reference point for a 2019 shmup you’re probably not the right person for the job.

That said, there do need to be reviews out there for the non-converts in all areas of gaming I think. The majority of people who read that will be as non-well versed in the genre as the author, and they are potential purchasers too.
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Re: Shmups

Post by Chopper »

Typical shmup elitists, no respect for the common man toiling away with his Heavy Rains and Call of Dutys.
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Yep, I alluded to that myself - last thing I want is to become insular with the genre and forget that you can just have a go at these games without becoming all-consumed by them. It's weird, right now I literally have no desire to play any other genre. I hope it doesn't last forever as I have a queue of great games to play, I would like some balance back to be honest. But I've also learned not to fight it when I feel like playing a certain game or genre, as that's the path to joyless play sessions and I've been there before, forcing myself to get through a game. Fuck that. Other stuff will just have to wait it's turn. Shmups provide great stress relief to me right now, they seem to help me wind down from my days in a slightly messed up way despite their often frantic nature.

I've now come to expect all the tropes of shmups through playing fuckloads of them so it's never news when I play a new game... Like a rulebook of sorts. To newcomers, it can definitely seem strange, I totally get it. To me though it's like being into house music or football games or something. It's comforting.

- Roughly 6 stages
- Extreme difficulty with laughable naming convention (casual = hard as fuck, etc)
- "Warning!" message when a boss approaches
- You get bombs
- "Grazing"
- 3 (or more) different types of ship with fire spread out a bit or more concentrated
- It's "tate" or "hori"
- Some games have "familiars"
- You're not a man (or woman or they) unless you 1cc

Slight deviations or supplemental mechanics are what make shmups "unique" from others.

Have I missed anything?

*edit* - "Cave style / bullet hell" or "Thunder Force IV" styles :D
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Re: Shmups

Post by Alex79 »

Came across this, thought you guys might be interested:

https://www.eurogamer.net/amp/2019-07-0 ... ega-saturn
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