I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

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BIL
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Klatrymadon wrote:6.6hz is the highest autofire rate you can have without affecting the rank. Trap15 (I believe?) has outlined how shot rates influence the rank here:

https://shmups.wiki/library/Gun_Frontier/Advanced_Rank
Holy fuck Image First-rate info, first-rate conversion Image Cheers bud!
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Klatrymadon wrote:(You don't want to stay below that threshold all the time, though - give the bigger enemies hell.)
I recently 1CC'd this. Friend suggested I should play it, and I somehow got the clear just as I was about ready to give up and move on to something else. I used 20 hz auto, no regrets. It's aesthetically VERY cool but it's hard for the wrong reasons. The ship's slow as molasses with a shot that has no spread to it, and that feels very button mashy without autofire. Not a fun combo. Honestly, the slow ship speed and relatively larger hitbox makes it difficult whether you're at low or high rank, and the game is totally manageable at max rank (it doesn't become impossibly hard or anything). So yeah, from a practical standpoint I found the "don't use autofire or rank will kill you" was vastly exaggerated and the extra DPS helped a lot. You will find you can probably crank it up higher without issue.

I'm glad I beat it so I can move on to playing the much improved Gun Frontier 2, aka Metal Black, which has a wider shot with much more movement speed. <3
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Klatrymadon »

No problem! The link comes courtesy of a tweet by Plasmo. :D

BKR: Yeah, you're probably right! It's a game I've always instinctively tried to rank-control without necessarily feeling the run completely slip away from me if I fail to...

I really hope ACA Metal Black is in the pipeline. The Ray'z Arcade Chronology shows Saturn Tributes needn't be the death knell for good ports. :P
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

I've no doubt Metal Black's in the pipeline, especially if Gun Frontier was.

I didn't realize there were so many other things that impacted rank. I honestly did hoard bombs throughout the game, and it seems like that has a significant impact on rank. Optimally it looks like using 6.6 hz auto for stages and 30 hz for bosses is probably the best way to minimize the impact shooting rank has, but I haven't bothered trying this to see how much it reduces rank in a practical sense, or if rank will max out anyway simply by having lots of lives and bombs when you beat stages. Using bombs also raises rank, so that's not a solution, you basically would have to avoid collecting bomb items altogether which would rather spoil things.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Sima Tuna »

Every Taito game that gets released by Hamster increases my Elevator Action Returns hype boner.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BurlyHeart »

Based on recommendations here, I picked up Big Tournament Golf (aka Neo Turf Masters) and Shock Troopers.

I had a blast playing Shock Troopers last night. I can see myself putting in time on this one. The directional movement while shooting is a little tricky at first, as it is quite different to other run 'n guns. It looks, sounds and feels fantastic. And I love the different characters and ability to play as one or as a team.

Big Tournament Golf was fun....tho I don't quite the hype (at least not yet). My wife looked super interested in it tho, and I can foresee some future battles on the greens :mrgreen:

Thank you all once again - I definitely was going to pick Metal Slug 5 and KOTM if not for your advice :lol:
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Sima Tuna »

Shock Troopers has perfect controls considering the limitations of older style consoles (pre-dual analog.) It's all very intuitive and feels right. Tap shot for Mercs movin-and-shootin', hold to strafe. Tap in melee range for a melee attack. Readjusting your aim is fast yet precise. I wish Pocky Reshrined had those controls tbh.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Jeneki »

Today I learned: The western release of Gun Frontier has a teeny, tiny & symbol on the title screen. So it's called Gun & Frontier, and listed that way on the online store. Not sure why but this is highly amusing to me. :lol:
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BIL
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

BurlyHeart wrote:Based on recommendations here, I picked up Big Tournament Golf (aka Neo Turf Masters) and Shock Troopers.

I had a blast playing Shock Troopers last night. I can see myself putting in time on this one. The directional movement while shooting is a little tricky at first, as it is quite different to other run 'n guns. It looks, sounds and feels fantastic. And I love the different characters and ability to play as one or as a team.

Big Tournament Golf was fun....tho I don't quite the hype (at least not yet). My wife looked super interested in it tho, and I can foresee some future battles on the greens :mrgreen:

Thank you all once again - I definitely was going to pick Metal Slug 5 and KOTM if not for your advice :lol:
Good times. Image Shock Troopers was always a favourite, but lately it's become a contender for my Desert Island ten. I'm never big on route select, being more Contra III than Hard Corps, but this has the same edge as Dracula X: Rondo - not only is the stage design consistent, and genuinely varied, but you can mix/match routes mid-credit, effectively a custom playlist. It really adds to the sense of authoritative trailblazing demolition. Then there's the character variety, and the starkly different LONLY WOLF (Engrish Is Essential :cool:) vs TEAM BATTLE, the latter getting really nuts in 2P with six different troopers in play; all this over one of the smoothest-handling topdown run/guns ever.

The only knock I have is the scoring being a bit busted by timer milking - but honestly, I care about as much as I do with the Metal Slugs and their famously janky scoreplay. What's more, just like Slug, the actual mechanics - liberating armies of POWs, taking enemies down face-to-face - are still incredibly lucrative from pure survival/domination standpoint, which is what I go for. Image

DEM GRABZ Image Image
Spoiler
Image


Yeah NTM/BTG is notoriously good at roping in onlookers, it's just a very inviting game I think. :mrgreen: As with Slug's run-gun/STG roots, Nazca had racked up a ton of arcade golf experience at IREM by that point.

The 6.6hz autofire in ACA Gun Frontier is so good. Currently hosing down stages with it as Roo suggested, with 7.5hz (minor increase) for scenery chewing, and 30hz (you're askin' for it buddy! :shock: :cool:) for boss takedowns. Although, GF being what it is, it's fun to prolong those showdowns a bit. I'd never really processed how goddamn nuts ST2's whole scene is, starting with that preposterously, joyously violent *DSHHH* as big hoss audibly punches through the cloud cover. Image

st2boss @ 6.6hz
st2boss @ 30hz

(I keep hearing Batwider's CHOP U erupt as the weather goes apeshit :lol:). That's pretty badass, pardner! With the punishing explosions and hyper-detailed, metal-shearing destruction, a good time is assured either way.
Sima Tuna wrote:Shock Troopers has perfect controls considering the limitations of older style consoles (pre-dual analog.) It's all very intuitive and feels right. Tap shot for Mercs movin-and-shootin', hold to strafe. Tap in melee range for a melee attack. Readjusting your aim is fast yet precise. I wish Pocky Reshrined had those controls tbh.
Plus a very sensible Metal Slug HMG-styled "sweet n' low" autofire ceiling - tap the button for a little more DPS while drilling hard targets, at the tradeoff of losing lockon. No need to mash! You get the max boost with just a leisurely "tap tap tap," super comfy. :cool:
Jeneki wrote:Today I learned: The western release of Gun Frontier has a teeny, tiny & symbol on the title screen. So it's called Gun & Frontier, and listed that way on the online store. Not sure why but this is highly amusing to me. :lol:
I loved seeing that too! Image All these years, I figured it was just a lame typo from Taito Legends - but nope! Ampersand is L-L-L-LEGIT :shock: :cool:

Image

I wonder if it was some obscure legal thing, ala Gun.Smoke's full stop? Maybe the Matsumoto manga had some presence in the West... hm.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by trap15 »

There was some TV show with the name Gun Frontier trademarked iirc
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BIL
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Aha - makes sense. Can't swing a dead polecat without hittin' them thar Western IPs, as Capcom discovered a few years prior. Image

"The namesh Gun. Frontier Gun."
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Klatrymadon »

I haven't had a PS4 for long and have only started buying vertical ACA games recently, so apologies for the old-hat question, but is rotating the display not considered legal in the high score and caravan modes? My display options in hori games are always saved but the orientation keeps reverting back to yoko in GF...
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Unfortunately yeah, that sounds about right. ACA's HS Mode has always been a bit of a joke... most of the time it's quite handy, but with some games you'll run into annoying hardcoding - like enforcing censorship and skinny res in Metal Slug 4 and 5, or yoko display for verts.

IMO, its main benefit is cheat-proofing runs to an extent, since pausing will force a reset. If it's a choice between minor sus and favoured display options, though? Fuck that, Original Mode all the way imo (especially in a game as inimitable as this one).

The mode could really use a sprucing-up, though I like to think of this as Hamster's equivalent of M2's glacial release schedule. They do try, it just takes years. :lol: (the front menus got noticeably snappier a while back, compared to 2014-19, and you can do once-unfathomable things like opting out of the online score entry, or submitting autofire-enabled scores, marked as "ON" accordingly)
Last edited by BIL on Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Klatrymadon »

Cheers, BIL! That's a bummer - rotating my 21" monitor isn't exactly giving me an unfair advantage. :P

Hamster are doing a stream with Takatsuna Senba in which they go through the design documents for Gun Frontier. I wish I understood a word because this is absolutely essential viewing.

https://youtu.be/b93CrO6CfPg
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BrianC »

Klatrymadon wrote:Cheers, BIL! That's a bummer - rotating my 21" monitor isn't exactly giving me an unfair advantage. :P

Hamster are doing a stream with Takatsuna Senba in which they go through the design documents for Gun Frontier. I wish I understood a word because this is absolutely essential viewing.

https://youtu.be/b93CrO6CfPg
A couple ACA releases were revealed during the stream, as well. Metro Cross next week and Champion Wrestler on September 8.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Steven »

BIL wrote:Unfortunately yeah, that sounds about right. ACA's HS Mode has always been a bit of a joke... most of the time it's quite handy, but with some games you'll run into annoying hardcoding - like enforcing censorship and skinny res in Metal Slug 4 and 5, or yoko display for verts.
Uh... that's some disappointing stuff. Anything to be aware of that's like this? I just realized that the only vertical ACA games that I have are Thunder Dragon 2 and Fighting Hawk. Time to go check to see if they lets me rotate them. I'm guessing that most of this stuff is in the earlier releases, as they've been really good with the newer stuff. It's still really weird to have different controls in the main menu, though, where sometimes you have to press Options or + or whatever and then for some releases you can press anything because they figured out that it's better that way. Oh well. I've yet to encounter anything truly horrible so far.

Okay, yeah, both games let me rotate. My monitor doesn't rotate, so it doesn't really matter to me as of right now, but I have been thinking about getting a rotating monitor for some time.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

At least on PS4, AFAIK, it's just how Hi Score mode deals with TATE, unfortunately. I just tried out Dragon Saber, the second most-recent vertical STG after Gun Frontier - same deal. Hi Score mode will carry over your filter settings from Original Mode, but it'll always enforce yoko, to accommodate the (rather chintzy) score table display.
Steven wrote:Okay, yeah, both games let me rotate. My monitor doesn't rotate, so it doesn't really matter to me as of right now, but I have been thinking about getting a rotating monitor for some time.
Wait, do you mean in the Original Mode (the basic, vanilla "here's the arcade game" mode)? Yeah, every vertical ACA title I know of, going right back to 2014, lets you rotate the display in all four directions. It's just Hi Score mode where it insists you play in yoko.

EDIT1: Yep, Bombjack spinnin' just fine.

EDIT2: Haha, damn. Not just verts, but horizontal games, too, let you rotate. Ninja-kun is good to go as well. Might be a handy option to have, somewhere, I guess. I believe in overkill. Image

The only drawback of the very old (2014-15) releases is, a few of them don't let you switch the wallpaper to flat black. NBD, with it being hardly distracting anyway, but I always go for blackout where I can. Also, the older releases' menus are noticeably a little slower, compared to the lightning-quick snap of more recent ones.

There's also the odd older release that doesn't have a Hi Score mode at all, eg Rygar and Double Dragon. Even with those, though, they've received significant overhaulings since the earliest days of ACA. IIRC, it was with Bubble Bobble that they really started shaping up, with the existing lineup to that point getting lots of patches.

This still happens at present, recently most of Gotch's Konami STG releases (Gradius, Salamander, Thunder Cross et al) got new scanline options and input lag reduction, to bring them in line with the far more recent Switch releases. Akumajou Dracula even got the entire overseas Haunted Castle revision added (not that anyone should play that one lmao).
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Steven »

lol oops, I totally forgot high score mode even exists... too busy smashing that Options/+/O/A button to get in the game to notice that there's other shit on the main menu!
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by DenimDemon »

Gunfrontier is now available on the eshop. Downloading… :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Klatrymadon »

BrianC wrote:
Klatrymadon wrote:Cheers, BIL! That's a bummer - rotating my 21" monitor isn't exactly giving me an unfair advantage. :P

Hamster are doing a stream with Takatsuna Senba in which they go through the design documents for Gun Frontier. I wish I understood a word because this is absolutely essential viewing.

https://youtu.be/b93CrO6CfPg
A couple ACA releases were revealed during the stream, as well. Metro Cross next week and Champion Wrestler on September 8.
Also a casually-produced bombshell: https://twitter.com/klatrymadon86/statu ... PZcIwzTUEA
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

God damn that's beautiful Image I guess there's Border Down, but still... :mrgreen:

Enjoyed the stream earlier despite not knowing a lick of JP (other than picking out a gruff "bomba" and "bakudan" here and there :cool:), it's just great seeing these guys with their materials. Really puts their craft into perspective, sketches of boss patterns and attack trajectories (like that tough-as-nails submarine midboss in Gun Frontier's third stage, bristling with viciously fast linear rockets). Saved it for posterity, on the off chance someone wants to translate it someday (or failing that, I get around to mastering a foreign language in my seventies :lol:)

I'd forgotten how letter-perfect the direction of Gun Frontier's fourth stage is, from the tranquil waters, to the windswept fields, and through the deserted main street - "Welcome" - a ghost town in the most lyrical sense, humming with absence. Where stage 2's airfield is a ripping feast of retribution, this place all but vanishes before the rolling carnage, before the uneasily hushed final scene obviates all trace of earthly warmth. Welcome, and goodbye, and Godspeed.

I wonder if Senba had worked with Fukumori before, or at least knew his work? He jokes about hand-picking him for fear Zuntata couldn't match his vision, but it seems downright uncanny how well their respective styles matched up here. Maybe I'm taking the story about the poor bastard having to hide in an elevator while watching game footage too literally. :mrgreen:
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by trap15 »

I only can assume Fukumori was close on hand because he worked at a contractor company "Space Creative", which had been previously tapped by Taito for graphics and other work. Of course, his main body of work at the time was for Visco, but again that was under Space Creative. Taito was never any stranger to outsourcing work to the same places frequently, see long time associates VAP and Natsume :wink:

In general, Taito and Visco seemed to be somewhat tight, much like Taito and Seta (possibly similarly co-located and/or sharing origins?), so it wouldn't surprise me if Taito staff were very aware of what was coming out from Visco and had easy access to the same contractors.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

That definitely sounds right - it'd have been one hell of a lucky pick, getting a soundtrack as singular as Gun Frontier's at random. :smile: Even before reading the rather callous n' brutal conditions Senba soldiered through to get this game done, it's apparent this was a passion project.

For a good decade or so, I'd assumed its OST was actually YACK's, a misconception I recalled after credit-feeding to the Good End last night (OGR gets a credit too, both under Sound Design). There's a lot of the same well-observed Morriconesques YACK uses in RunArk, but the chassis is decidedly rockier, in a wistful southern/country vein. That gorgeous refrain in Stage 4 / To The Wilderness sounds almost Allman Brothers/Bob Seger-esque hymnal.

(Welcome To Heaven, what an ice-cold boss trackname :cool: Reminds me of another sardonic favourite, Raiden III's Passing Pleasures)

I don't know how I never pieced together Natsume's longtime associations with Taito! Sometimes it feels like SFC Kiki and Ninja Warriors popped out of nowhere, but of course there's SMS Sagaia too.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by DenimDemon »

https://youtu.be/taVU3hv7kDU

From this video seems the fire rate makes quiet a difference…
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Rastan78 »

DenimDemon wrote:https://youtu.be/taVU3hv7kDU

From this video seems the fire rate makes quiet a difference…
There really are a lot more French fries coming at you with 30hz.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Steven »

Mmmmmm, delicious cancer-inducing French fries~
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Rastan78 »

AKA lovely splendid chips
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Image

Fortunately the 4D Lizardmen (from Glasgow?) are colourblind, otherwise they'd have taken advantage of the dusty terrain and switched to the dreaded Garegga Rounds aka Skin-On Fries :shock: Golden brown and sizzling hot! Image

EDIT: Very nice 1CC by that same player!
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BrianC »

I got Gun Frontier on PS4 and played the JP version first and the music was different than I remembered. I tried the & version, and it sounds like I remember from Taito Legends. JP version seems to have better sound quality.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by DenimDemon »

BIL wrote:Image

Fortunately the 4D Lizardmen (from Glasgow?) are colourblind, otherwise they'd have taken advantage of the dusty terrain and switched to the dreaded Garegga Rounds aka Skin-On Fries :shock: Golden brown and sizzling hot! Image

EDIT: Very nice 1CC by that same player!
Yeah watches that one. The game is kicking my ass…
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