Shmups

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Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Shmups

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

I've been playing a little Darius, courteous of the Switch's Cozmic Collection. Like shooting fish in a barrel, if that barrel was outer space, and those fish were much bigger and mechanical.

The Master System version, Sagaia, works pretty well. The SMS was the first console I had growing up, and the slowdown and flicker that occurs when a little too much is happening feels about right. Knowing the hardware limitations, I thought it was a pretty impressive port.

The first Darius game I ever played (and owned) in my life was Darius Twin for the SNES (still have that PAL version on my shelf, box and manual included). The version in the Cozmic Collection is spot on, even if it isn't everyone's favourite.

Got to play Darius Force (aka Super Nova, also SNES/Super Famicom era) for the first time. This era may appeal to people more, as it plays much faster than the original arcade versions. More "modern" feel.

Darius Gaiden, needless to say, is fantastic. Funnily enough, the Extra version is not included in this collection. I have an F3 version of Extra, and kinda prefer it.

There's a lot of content here, but I really have to wrap it up with Darius Alpha, the notoriously rare and incredibly expensive PC Engine release. Basically it's just a stripped-back series of boss fights, and I think worth experiencing at least via emulation. Nice for it to be included considering it's history/reputation/rareness.

Only been delving in handheld mode, which is superb. I will have to make some effort with playing it through the TV, with my Mad Catz Fightstick plugged into the dock via the Brook adapter. So much M2 goodness.
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Michiel K
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Re: Shmups

Post by Michiel K »

clippa wrote: May 8th, 2019, 4:41 pm You'd have to be a real nostalgia junky to pay the prices they're asking on ebay though. I'd imagine it's even worse now since I last looked.
I received one for free from an ex-colleague who was scared of his girlfriend's reaction should he return home with the one sitting on his desk, when he left the company. 8-)

It's got some good old-timey shooting games on it, as well!
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Shmups

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

There was a time, many years ago, where I relied on eBay much more for older titles. Fortunately you discover other online sellers outside of that overpriced marketplace as time goes on, some of them being ex-eBay sellers too.

Even including the price for proxy shopping, games from Suruga-ya are much more cheaper, assuming you want Japanese stuff of course!

And if you're in Japan, the proxy-shipping issue disappears, and you can tell other tourists to check out Super Potato while you sneak off the Suruga-ya, and have a massive collection of beautiful, cheaper software/hardware to yourself! ;)
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

Post by KSubzero1000 »

I played a bit of Ghost Blade and while entertaining enough, I find the game a bit frustrating at times due to how much stuff is on screen at the same time. The enemies that launch themselves at me are difficult to keep track of in the constant rain of bullets and the combination of high movement speed and lack of analogue fine-tuning means that I often end up jolting my ship into the exact same bullets I'm focusing on and trying to avoid.

Not an entirely unpleasant experience, but a bit coarse for my current skill level.
clippa wrote: May 2nd, 2019, 3:19 pm there's your score to beat on Ghost Blade - https://steamcommunity.com/stats/577910 ... ds/1656955
I don't think our leaderboards are compatible, unfortunately. I had a look at the PS4 top scores and they're all 100 times higher. Must be using a different scoring system.


In comparison, I booted Shikhondo up again, and apart from the aforementioned design question marks and lack of proper tutorials / customization options, I was actually having a good time. Dodging bullets is significantly easier than in GB thanks to the slow movement speed and top visibility. The game feels very fair, overall. I credit-fed to the end to compare and contrast the patterns of the various bosses and they seem fairly well-designed from what I can tell. I like the ability to instantly negate all enemy bullets currently on screen when activating Soul Collect Mode, but in retrospect I don't know if it isn't making things a bit too easy. It's definitely a great panic button of sorts.

I think the game might be better than I initially gave it credit(s) for.


PS: This video explains more than the game itself ever does, unfortunately:

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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Is that the flying lass one? I've got that in my watch list, looks fun.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

Post by KSubzero1000 »

hazeredmist wrote: May 9th, 2019, 8:21 am Is that the flying lass one? I've got that in my watch list, looks fun.
Well, there are several of those. You might be thinking of DeathSmiles, Mushihimesama or Touhou instead?

Anyway, it's not a bad game, and a fairly beginner-friendly one at that. Despite some minor issues that I and others may have with some of its aesthetic choices.
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Alex79
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Re: Shmups

Post by Alex79 »

I've played a bit of Overdriven Reloaded. I don't really get it. Playing story mode you seem to have infinite lives? Also I'm not sure I know the point of changing colour of your bullets. I get that there are gems to change colour when you shoot them, but what's the point? Whatever colour you are, they all change to that colour and vanish. Am I missing something? What's the deal with not getting any kind of game over when you die, you just carry on literally from where you were. I'm sure there's a good game in there and I'm not understanding it properly!
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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Alex79uk wrote: May 9th, 2019, 1:32 pm I've played a bit of Overdriven Reloaded. I don't really get it. Playing story mode you seem to have infinite lives? Also I'm not sure I know the point of changing colour of your bullets. I get that there are gems to change colour when you shoot them, but what's the point? Whatever colour you are, they all change to that colour and vanish. Am I missing something? What's the deal with not getting any kind of game over when you die, you just carry on literally from where you were. I'm sure there's a good game in there and I'm not understanding it properly!
Story mode is playing through a collection of stages, not a traditional Arcade mode where you lose your credits and end up back at the start. There is an Arcade mode if that's what you're after. There are 10 stages, all with bosses.

The colour changing stuff took me a while to suss - you need to match 3 to make them disappear. They will only do this when you successfully match 3 of the same colour and it is only on certain parts of stages (it's probably underused to be honest). There is usually a benefit when doing it that you open up a different route to collect an alien fragment, which becomes important later to progress through the story as some stages have a number of fragments unlocked condition rather than just completing the previous stage. Try the puzzle mode to get a better understanding of the colour changing stuff. Other than that though there is no effect on things from changing your colour.

It's not the best game in the world, it's clearly made on a budget and some ideas aren't fleshed out fully but it runs beautifully and there is a lot of fun in there to be had.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Suits wrote: April 29th, 2019, 8:52 pm I’ve really bonded with Sky Force Reloaded on the Switch , it plays great in your hands as well as on the big TV.

Would be cool to start comparing my scores against someone :lol: .
I bought it! :P I'll have to dive into it properly later today.

Although... We probably won't be able to compare scores since we are on different platforms... :(
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

Post by Stanshall »

I mean, that's just sound advice.
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Alex79
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Re: Shmups

Post by Alex79 »

hazeredmist wrote: May 9th, 2019, 1:59 pm Story mode is playing through a collection of stages, not a traditional Arcade mode where you lose your credits and end up back at the start. There is an Arcade mode if that's what you're after. There are 10 stages, all with bosses
Hmm OK thanks, it still seems a little odd that story mode poses no challenge. I mean literally, you're invincible. Just seems weird. It's not like there is actually a 'story' either.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

Post by KSubzero1000 »

clippa wrote: May 9th, 2019, 7:36 pm They just hack off the last 2 digits on the steam leaderboard rather than turning them into zero's.
So, I suppose my score is "2,548,930,400"
Yes, that's what I suspected as well. Very impressive, btw! That would put you at #1 of the PC leaderboards and #2 on PS4. Don't think I'll be beating that, but I'll give it a shot! :P

clippa wrote: May 9th, 2019, 7:36 pm If it's feeling a bit loose, one of the ships will be slower than all the others, have you tried them all?

My advice would be to get a bit further up the screen and kill enemies before they get a chance to shoot, be brave now so your future self doesn't have to be braver.
Yes, obviously I've tried them all. I think the issue is that I want to use the green one (Milan) for its powerful straight shot, but it also appears to be the fastest one from what I can tell, which gets me in a lot of trouble. I'll keep experimenting with the others to see if I can alleviate the issue somehow.

And yeah, I keep trying to do that but I get overwhelmed and killed from off-screen sooner or later. So easier said than done in my case, but good advice regardless.


EDIT: One other thing worth mentioning is that the game doesn't appear to have any leaderboards for the individual stages, and that the "Score Attack" mode is basically a revamped mix of the first two stages put together. Very strange.
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

Post by Stanshall »

Astebreed and Steredenn both in the current eShop sales. The former is better, flashy with some unusually complex but fun controls. Pretty solid production values for an indie. The latter is a brick hard roguelike thing with minimal progression and not much variety but it's also well made.
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Suits
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Re: Shmups

Post by Suits »

KSubzero1000 wrote: May 9th, 2019, 2:05 pm I bought it! :P I'll have to dive into it properly later today.

Although... We probably won't be able to compare scores since we are on different platforms... :(
Cool.

It really serves me well in terms of difficulty and structure.

Not played it for a week now but it good to know it's there when I fancy some of it again and I feel I can just pick it back up as it's fairly straight forward and you'll always getting stronger/progressing.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

Post by KSubzero1000 »

clippa wrote: May 9th, 2019, 10:20 pm Can you write the score down the next time you're on?
Of course, there you go:

GLOBAL SCORE ATTACK

#1: 2,870,762,900 - Combo: 880 - Ship: Ghost
#2: 2,390,565,800 - Combo: 820 - Ship: Ghost
#3: 2,358,269,200 - Combo: 832 - Ship: Ghost
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Michiel K
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Re: Shmups

Post by Michiel K »

clippa wrote: May 9th, 2019, 7:36 pm Yeah, I loved scramble on there and fortress of narzod, web warp, berserk. Lots of good stuff! Are you babysitting it until his wifes in a less stabby mood, or is it yours now? That's very generous, even if he was fearing for his life.
Oh, it was definitely a gift! Built up a decent collection of cartridges for it in the 9 years that have passed since. So Narzod is good too, you say? Isn't that the one with the ricocheting bullets?
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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Alex79uk wrote: May 9th, 2019, 7:50 pm
hazeredmist wrote: May 9th, 2019, 1:59 pm Story mode is playing through a collection of stages, not a traditional Arcade mode where you lose your credits and end up back at the start. There is an Arcade mode if that's what you're after. There are 10 stages, all with bosses
Hmm OK thanks, it still seems a little odd that story mode poses no challenge. I mean literally, you're invincible. Just seems weird. It's not like there is actually a 'story' either.
I don't think that's the case, I didn't have that experience at all - maybe you're just very good at it :D There is a story, it's just not a big epic fleshed out drama. If it ain't for you you've only lost 89p at least.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

clippa wrote: May 9th, 2019, 11:06 pm Thanks, man!
It's on! It's on! Footballs coming home.
Ah, memories of the 'Seeds at South Beach last year. Still had hope in our hearts. Before getting sparked out by Croatia.
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Alex79
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Re: Shmups

Post by Alex79 »

hazeredmist wrote: May 10th, 2019, 9:03 am
Alex79uk wrote: May 9th, 2019, 7:50 pm
hazeredmist wrote: May 9th, 2019, 1:59 pm Story mode is playing through a collection of stages, not a traditional Arcade mode where you lose your credits and end up back at the start. There is an Arcade mode if that's what you're after. There are 10 stages, all with bosses
Hmm OK thanks, it still seems a little odd that story mode poses no challenge. I mean literally, you're invincible. Just seems weird. It's not like there is actually a 'story' either.
I don't think that's the case, I didn't have that experience at all - maybe you're just very good at it :D There is a story, it's just not a big epic fleshed out drama. If it ain't for you you've only lost 89p at least.
That'll be it, haha. :lol:

Nah I'm enjoying the shooting enough!
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

Post by Stanshall »

I JTagged my 360 so I could play the region locked Japanese stuff because I don't fancy having a separate Japanese console under the telly for three imported games. It's also a lot more convenient than swapping discs constantly, I must be honest.

Anyway, I got the Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu Black Label version and I've been giving it a good whirl. It's basically a more spectacular, flashy version with massively increased scoring, combos rocketing into five figures, obscene bullet cancelling and dazzling medal showers. It's a real shame that they delisted it on the EU marketplace because it takes an already amazing game into seventh gear or something. I dropped DFK a bit when I got Futari but I'm really glad to know that this is also an option when I do commit more time to it.

I've also been playing Dodonpachi DaiOuJou Black Label Extra which is so great to have because my only other option for DOJ is to emulate it with a Fire Stick or pop out to Arcade Club. The latter is obviously a brilliant option but I can't play in my pants there, even on the 21+ floor. It's still a masterful game and I feel excited to play it every time that squiggly synth kicks in at the start of stage one. I'm looking forward to unlocking X Mode and the various extra bits and bobs on the disc.

Also great to properly play Mushihimesama HD rather than on my laptop which feels like it's been dug up from Pet Semetary whenever I try to boot it. I saw some stuff about how these two Cave ports have crap input lag but they're plenty good enough for my level, to be honest. It's kind of funny going back to the first Mushi game after playing so much Futari because it feels almost quaint. The enemy designs and level designs and music (especially) are fantastic but it feels almost minimalist in comparison to the gem shredding technicolour mayhem of Futari Black Label.

Just all great great great great games.
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