Battle Garegga

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Stanshall
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Battle Garegga

Post by Stanshall »

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Within two days of getting it, I'm already convinced this will be one of my most cherished games in years to come. It is very special.

For anyone who doesn't know but who is interested, it's a 1996 arcade shmup developed by Raizing who were formed in the aftermath of Toaplan. Other members of Toaplan went on to form Cave. In 1998, Garegga was brought to the Saturn and until a 2016 port by M2 ShotTriggers, I understand this was the only official release outside of the arcade. This no doubt added to its legendary status, but its reputation is predominantly due to its immense quality and depth.

If you're interested in playing, it's available on the PS4 and XB1 and it costs 35 dollars on the US digital marketplaces. It's also available physically on region free import. Otherwise, it's on MAME and FB Alpha/Neo for those interested in emulating it.

Right, enough of the info dump.

Holy fucking shit this game is good.

I had played a handful of credits on FB Neo a good while back and I thought it was a bit ugly and hard. The bullets are 'realistic' in colour which makes them pretty hard to see at first when you're accustomed to the fuchsia blobs and pomegranate seeds of a lot of Cave bullet hell stuff. Green/blue/brown/grey thin bullets on a brown/grey/blue/green background can be a bit of a challenge at first but not only does the M2 port let you change this if you like (to loads of variations), once you sit with it for a little while, you really get used to seeing the subtleties and it definitely adds to the very particular atmosphere.

Besides the bullets, there is definitely an understated, unflashy, mundane beauty to this game. That might sound like simple apologism but coming off the back of Mushihimesama Futari, this is almost its aesthetic opposite. It does almost nothing to dazzle you, at all. Its details are functionalal. You might see a few little squares on a large plane which are a slightly different shade of grey to the ship's wing but there's nothing to shoot. Once you are in range, though, little destructible turrets will pop up and start shooting at you. It's that level of subtlety and practicality which I find so cool. Everything seems to have a purpose and so many elements can be picked apart with precision, albeit with quite muted explosions. It is ugly and drab and functional, in the exact way that real world military vehicles are designed to perform first and foremost. It feels extremely 'matte'. This may be a limitation of the era or a stylistic choice, probably both, but it is very atmospheric and evokes a reality that gets under your skin.

The music is GOOOOAAAATTTT. It's standing halfway up a mountain on a 70 degree incline chewing on tin cans headbutting its mate and I'm making a jerk curry out of it. You know what I'm saying? Every single track is an instant classic. It's like Underground Resistance if they came from Lisbon instead of Detroit. Punchy chord stabs, burbling, bouncy acid bass and these glorious 90s Japanese midi jazz synth lines. This music really really shouldn't work for this game but it's so joyful and full of life, it creates a magical cognitive dissonance. And when needed, it gets very moody and imposing and positively thunderous. The boss music is bloody brilliant. I absolutely adore so much Cave music but I honestly think this is my favourite shmup soundtrack within only a couple of days of listening to it. These two are probably my favourites, Degeneracy and Underwater Rampart, but the whole thing is bloody brilliant. Check these out:





As for the gameplay, it's so deep I've barely scratched the surface of understanding, never mind implementing and adapting. There's an amazing flow to the stages. So many cool set pieces and instantly iconic moments. Shooting feels damn good and very precise. Picking off a little turret with one stream of your angled shot never feels less than really satisfying. Weapons are interesting and distinctive. Options have lots of different formations and then secret formations depending on various other systems upon systems. There are loads of hidden ships. You can change your hitbox and speed and shot type by selecting ships with different fire buttons. The rank system is a thing of unfathomable wonder in how your play style and skill affects how each run unfolds. There's no point or room to get into it now but as one tiny example, the more you fire, the higher your rank gets! In a shmup! And yet you basically need to be firing most of the time. I thought I was killing it and cruising to a 1CC on one of my first attempts because I got to Stage 6 with loads of extra lives and fully powered up (but actually not, that's another hidden system) and then suddenly the game seemed to spiral out of my control and become something literally impossible. Turns out I'd basically done everything I possibly could to send the rank through the clouds and the game was teaching me a lesson that this is no ordinary shmup. I feel like there's a mountain of knowledge ahead of me and I've barely put my boots on yet. It's utterly fascinating.

That said, the M2 port also has a brilliant 'Super Easy' mode which isn't affected by rank and it is absolutely superb and so much fun. It's hard to make an easy-going mode that isn't trivial or boring but this is perfect. It's a different take on the game, basically. You can indulge in the power up power fantasy without consequence and that is damn good fun. 'Premium' mode is also fantastic, seems like a bit of Super Easy mode mechanics mixed with a good chunk of Arcade original.

Oh, Battle Garegga! I am in love.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Excellent post. I bought this game more or less on a whim when I was ordering Ketsui, which is rather out of character for me. Very glad I did, though. Fascinating game, very different from the usual CAVE stuff, but no less brilliant in its own way. I only played a little bit of it though and found it rather intimidating. Significantly more so than Ketsui actually, which is no small feat!

I should probably set some time aside to really learn and dive into this one, but they just keep piling up... Good to know you're having so much fun with it, in any case. :)

Joshihatsumitsu wrote: April 17th, 2017, 11:42 pm But one game I have been playing is Battle Garegga (PS4) which arrived in the mail last week. If it wasn't for ratsoalbion mentioning it pre-Christmas last year, I would have missed that it existed.

For those who don't want to splurge on the physical edition (which includes the digital version anyway), you can still purchase the game as a stand-alone through the Japanese PSN store.

In a nutshell, if you like shmups then you'll love this. And if you don't, then do some soul-searching, because shmups + arcade/fight stick = bliss. :D
...Where's Joshi when you need him. :(
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by ratsoalbion »

I got this from my partner for Xmas 2016, I think it is really cool but I am not very good at it.
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shadowless_kick
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by shadowless_kick »

I got this when it was last released physically, but have only fired it up once or twice so far. I mentally prepared myself for a struggle based on all I'd heard about its complex systems and mandatory suicides and whatnot. Seemed intimiating.

Gotta say, though, I was surprised at how accessible and, well, fun it was, even without being a masochistic hardcore shoot-em-up fan. And yes, the music was a big and very welcome surprise. Looking forward to diving in properly soon.
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Stanshall
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by Stanshall »

shadowless_kick wrote: January 19th, 2020, 12:46 am I was surprised at how accessible and, well, fun it was
This is what most surprised me, too. It has a reputation for being very much a hardcore shmupper's shmup but if you're playing for survival, it's just a bloody great fun game.

And beyond that, messing about with different approaches and trying to play with the bare minimum resources and power ups to see what happens to the rank is also really interesting and fun, if you're wired a certain way. It's such an interesting dynamic that the way to make the game easier for yourself is effectively to handicap yourself and rely on your gradually improving skills, and to engage with the scoring systems. It's a genuinely genius premise.

The fact that I felt so close to the 1CC when I first started playing was a complete illusion. I only sailed through because I was overpowered relative to how the game wants me to play, so by the time the rank kicked in properly, it was literally impossible to clear the game. No matter how many times I got that close, it's never going to be possible because of my overall strategy. You really do have to go back to square one and learn to play in a minimalistic and pure way, save your bullets, delay your power ups, bomb the environments and keep your medal chain going so you can get the extends to suicide and manage that rank. It's a brilliant subversion of the genre in several fundamental ways.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by hazeredmist »

Great write-up Stan. I must try it sometime...
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Stanshall
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by Stanshall »

It's definitely worth it and while you can easily emulate it to try it out, the M2 port is stuffed with invaluable features and info to show you what's happening behind the curtain.
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Michiel K
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by Michiel K »

STOP REMINDING ME OF GAMES I NEED TO PLAY MORE!!!

Spent 200+ euros on the Saturn port, a few months before the M2 Shottriggers version was announced. I've had bouts of playing it feverishly and experimenting with the rank to get as far as I can, but in terms of playtime I haven't gotten my money's worth out of it yet!

Every time I jump in I do love it and its just such a mad work of genius labyrinthine game design.

DID YOU KNOW: The publisher for this Japan-only Saturn release was none other than Electronic Arts (Japan). Best game they ever published?
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Michiel K
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by Michiel K »

Pretty much. Always wanted that game. Scoffed at the 100 euro price a few years before that and when I saw it at a shop and checked the online rates, I figured it was now or never.
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Stanshall
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Re: Battle Garegga

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Been off work today feeling gruesome but managed an unexpected 1CC on Battle Garegga Premium Mode. It's definitely easier than Arcade because the stages have fixed rank so you don't have to manage that particularly (aside from some obscure scoring strat changes) but it's hard enough for me, anyway, and it does get berserk in places because you can't rank down with a well-timed suicide.

I've only got to Stage 7 once before so I was happy to bring it home on my last life with no bombs. That last boss is bonkers, a very pissed off squid. Big difference was probably collecting a load more medals and scoring much better so I ended up getting some valuable extends late on. I know I've barely scratched the surface but I will very happily take the 1CC. Also feels weird uploading via the PlayStation. I miss the unpredictable excitement of my screener set up!

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Stanshall
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by Stanshall »

I've got to be honest, it's not much of a list so I haven't really! I could probably count them on one hand.

I'm defo interested in Dezatopia but will have to wait for should be a month and at max two months. Interested to mess about with some more ranking points.

I had a go on Black Bird today, funnily enough, and I do like it more for seeing that it's just Fantasy Zone with more weird little secrets and less interesting power ups. I think a lil shoppe would have worked really well in Black Bird, to be honest. It's a great little game though, anyway. I don't really know which I prefer because they're both so similar. On balance, I like the small, obvious hitbox on BB more than the entire ship sized hitbox and I like the power ups more in FZ. Aesthetically and musically, I probably do prefer FZ but BB is also great there.

I'm equally close to clearing both, might take it in turns and see what happens.
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Stanshall
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by Stanshall »

Can't stop thinkin bout
Spoiler: show


BATTLE GAREGGA
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Stanshall
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by Stanshall »

It's a 'fun' clear I'd say rather than a skilful one or impressive one. I rewatched it and quite enjoyed it because it's a series of reactions with no obvious plan or route or anything. Feels quite fresh and fun to me in that respect, because I'm normally being hypercritical of errors or lucky dodges, but I doubt it's especially interesting for anyone else!
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Stanshall
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Re: Battle Garegga

Post by Stanshall »

No worries at all, I totally get that. The last two stages are probably the most exciting (for me) but it's still just seeing someone who doesn't really know the game improvising and sometimes being lucky, sometimes unlucky! I enjoy watching high level play because I can see all the game's systems working in tandem and being manipulated in a clever and skilful way. If it's not that, it's a bit boring and sometimes frustrating.

I'm pretty much back on full charge now, cheers. I was back in work today in time for the weekend!
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