Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi Extra (XBox 360)

[Dave_K.]

Finally posted my review from the last shmupmeet. Nothing terribly new that hasn't already been stated by now.

[EOJ]

Finally posted my review from the last shmupmeet. Nothing terribly new that hasn't already been stated by now.

One correction:

"Of course with the fixed roms comes no chance of music slowdown in stage 4"

The music bug happens in Stage 5 (not 4), and the fixed ROM does NOT fix this (but the port does). I've played on the fixed rom, and the music bug still happened on occasion.

[Dave_K.]

Thanks EOJ, I just removed that part. I was sure I had seen a video of stage 4 music slow down as well, but couldn't seem to find it just now. Anyway, I didn't know it was still a problem on the fixed rom.

[Zweihander]

Finally posted my review from the last shmupmeet. Nothing terribly new that hasn't already been stated by now.

So basically, it's an excellent game regardless, and the only people who would whine about it are PCB elitists?

Eh. I would have pre-ordered it if it was region-free, but nope. Not looking to Jtag my 360 any time soon either, and I've never bought a console (much less imported one) just for one game, and never will. Too bad it will probably never be localized, either. :/ But hey, anything can be emulated eventually.

[Phellan Wolf]

I don't have my copy yet, but I had the chance to have a quick gameplay on the X360 version and I have to say that I was very impressed with it. I only played for barely 20 minutes and couldn't believe the great effort that 5pb has put to the port. It is true that it miss a bit of graphical options and a hi-res mode, but gameplay wise it is impressive. I think that they've redeemed themselves with this game after the DOJ port, wich I hope it gets the patch soon.

[peace4myheart]

Just got my copy on Saturday. Though I am not that great with shmups, I really like this game a lot. The game is so brutal but oh so much fun. I like it more than Futari and ESPgaluda, maybe because its art style is more of my taste and has more of an old school vibe. Right now I am just playing for survival...yeah, as if there is anything else. Can only clear 1st stage without dying. Second stage still get a life or two from me. Third stage is credit feed. Need more practice. Going back again tomorrow for more punishment.

[8 1/2]

Ketsui thread post templates:

"I just got this game and played it twice. I like it better than "X"..."

"I just got this game and played it twice. I don't like it as much as "X"..."

"I just compared this game to the PCB, and..."

"Not region free, therefore I'm posting just to say I'm not buying it..."


That about cover it, or did I miss one?

[emphatic]

That about cover it, or did I miss one?

"Wow, this really lives up to all the hype"?

[mistcore]

Gonna use template #1: "I just got this game and played it twice. I like it better than "X"..."

I got the game on Saturday as well, and I love the game as well.

But what surprised me more is the place I got the game from, which is called Game Trader.
It's a small store in St. Charles, MO that looks shady on the outside, but carries a lot of Japanese games for various consoles.
They had Japanese games for NES, SNES, GEN, GB, GBA, PS1, N64, Saturn, PS2, Dreamcast, PSP, PS3, and the 360. There were even several unused arcade cabinets in the store.
The store owner knew what he was talking about when I asked him a few questions, and there's a chance he might be fluent in Japanese even if doesn't look like it.
He also said that he'd be getting Deathsmiles 2 in stock this week, FYI.
Another thing to note was that games I thought were classics or rare were priced low, while more mediocre and crappier games were priced higher than normal.
Maybe it's just me.

[StarCreator]

I'd be really surprised if he can get Deathsmiles II X this week given it's still over two weeks from the release date. At least next week would be in the realm of possibility.

[mistcore]

Maybe I misheard him then, since I really wasn't paying attention to Deathsmiles 2 stuff anyway.

[Joe T.]

Gonna use template #1: "I just got this game and played it twice. I like it better than "X"..."

I got the game on Saturday as well, and I love the game as well.

But what surprised me more is the place I got the game from, which is called Game Trader.
It's a small store in St. Charles, MO that looks shady on the outside, but carries a lot of Japanese games for various consoles.
They had Japanese games for NES, SNES, GEN, GB, GBA, PS1, N64, Saturn, PS2, Dreamcast, PSP, PS3, and the 360. There were even several unused arcade cabinets in the store.
The store owner knew what he was talking about when I asked him a few questions, and there's a chance he might be fluent in Japanese even if doesn't look like it.
He also said that he'd be getting Deathsmiles 2 in stock this week, FYI.
Another thing to note was that games I thought were classics or rare were priced low, while more mediocre and crappier games were priced higher than normal.
Maybe it's just me.

Caldwert and I have been going to Trader's for years. He's definitely not fluent in Japanese haha, but he does know what he's talking about. As his store is a bit of an anomaly, I wouldn't really get too bent out of shape on his prices. Over the years I'd say he's kept his prices pretty much right on (with the odd discrepancy here and there), especially considering how little he pays attention to stuff like ebay and internet forums in general. Overall, a pretty cool place to get games.

[Dale]

Well the scoring is as fun as I remember. Extra mode is a perfect set peace with the origina, each pushs me just the right way when switching from one too the other. What most people don't talk about is how great the level design and bullet patterns are. Their is a healthy amount of spread up patterns but they are clustered in such way that it allows you to get close before you kill the enemy. Dealing with layers of the patterns is a blast and getting into the right spot to deal with popcorns and mid-sized enemies is always fun and rewards for making strides through bullet patterns. the bullets aren't stupidly fast ether the patterns are actually some of Cave's most creative.

I also like how the hitbox isn't a retardly big peace of shit like DOJ. Great music too and graphics. This one met the hype for me.

[Zweihander]

PS3

games

Oh, you.

[mistcore]

Damn, you got me there.

[clp]

I also like how the hitbox isn't a retardly big peace of shit like DOJ. Great music too and graphics. This one met the hype for me.

wat

[8 1/2]

It's quickly becoming apparent that the clone ships you face in Stage 5 are my greatest enemy. I can get to stage 5 with two extra lives now, but it's a total wash once these bastards show up in large numbers late in the stage. I've pretty much given up on trying to get the 1-up, and am starting to develop bad habits of just bombing my way through those sections. Any advice for dealing with them?

[MrMonkeyMan]

Stay directly below them, follow them if they move to the side. They'll fire their shots straight down making it much easier to slip through. That final rush at the end though, I have no easy solution. Just dodge like crazy.

[Special World]

Just to reiterate for my own sake: There's no benefit to keeping a chain going for a long time other than that you'll get big chips the entire time, right? There's not some behind the scenes multiplying or anything is there?

[ncp]

I also like how the hitbox isn't a retardly big peace of shit like DOJ. Great music too and graphics. This one met the hype for me.

wat

2x1 pixels, ONE PIXEL TOO BIG

[Dale]

I also like how the hitbox isn't a retardly big peace of shit like DOJ. Great music too and graphics. This one met the hype for me.

wat

2x1 pixels, ONE PIXEL TOO BIG

Yes, it's morbidly obese.

[8 1/2]

Tried out staying more toward the center vs the clones and it's working pretty well, at least for the pair that grants the 1-up. I can get that now pretty reliably. The blitz vs multiples later on is still a bastard of a section, leading up into the "reverse scrolling" area. I can see why there's an achivement based around this specific point now.

Still, this game is starting to reveal itself. I'm still a ways off from a 1CC, but I feel like it's moving toward "possible" which is something I hadn't expected to feel so soon given all the comparisons to DOJ's difficulty. I have to say this game is considerably easier to me than DOJ. DOJ took me six months of solid playing before I could consistently reach 1-5 and crack 100mm, yet I can already reach 1-5 in Ketsui after only a couple of weeks of intermittent play. I know, I know, playing for score is a whole other story I'm sure.

[emphatic]

I'm still a ways off from a 1CC, but I feel like it's moving toward "possible" which is something I hadn't expected to feel so soon given all the comparisons to DOJ's difficulty. I have to say this game is considerably easier to me than DOJ. DOJ took me six months of solid playing before I could consistently reach 1-5 and crack 100mm, yet I can already reach 1-5 in Ketsui after only a couple of weeks of intermittent play. I know, I know, playing for score is a whole other story I'm sure.

My guess is that playing DOJ to an extent really made you a better player. If you'd played this before DOJ, perhaps you'd be singing a different tune now.

[8 1/2]

Fair enough. DOJ was also the first Cave game I owned so it was both a training ground and my first love all wrapped up into one. From there, I was able to go on to clear DDP and Esprade with relative ease as it almost felt like the training wheels were off. I don't mean to downplay this game's difficulty either. It's much more intense than the recent crop of home releases. It's also the first game in a long time that I feel I "need" to play. I need to beat this game. I can't explain it, but it WILL die at some point. I will hoist my 1CC and hang it high on the wall like a deer head.

[ncp]

Nah, Ketsui is just not as hard as DOJ. While I'm in the same boat (having played DOJ way before Ketsui), I got to stage 4 on one credit my first day of playing, not knowing stage 3 at all. If you don't know exactly what's coming and where to be in DOJ's stage 3 it will eat you alive. DOJ's stage 4 is also much less forgiving. Stage 5 however, is hard as balls on both games and I don't have enough experience with it on Ketsui yet to really say, since I just got it (edit: two days ago)

[adversity1]

Stage 5 DOJ is easier than stage 5 Ketsui IMO.

[lmagus]

I also think DOJ is harder from stage 2 to stage 4.

Ketsui's stage 1 and 5 are harder

[jonny5]

if you arent playing for score of course ketsui is easier...the whole idea is to point blank....the difficulty is based around it....DOJ isnt very hard if you arent chaining either

the scoring system makes the games hard because they force you to put yourself at risk....you cant really compare the difficulty of playing ketsui for 'survival' and DOJ for score....

[Special World]

The bullet patterns in this game rule.

[ncp]

DOJ isnt very hard if you arent chaining

¯\(º_o)/¯