Support NeoGAF

[aku:jiki]

Here, I guess!

I take it most of the shmuppers around here have started receiving their copies?

I'm loving the game so far. The Kenta Cho Xbox ports have stolen some time away from it, but I'm sure I'll be back to working on my score today after work.

I think this even steals the #2 spot on my Cave top list, from its own predecessor no less.

Positive :: Could be Cave's most ingenious system yet? Using enemy bullets to your advantage has been brilliantly done in every game I've played that does so (Shikigami, Psyvariar, Gigawing...) and this is no exception. The strategy involved here is greater than in any of the others, though, and I love it. Planning your stage route takes a lot of attention to detail and perfecting your score can be really fucking challenging, even on level 1! I also love the quirky new bullet patterns and stuff, as always. Gameplay is no less fantastic than it should be considering the developer, but I think I'm even overwhelmed by how good it is.

Negative :: Atlus didn't clear the ESP characters for use in Arrange? Boo! We just get some cheap knock-offs that don't even have alternate forms for kakusei mode.
Also, the button arrangement -- for a pad player -- is completely, uh, retarded in Arrange. Who can fire using square and circle almost at the same time? No key config for Arrange either. Double-boo!

Questions!

1) What makes the extra life appear in, oh, level 3 was it? I found it once. There are four cannons at the end of one of the huge ships you fly over (looks like ships to me, I'm not sure since you fly so close) and inbetween them is some kind of white/light brown shape. I somehow shot that to pieces and a purple extra life appeared. Same as Dodonpachi, I find it highly annoying that the extra life isn't always there for the taking.

2) What does the gold actually do? I thought it looked like it increased your firepower if you reached 1000 by the boss (in the replays), but I now think I'm wrong since I have since reached 1000 many times myself and I can't notice any difference whatsoever. So what're they for? Points multiplier, perhaps? If so, is it always activated or only when it's counting down?

I think I have a few more Q's, but I gotta rush to the bus so I'll be back later with 'em.

 

[D2M15]

No key config for Arrange either. Double-boo!

There is, though it's not particularly intuitive - in the control configuration menu, the Arrange controls are the ones listed in square brackets.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Hmm, I saw this game in the arcade nearby, but didn't bother to try it. Maybe I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

 

[drohne]

i went with the really slow shipping from play asia. probably won't get the game for another week yet. but then i no longer have any need to play games the moment they come out.

your impressions are making me kind of impatient, though...esp.ra.de is one of my couple favorite cave shooters as well (behind only donpachi), and the new system looks really cool.

 

[aku:jiki]

There is, though it's not particularly intuitive - in the control configuration menu, the Arrange controls are the ones listed in square brackets.

Oh, great! I didn't realize this (obviously). Doesn't this mean I'll have to keep flipping back and forth for when I want to play Arrange/Normal? That's kind of annoying..

Hmm, I saw this game in the arcade nearby, but didn't bother to try it. Maybe I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

If you have any room for shooters in your heart, you need this!

I already know you'll love it, drohne. Bump this or make a thread when you get it!

 

[WarPig]

I should get the company to spring for a copy of this. Been busy lately.

I should also get a torx screwdriver to crack open Che's VF4 cabinet and plug in my ESPrade board, now that I think about it. Stupid screwdriver.

DFS.

 

[bobbyconover]

I should also get a torx screwdriver to crack open Che's VF4 cabinet and plug in my ESPrade board, now that I think about it. Stupid screwdriver.

Unless VF4 has an auto-switching monitor, I don't think that would work. Isn't VF4 medium-res and ESPrade standard res? Also, you should be ashamed to be an arcade collector without a torx screwdriver - that's about the most important tool of all! Or does it use those more obscure security torx bits?

) What does the gold actually do? I thought it looked like it increased your firepower if you reached 1000 by the boss (in the replays), but I now think I'm wrong since I have since reached 1000 many times myself and I can't notice any difference whatsoever.

I'm not sure either, but Rummy Bunz seems to think it increases your overall score multiplier. All I know is, now that I'm more keenly aware of it (I didn't even really notice the gold count until recently - I thought gold just gave you points) I'm trying harder than ever to keep it as high as possible.

What're the current high scores around here? I know Aku:jiki was around 12 million last I checked. I just got my new high, 8,600,000, last night. After a bit of a slump I think I'm finally improving!

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

Woo!

1) What makes the extra life appear in, oh, level 3 was it? I found it once. There are four cannons at the end of one of the huge ships you fly over (looks like ships to me, I'm not sure since you fly so close) and inbetween them is some kind of white/light brown shape. I somehow shot that to pieces and a purple extra life appeared. Same as Dodonpachi, I find it highly annoying that the extra life isn't always there for the taking.

I think you have to go pink (or kakakuesasei or whatever) and blast it at close range with your laser while you still have some gems left. Or at least that's what I read somewhere. Probably at the Shmups forums. I haven't been able to get it on any consistent basis, though, so there may be more to it.

I've been wondering what the golds do myself. My guess is getting 1,000 makes it easier to get 100x multipliers, since they seem to appear much more frequently when I'm maxxed out. May be me imagining things, though.

Oh, and what's #1 on your CAVE LIST?? Espgaluda's also been bumped up to #2 on mine, and if it keeps up the rocking I think it just may take #1 from DoDonPachi. I love the scoring system, as it encourages experimentation rather than memorization of superplay vidz. Or at least that's how it feels to me so far. Maybe I'll hit the wall soon and take all that back, but for now it's tops.

My high is currently around 9 mil. Need to hit 14 for that extra extend.

 

[WarPig]

Unless VF4 has an auto-switching monitor, I don't think that would work. Isn't VF4 medium-res and ESPrade standard res? Also, you should be ashamed to be an arcade collector without a torx screwdriver - that's about the most important tool of all! Or does it use those more obscure security torx bits?

Nearly all of Sega's cabs now do have monitors that support multiple resolutions, though, so I think it'd work. I don't really count as an arcade collector, anyway -- I'm just a mildly enthusiastic dilettante. ESPrade's the only board I own, and I hocked my cabinets more than a year ago.

DFS.

 

[nitewulf]

this is the sequel to esp.ra.de?
i love playing manic shooters because of the visuals, but i just cant get good at them.
i'm more of a strikers 1945 style player, can dodge as long as the bullets dont overwhelm me completely.

 

[WarPig]

this is the sequel to esp.ra.de?

I think they just happen to have "ESP" in the title. And they have little humanoid things instead of spaceships. Otherwise it's a pretty different game.

DFS.

 

[aku:jiki]

I think they just happen to have "ESP" in the title. And they have little humanoid things instead of spaceships. Otherwise it's a pretty different game.

DFS.

No, actually, not at all. You'll see when you get Espgaluda -- there's about a million and one little nods to the prequel. My favorite is the fact that the little hand-bullets are still around. (They are now mostly fired by tanks and stuff, but hey, good enough.)

Another nice one;

Spoiler

Remember the final boss in ESP Ra.De.? Psychedelic wings and all. Yeah, now you're the one with the psychedelic wings. There has to be some thought there, but I have no idea what. I just like the attention to detail and continuity.

I guess it's a sequel like UmJammer Lammy's a sequel, or something similar, you know? You can tell it is, even though it's wildly different.

My guess is getting 1,000 makes it easier to get 100x multipliers, since they seem to appear much more frequently when I'm maxxed out.

Yeah, you know, that might be it. I haven't really been paying much attention to the multipliers since I don't see a way to control them. Having the gold be the activator for more multipliers seems logical.

Don't know about the kakusei for extra life, though. I'm almost entirely certain I was in normal mode (I usually take out those last four turrets in normal mode to get their crystals, since I don't find their gold to be enough to waste crystals. I'd rather have the possibility to take out the boss' first two modes using kakusei. Mad pointz!)

My score just got upped, right after my most frustrating round ever. I got up to 12m with three lives left, and was all excited since I was going to blow my old score straight out of the water. Hell, I was going to blow the water straight out of the lake! I didn't, though. I fucked up and succeeded in suffering three stupid-idiot deaths in a row. Luckily, I managed to keep my sanity long enough to raise my score to 16620770 during one of the following rounds. I'm still working on getting as high as possible on level 1, and I'm closing in on 3m (2.9m being my highest) so far.

Wish I knew the 'trick' to using the crystals (way, way, way) more efficiently than I already do, though. I guess it's mostly about knowing how much damage an enemy will take, and switching at the very last second. That takes a while to learn though.

Edit: Oh yeah, Rummy, my #1 is Dodonpachi. It not only is the tightest shooter experience I've ever had, it's definitely one of the most well-put together games I've ever played, regardless of genre. It's absolutely perfect, like Tetris, a pinnacle of its genre. Espgaluda is awesome, but can't really ever compete with what DDP did and does.

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

I think I've nailed down getting the 1up. Took like 100 gems + laser + pink for me the last few times I did it. Normal mode didn't seem to to do me any good, and if I run out of gems while lasering the spot it stops flashing and I don't get the extra life. Maybe I should start using practice mode to test stuff like this.

Just broke 10mil. It ain't no 16mil, but I'm happy.

**Edit: From a post by BER on the Shmups board:

The number shown in the gold counter affects how many points you get for each gold ingot:

Code:
Gold Counter Points per Ingot
000-099 100
100-199 150
200-299 200
300-399 300
400-499 350
500-599 400
600-699 600
700-799 650
800-899 700
900-1000 900

For example, if your gold counter is at 1000 and you cleared your first 100 bullets in Kakusei mode, the number of points you've earned is calculated as follows:

Bullets: (40*1 + 40*2 + 40*3 + ... + 40*100) = 202,000
Gold: (900*100) = 90,000
Total: 292,000

 

[aku:jiki]

I think I've nailed down getting the 1up. Took like 100 gems + laser + pink for me the last few times I did it. Normal mode didn't seem to to do me any good, and if I run out of gems while lasering the spot it stops flashing and I don't get the extra life. Maybe I should start using practice mode to test stuff like this.

Just broke 10mil. It ain't no 16mil, but I'm happy.

Yeah, I just noticed that it reacts in kakusei mode while playing now myself. Could've absolutely sworn I wasn't in kakusei when I got it, though. Can't even recall shooting it as much as it seemed like you have to. I dunno.

So you have to be in kakusei and shoot it for a really long time, basically? That's kinda mean, sucking your gems like that.

Also, fuck the second boss. I always mess up on it, guaranteed. I can beat it flawlessly, I just don't. That last part is some tricky shit, though -- much harder than the third boss.

 

[Lord Error]

Oh yeah, Rummy, my #1 is Dodonpachi. It not only is the tightest shooter experience I've ever had, it's definitely one of the most well-put together games I've ever played, regardless of genre. It's absolutely perfect, like Tetris, a pinnacle of its genre.

Are you talking about the 'old' one, or the 'new' one (Daijou)? I absolutely LOVE the old one (it's definitely my favorite manic shooter), but didn't have the chance to play Daijou yet.

 

[bobbyconover]

Also, fuck the second boss. I always mess up on it, guaranteed. I can beat it flawlessly, I just don't. That last part is some tricky shit, though -- much harder than the third boss.

Seriously. This is usually where I lose at least 2 of my lives, often after practically flawless runs through the first 2 levels. It's just pathetic.

 

[aku:jiki]

Are you talking about the 'old' one, or the 'new' one (Daijou)? I absolutely LOVE the old one (it's definitely my favorite manic shooter), but didn't have the chance to play Daijou yet.

The older one, of course. Dai-ou-jou is excellent as always, but not nearly as tight as its (real, who cares about DDP2?) predecessor was. It's also aimed mostly at the hardcore Pachi fans, the ones who mastered the previous game. It's just too hard for the rest of us to provide any real enjoyment. Even the first boss is hard as fuck if you try to milk him (shoot out his side guns before killing him off). Also, it tries to go for a more chaotic feel. Enemies will mostly just spew out a mass of bullets, rather than an actual pattern, to keep you on your toes.

bobbyconover: It is! We must be missing something, or something. Or not. I just always manage to fuck up, somehow. I'll be sliding into a pattern I know like the back of my hand and time will pause and I will ask myself what the fuck I just did. It's ok, though, I'm kinda starting to count on dying once every time I face him.

Got the extra life worked into my routine now too, thanks Rummy. It wasn't bad at all. A little less gems for the boss, but that's worth it.

 

[drohne]

oh man, my copy just showed up. trouble is, it's a saturday night - do i stay in and play videogames? nothing planned i couldn't get out of, but still. better not open the package. :/

 

[drohne]

i'm too tired to play it properly, but after a couple quick runs: it's tremendous fun, but strangely the easiest shooter cave's ever made. i say "strangely" because there are tons of fast bullets, and they look really scary, but they're deceptively easy to dodge. i managed to get to the level 3 boss on my first playthrough, and well into level 4 on my second. for reference, that's as far as i've gotten in daioujou after a year of play. my score's utterly miserable, though - 8 million something. i've just been using kakusei where i'd normally bomb. i'm generally better at surviving than scoring, but this is pathetic.

the visuals are generally attractive, but the bosses look even more like kitchen implements than the ones in daioujou. i kinda wish cave would go back to pixel art rather than prerendered sprites...i really miss that old toaplan sprite style that dodonpachi epitomized.

i'll get back to it tomorrow...there's a lot here i don't understand. man. there's a new cave shooter on consoles. that makes me happy.

 

[aku:jiki]

Yeah, it is easy. I managed to get to the final boss on one credit a couple of days ago. I've never managed that in any Cave title before, but I'm kinda happy about that.

 

[D2M15]

At the risk of parroting a shmups shooterforum poster, I think it's the most accessible shooter Cave's ever made, but certainly not the easiest - the skill's been migrated into the scoring system rather than wall-of-death evasion. It's probably my favourite shooter yet, just for the fact that it's the first time I've seen any developer (let alone one with the mathematical super-brains of Cave) produce a system that absolutely encourages personal play style.

And any sense of self-satisfaction I could glean from it being my first 1CC Cave game after Guwange was quickly tempered by my final score being less than one-third of Clover-TAC's record.