NeoGeo/Dreamcast/iPhone Shooter Fast Striker by NG:DEV Team

[PC Engine Fan X!]

So has the MVS full kit of Fast Striker already been released for distribution to Japanese arcade PCB retailers? And if so, how much is it?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Jockel]

did anyone end up pre-ordering? I went with the LE.

i'd be interested to hear some gameplay impressions, anyone from the boards go to a beta location test?

hoping for a new trailer or some more info with only a week left until release.

Plasmo is a beta tester, and he thinks the game is awesome, so no worries.
I'll play it next Saturday and i am quite looking forward to it.

[AKAperly]

did anyone end up pre-ordering? I went with the LE.

i'd be interested to hear some gameplay impressions, anyone from the boards go to a beta location test?

hoping for a new trailer or some more info with only a week left until release.

Plasmo is a beta tester, and he thinks the game is awesome, so no worries.
I'll play it next Saturday and i am quite looking forward to it.

can't wait for my copy to arrive; hopefully monday.

any ideas about the "internet ranking by code" works? looks like there is an area of the fast striker website dedicated to leader boards.

[ave]

any ideas about the "internet ranking by code" works? looks like there is an area of the fast striker website dedicated to leader boards.

It will be a generated code like in Daioujou, Ikaruga (GC) etc.

Me and Plasmo were beta testers and both had the game for the past four weeks. I am looking forward to share my opinion about it, but it'll take a little time to translate my extensive review. I already wrote it, in German, so I'm positive that I can post it tomorrow. And I can assure you that the game turned out pretty nice, it's really fun, even for cave whores like me

[ave]

Alright, here's my review:

1. Sound) The soundtrack's quality ranges between awesome and okay. There are some strong moments though and I would definitely prefer it to the Last Hope OST. Some of the bosses are underlined by pretty pushing tracks but also rather silent ambiences are used in the one or another drifty situation. It's no adrenaline-pumping Cave-OST, but I like it. The SFX are okay, nothing too special, but I think that's no major drawback.


2. Graphics) Visually striking are the impressive 3D render backgrounds, but as some of you had already feared, they turn out to be very monotone after a short time. Opposite to the render backgrounds are the stages and bosses which luckily turned out really imaginative. Stationary machines along with some huge robots, that also divide into several stages during their process of destruction, provide the needed diversity that lacks in the backgrounds. There really is a wide range of different enemies and most of them appear in only one stage - recycling is almost never apparent, apart from popcorn enemies of course.
Something that has been discussed here (I think?) were the many bullet colors and if the game could reproduce the clearness that the Japanese archetype provides. There was a version that had ONLY pink bullets and I assure you that this would have been boring as hell - and it didn't increase visibility a bit. The multicolored bullets are good as they are and I have no more problems to find my way than in any Cave game. If you can play Dodonpachi, you can also play Fast Striker.
The bullets have been redone and look different from those in the trailer. More 2D'ish, just as they should.


3. Game Design) The quality of the game design shows best in Maniac Mode as Novice and Original are aimed at survival (oldschool) gamers rather than at someone who likes to improve highscores. Maniac focusses on the latter: Score & secrets, combined with an as lossless playthrough as possible. There are several secrets hidden in every stage, some of which are easy to find (like shooting two big enemies that both take several seconds to kill), others are not.
The player's rank is displayed in the HUD in all three modes, though only in Maniac Mode it is recommended to push your rank up Devil Rank in which the combo value is twice as high and extra enemies are added to the game (that can be used for intense scoring, of course). Like in other shooters, the rank can be lowered by dying, shield loss or shield use.
As mentioned above, the actual game is way more diversive than the backgrounds. Most stages feature fixed elements that sometimes can be destroyed and also give score (and suicide bullets), this adds a tactical element which can be quite fun to exploit. The enemy placement is sometimes very intelligent and tactical, sometimes not. But from an overall perspective, pretty much any situation regardless of the more or less random enemy placement can be mastered to get the perfect combo. Of course there's still room for improvements, but considering this is the first shot for a score shooting game from NG DEV the game design is really great.

The bullet patterns look very modern and are cleverly arranged for the most part. Some of them reminded me of Cave, but then again they don't: Experienced shmup players will recognize most of the basic patterns as they have been inspired by Japanese shooters, but I believe that the majority has never been used in the same form as in Fast Striker. There is, for instance, a boss that circles you whilst shooting swarms of different bullet patterns. Or a it just vanishes and the player has to dodge a triplet of circling bulletlaunchers that all aim at the centre..
All in all I'm impressed how well the Japanese influence has been adapted and I'm optimistic that the shooting scene will agree. The shot patterns do not just recall a Japanese game by the looks, also the dynamics seem just like (the neo geo version of) an original danmaku shmup in many places.


4. Score-System) Although it seems obvious after a couple of hours playtime that the stage design has not exactly been designed FOR the score system, the motivation that comes along with the scoring enhances the playability a lot and still keeps me playing after quite some weeks. After finishing the game with one credit, I still keep playing for score - the essential for arcade games and modern 2d shooters.
Firstly, there is Novice Mode - a beginner's version of the game that features auto shield and ends after 2/3 of the game. Original Mode features a collecting-based system (collect nuggets but don't miss any, otherwise the combo will go down 25 per missed nugget) with medium difficulty.
The majority of experienced players will choose Maniac Mode over all the others, just for it being the most challenging mode in the game. Maniac exclusively features the Grind Mode-ability of the ship: If you keep shooting an enemy or a fixed object (i.e. a wall) for a certain amount of time, you charge the grind laser&shot. When it is charged, the ship turns green and a Ketsui-like score system is activated: The proximity bonus. By killing enemies in close-range combat whilst being in grind mode, you obtain bonus crystals that add up to 6 hits per killed enemy to your counter (-> http://faststriker.com/mode.html)

The proximity bonus system eliminates a "dodonpachi clone!" impression that one might got after playing the game only very briefly. The more experienced you get, the less important holding up the combo becomes (it's pretty easy in most situations): Instead, taking down all the enemies in close range combat to get as many +6 crystals as possible is the real challenge in maniac mode. And of course you must not die or use shields because it would lower the rank.

CONCLUSION

Fast Striker is connecting the Neo Geo shmup from 1996 with the modern Cave shooter. Technically well done and with lots of content for each kind of player (oldschool & score) the game evolved into a really addictive experience for me. As the scoreplayer who I am, I think the experiment to combine dodonpachi & Ketsui in a modern Neo Geo outfit has been a full success.
Sure, there is room for improvement (enemy placement, backgrounds), but what it wanted to be, it is: a great connection between modern and oldschool gameplay with an impressive technical side. And, most important: it's really fun to play!



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was just a quick translation, done in 40 minutes... sorry for any inappropiate expressions or grammatical irregularities, but I need to get OFF THE COMPUTER to watch the game ESP vs PAR

cheers!


/EDIT
better translation.

[emphatic]

Wow, this sounds really awesome. I'll be sure to post my thoughts as well when I've played it next saturday (unless someone is hogging the cabinet) all night. ave, how do you feel that the vertizontal element is handled, is it used to it's advantage, or do you feel "I wish this had a TATE mode" while playing?

[ave]

ave, how do you feel that the vertizontal element is handled, is it used to it's advantage, or do you feel "I wish this had a TATE mode" while playing?

I actually never thought about that. The vertizontal format felt quite natural and the action is not limited to the centre of the screen. I admit that there is probably no stage that couldn't also be done in tate format, but there are some boss enemies that wouldn't work vertically. They're just made for horizontal action because they use the entire screen for their attacks, for instance at 1:42 in the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zKCZMj2UKI. All the boss enemies and their attacks have been made to fit the format, small enemies also tend to move across the entire top area of the screen prior to heading down which makes it easier to spot them. No terror kamikaze-attacks like in Gaplus or Galaga.
I don't think the yoko-mode will be considered a problem. It worked with so many other vertical shooters before and it also works with Fast Striker

[Obiwanshinobi]

Technically well done and with lots of content for each kind of player (oldschool & score) the game evolved into a really addicting experience for me.

Surely you meant "addictive"?

[Jockel]

Protip: not everyone is a native English speaker.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Protip: not everyone is a native English speaker.

I COULD CARE LESS

[Jockel]

[CStarFlare]

memes

the universal language

[ave]

Sorry for any misunderstandings my former translation could have led to, but as Jockel pointed out I'm no native speaker. And I tried to translate that 1115-words-text in less than an hour to watch the game, be forgiving

ANYWAY, I just reworked the review... should be more comfortable to read now.

[KindGrind]

Protip: not everyone is a native English speaker.

I COULD CARE LESS

When people come out of puberty they start to understand it's not cool to look down on someone that obviously speaks more languages than them. You'll see.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I'm not a native English speaker either and I certainly make mistakes in my first language, let alone foreign ones, so I'm not throwing any stones here. Actually native speakers seem to say "addicting" and "I could care less" rather a lot.

[linko9]

I'm not a native English speaker either and I certainly make mistakes in my first language, let alone foreign ones, so I'm not throwing any stones here. Actually native speakers seem to say "addicting" and "I could care less" rather a lot.

Yes, they do, which make it's perfectly grammatically correct in their ideolect, and since these structures are used in a wide speech community, they are equally correct in those communities. I know no one's actually taking this issue seriously here, and neither am I, but I do feel like it's useful to remind people from time to time that languages are constantly changing, and by trying to correct language innovations, you'll always be fighting a losing battle.

Anyway, glad this game turned out well, I'd be excited for it if I knew there were a DC port, or some other reasonably priced port in the future. I guess an XBLA/Wiiware/PSN release probably wouldn't be worth the effort considering that very few people would probably buy the game (a real shame), but I'd like to see it anyway for purely selfish reasons.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I'm not a native English speaker either and I certainly make mistakes in my first language, let alone foreign ones, so I'm not throwing any stones here. Actually native speakers seem to say "addicting" and "I could care less" rather a lot.

Yes, they do, which make it's perfectly grammatically correct in their ideolect, and since these structures are used in a wide speech community, they are equally correct in those communities. I know no one's actually taking this issue seriously here, and neither am I, but I do feel like it's useful to remind people from time to time that languages are constantly changing, and by trying to correct language innovations, you'll always be fighting a losing battle.

Anyway, glad this game turned out well, I'd be excited for it if I knew there were a DC port, or some other reasonably priced port in the future. I guess an XBLA/Wiiware/PSN release probably wouldn't be worth the effort considering that very few people would probably buy the game (a real shame), but I'd like to see it anyway for purely selfish reasons.

Ah, but it's kinda sexy to see a new fangled MVS cart, let alone a shmups genre based one, appear on the arcade Neo-Geo MVS platform. Those single MVS cart variant motherboards are quite affordable these days compared to ponying up some serious $$$ back in the early 1990s. After reading ave's intial review of Fast Striker, it sounds like a solid MVS shmup title worthy of any hard-core shmupper's stash indeed.

It'd sure be mighty nice to try out the MVS full kit version of Fast Striker (assuming if a copy can be lended beforehand) at the upcoming 2010 California Extreme show.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Jockel]

I'm not a native English speaker either and I certainly make mistakes in my first language, let alone foreign ones, so I'm not throwing any stones here. Actually native speakers seem to say "addicting" and "I could care less" rather a lot.

That's what really pisses me off. When *I* am able to correct actual native speakers.
What the hell, man? Worst offenders: Their/They're/There, Your/You're (OMG RAGE), "i should of done x" (RRRAGE), and all these "mistakes" that don't only fuck up the grammar, but destroy the whole meaning.
And actually, i could care less.

[Sorry for OT rage, but it's just so annoying :s]

[Dragoforce]

Everything would be alright if everyone spoke like PCEFX writes ^_~

[neorichieb1971]

We are from all walks of life, from 15-55 and from every hole in the Earth. Personally I don't think the discussion fits here. I think Obiwanshinobi is out of order disrupting a perfectly good review and discussion about it. If I can understand the news in front of me, surely thats enough for all of you.

[Ed Oscuro]

Thanks for the work Ave!

I think that there is something to be said for the vertizontal format on the MVS, which I have been warming up to recently with Aero Fighters 3; you get more room side-to-side to play with and a lot of the classic vertical shooters scrolled side-to-side anyway (apparently feeling constricted side-to-side). I suppose I have to prefer the vertical room of a true lowrez vertical shooter like Twin Cobra, but I also find that the speed of the bullets in a game like Aero Fighters / Sonic Wings 3 is not so punishing as a result, and it does get plenty busy in there all the same (eventually - in the case of AF3 the designers put more emphasis on a relatively gentle curve with more cinematic, humorous introductory stages, instead of of the relatively brutal introduction of Sky Shark / Flying Shark, so it's not a clear distinction).

In any case it's what you have to play with on the Neo Geo, so it's refreshing to play in a differently shaped space.

[ex.machina]

Anyway, glad this game turned out well, I'd be excited for it if I knew there were a DC port, or some other reasonably priced port in the future. I guess an XBLA/Wiiware/PSN release probably wouldn't be worth the effort considering that very few people would probably buy the game (a real shame), but I'd like to see it anyway for purely selfish reasons.

XBLA/PSN port would be most awesome but I somehow doubt it's gonna happen. A DC port is most likely considering their past releases.

[THE]

Here is a nice video of Fast Striker at the French Japan Expo 2010.
The player is not experienced (yet) and dies two times in the first seconds of the video, but it shows some cool stuff of the second boss:

Available in HD too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dhw3aEY ... r_embedded

[emphatic]

Here is a nice video of Fast Striker at the French Japan Expo 2010.

Really liking the boss' bullet patterns.

[Plasmo]

They get even better during later boss fights. Stage 3, 4 and last boss are simply beautiful and fun to dodge. You'll see what I mean next weekend.

[MintyTheCat]

Native speakers do not say "addicting" generally, and moreover use "addictive" as the adjective instead of the verb in tense.

I study German myself and I'm a native English speaker.

Give the guy a break he has to sort out what he wants to say in German, then turn that into English and do this with other things going on around him.
Remember he doesn't owe you anything and he's doing this for all our benefits.
German is much harder than English but German people have to deal with a number of grammatical nuances that don't "work" in English. I can forgive anyone who is not a native speaker so why not do that yourself as we cannot all be perfect all of the time and we will all make mistakes and sure we are also learning each time we read and write.

Thanks for the review!

[Matsunaga]

Here is a nice video of Fast Striker at the French Japan Expo 2010.

Really liking the boss' bullet patterns.

Looks awesome.

[lilmanjs]

this looks better and better with each new video you guys post.

[THE]

Warning: a huge French language battleship is approaching fast!

Here is a long and detailed presentation / interview on the French Japan Expo (12 minutes!):

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdy0l7 ... videogames

[Jockel]

German is much harder than English but German people have to deal with a number of grammatical nuances that don't "work" in English.

I believe i spider!

And screwing up meanings works the other way around, too!

Ficken, ja!