I DID IT! Share your latest 1CCs/other triumphs here...

[Shepardus]

Got my first Touhou Lunatic 1cc, Fairy Wars route A-2:

Never actually made it to stage 3 or even the stage 2 boss before in this route, but somehow winged my way through (and just barely - no bombs and no extra lives remaining) since I do have some experience from the lower difficulties. Sure, it's not a full 6-stage game and it gives a ton of resources (especially for its length), but it's still a Lunatic clear!

[xxx1993]

Beat Contra: Shattered Soldier without retrying for once!

[Squire Grooktook]

^^^That's pretty cool. Did you get the true end?

Also





Just 1cc'd Esp Ra.De, after hearing the mention that it has more macro dodging then most Cave shmups (doesn't really have THAT much imo, but there's some fun stuff in there).

This was actually my first bullet hell shooter, credit fed through about 10 years ago. I remember thinking I'd never be able to beat it in less then 9 credits lol (that was the actual limit I set for myself lol). Picking it up from scratch, it took me about 5-6 attempts. I played one or two credits last year, but nothing serious.

I don't personally find the game particularly noteworthy. I don't like the scoring system too much, but it's got some fairly nice bullet patterns and a great presentation. Last boss is fantastic too. Could see myself returning to it from time to time, though not a favorite in my book.

[Blinge]

Just 1cc'd Esp Ra.De

Listen everyone. This is what Squire does now, I bitch to him for like one second on steam that a game wrecked me or I'm struggling.
Then he'll clear it within a week and tell me.
This is what happens. This is what HE does.

[copy-paster]

I got the ABDHLQV clear.

Beat Contra: Shattered Soldier without retrying for once!

And I'm still haven't cleared Area 3 and 4 until now.

[pegboy]

I just beat Raiden Trad (Genesis) playing on hard, including clearing the extra special stage that occurs after the credits. It probably doesn't sound like much, but I don't think anyone has ever posted a real clear of the special stage that isn't a TAS.

[BIL]

^ oh cool - I love that port, and I didn't know it even had an extra stage. It's pretty mean even on Normal, good job!

[pegboy]

Yeah, Raiden Trad is actually a pretty damn good port, especially for the 16 bit systems. I really could have done without the checkpoints (they just seem so wrong in Raiden) but other than that it's probably the best port out there.

The special stage was the entire reason I decided to try this game, as it has some reputation of being impossible and I can see why. That part took some pretty dedicated routing and save state deconstruction to figure out how to do it. Honestly, provided you have enough bombs it isn't too bad. I personally think stage 7 is possibly more dangerous because of the more chaotic and random nature of the enemies and their attacks.

[Perikles]

Wow, that is exceptional! I tried to figure out a good route for that special stage, but I gave up in disgust in the face of those irritatingly resistant mid-sized enemies that will happily shoot you from all angles while gliders and tanks spawn at the same time. Interestingly enough, this addendum resembles stage 1-9 from Super Raiden quite a bit, maybe that's where the PCE CD staff got the incentive from to begin with? MD Raiden is definitely the most faithful port out of the four 16-bit alternatives, I'd say it depends on taste whether Super Raiden or MD Raiden is the "best" one.

[Blinge]

save state deconstruction

Wh-what!? What have you done with pegboy, who are you!?

Well done though, did you get a recording? It's impressive indeed if you are the first to record a legit clear.

[pegboy]

To make it clear, I only did practice runs using save states (it would be impossible to practice without it, it takes 45 minutes just to get to the special stage, and you will be killed instantly over and over again if you don't know exactly what's coming. 1 death on that special stage and it's absolutely impossible to recover.

I did a full, legit playthrough on original hardware + original cart, here's the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9thtumEZSI

[pegboy]

Wow, that is exceptional! I tried to figure out a good route for that special stage, but I gave up in disgust in the face of those irritatingly resistant mid-sized enemies that will happily shoot you from all angles while gliders and tanks spawn at the same time. Interestingly enough, this addendum resembles stage 1-9 from Super Raiden quite a bit, maybe that's where the PCE CD staff got the incentive from to begin with? MD Raiden is definitely the most faithful port out of the four 16-bit alternatives, I'd say it depends on taste whether Super Raiden or MD Raiden is the "best" one.

I really need to try the PC Engine versions. I picked up the TG-16 hucard version a long time ago but never got around to playing it much (is it the same as the PC engine version?) but I still need to get the Super CD Raiden. Do these version have checkpoints? I can't remember.

[Perikles]

Yes, both of them feature checkpoints. The HuCard port is moreso in the MD camp in that it tries to be close to the arcade game (although it is quite a bit easier than the MD conversion) while the CD port is fairly manageable until the new two stages. The latter also doesn't get much harder on higher loops and you can hoard more than eight bombs, making it the perfect game for multi-loop scoring seasons with the added bonus of heartrending frustration when you die with 10+ bombs in stock.

[Perikles]

It took a while, but I finally managed to clear 3 loops of the arcade Gradius, thus snatching myself the first place and beating the former top spot by over 50%.



Lots and lots of incredibly close moments during the third loop, I'll openly admit that I got quite lucky in a few key moments. I had other runs end in similarly hapless manners, so it evens out, I suppose. Will upload the video soon so that everyone can learn the secret of flailing around nasty suicide bullets!

And here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUOl06XirA4

[The Armchair General]

It took a while, but I finally managed to clear 3 loops of the arcade Gradius, thus snatching myself the first place and beating the former top spot by over 50%.

Congrats Perikles on the new record!

1CCed Batsugun!



This game tormented me in the summer of last year. I found it very frustrating how I would always die with bombs in stock. Since then I have done much harder clears and the results of this clear showed. It only took me only 4 attempts to clear this. It feels great to destroy a game that I once found impossible.

[Stevens]

Congrats General!

[SMC]

Finally settled my old score with Futari 1.5 Original

Only took a few tries too.

[Shepardus]

This game tormented me in the summer of last year. I found it very frustrating how I would always die with bombs in stock. Since then I have done much harder clears and the results of this clear showed. It only took me only 4 attempts to clear this. It feels great to destroy a game that I once found impossible.

I've got 110 credits in this according to MAME, and that's not counting the special version. Still haven't reached stage 5 in a single credit.

[copy-paster]

Still haven't reached stage 5 in a single credit.

What ship do you use?

At least try it on Easy difficulty.

[Shepardus]

Still haven't reached stage 5 in a single credit.

What ship do you use?

At least try it on Easy difficulty.

I've been trying out all three types, but B's probably the most comfortable to use.

I've played the Special version (whose first loop may as well be "super easy") a fair amount, and I have no trouble clearing the first loop in it. I might even get a 4-ALL before I get the normal version 1CC...

[The Armchair General]

I've got 110 credits in this according to MAME, and that's not counting the special version. Still haven't reached stage 5 in a single credit.

I'd recommend you play the game with autofire if you currently aren't doing so. It works really well with type-B and according to the high score thread it's not cheating. I'll try to get a non-autofire clear even if it seems pretty nasty .

[chempop]

This took quite a bit of work since I typically have only been playing a couple hours on Saturdays.
I also changed ships several times which made me need to figure out new strats.
Obligatory 'no save states practice, no replay copying

Finally 1-All Strikers1945pt1, my second psikyo 1-All after Gunbird.

[EmperorIng]

Awesome!!! Trap's tournament finally pushed me to get better at Strikers, and clearing the game is on my goal list for this year, though before I got sidetracked I split my time between MAME and the admittedly slightly "easier" Saturn port.

Speaking of PC Engine games above (sorta), I did clear the R-Type clone Paranoia, which now brings my total shmup clears to 21, 22 if you count clearing the first loop of Batsugun Special (do you?).



One thing I am quickly learning about the PC Engine is that it seems to abound in R-Type clones.

[Plasmo]

Good job on the Strikers 1-ALL! It's by far the hardest Strikers game and a huge jump in difficulty from Gunbird.

Keep it up man.

[Shepardus]

Nice one chempop! I only managed to get to 1-8 during TRP-STGT (also without savestates ) and that was with a lot of bombspam and luck. I figure I should someday return to it and get the 1-ALL along with the other Strikers games. Are you planning on more Psikyo after this?

I'd recommend you play the game with autofire if you currently aren't doing so. It works really well with type-B and according to the high score thread it's not cheating. I'll try to get a non-autofire clear even if it seems pretty nasty .

I'm reluctant to use autofire because if I really want autofire I'll just play the special version (I know it's different, but still), and the characters seem like they're more balanced with no autofire (for instance Type C's damage output suffers compared to the others with autofire).

[Perikles]

Congrats Perikles on the new record!

Thank you very much! And congratulations on your clear, reminds me that I should tackle various arcade Toaplan games, too. Batsugun always stayed under my radar for some reason, it's probably too modern.

Speaking of PC Engine games above (sorta), I did clear the R-Type clone Paranoia, which now brings my total shmup clears to 21, 22 if you count clearing the first loop of Batsugun Special (do you?).

Didn't you also clear the Saturn version of Darius II? It's not on your list, yet I seem to recall this was the case.

One thing I am quickly learning about the PC Engine is that it seems to abound in R-Type clones.

Hm, I don't get that feeling. Paranoia is certainly very iremesque, both Rayxanber games may fall under that category, perhaps even Violent Soldier, but what else? The godawful Legion requires a lot of memorization, so I guess one might call it vaguely similar to an Irem game, that's moreso an insult, though, given how terrible it is.

It's by far the hardest Strikers game and a huge jump in difficulty from Gunbird.

It is? I cannot comment on the second loop, but I was under the impression that the first Strikers is by far the easiest one to 1-ALL. Definitely much more approachable than Strikers 1945 II.

[Plasmo]

1999 is the easiest, followed by II and then the first is the hardest. That's at least the general consensus around here with which I'd agree.

[copy-paster]

First Strikers is hard yes, the game also helps to define what Psikyo is. Congrats for the clear!

the first Strikers is by far the easiest one to 1-ALL. Definitely much more approachable than Strikers 1945 II.

For me, that's the opposite.

[chempop]

Thanks guys. It really came down to the wire using up all my lives and bombs before the final form of the 1-8 boss. Nerves picked up but I held it together. As for comparing difficulty of Strikers series, I just don't know. I was under the impression that pt1 was the easiest first loop, but the second loop is harder than the other games, I'll probably never know lol.

What really terrorized me was how certain patterns would alter slightly if I had an extra bomb in stock, or a different power level than I'd usually have at a given spot. Sure, a good handful of it was memorizing the route I created, but I'd still have to improvise a lot in those last mid-boss and final 2 boss fights. Also, the P-51 shield was not 100% reliable, a number of times bullets would seem to sneak right through it so I had to rely on a good bit of old fashioned prayer.

I would like to mess around with a few of the other ships for a bit, particularly Zero since it has such a cool bomb animation, then maybe give Gunbird2 another shot.

[Harpuia]

Joining the strikers 1945 1-ALL club with my first Psikyo 1cc.

I don't have a whole lot to say about my run, but I did finish the last boss with no bombs or planes in stock, and lasted about midway through the second loop's first stage. I initially swapped back and forth between the P-38 and BF-109, eventually settling on the P-38 for it's strong main shot, fast charge shot, and powerful bomb. I'm sort of burnt out on Psikyo at the moment. Once I'm ready again, I think I'll tackle Gunbird next.