Psyvariar ...so confusing...

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CIT
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Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by CIT »

I'm thinking whether I should get one of the Psyvariar games since the gameplay sounds similar to the Shikigami games (i.e. fun), but there's so many different versions and I have no clue as to which one is best.
I'm assuming if I get "Psyvariar 2: Ultimate Final" for PS2 that would be all the Psyvariar one could ask for, but that's just going by the title.
Is there any Psyvariar freak who can produce a list of all the games, and a short description of how it differs from other versions? That would just make my day!
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Thunder Force
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Post by Thunder Force »

8 home versions in all.

Psyvariar: Medium Unit - the original game that introduced "buzz" to the world.
Psyvariar: Revison - nice "remix" of MU which lets you buzz each bullet more than once.
Psyvariar: Complete Edition - compilation of MU and Revision.
Psyvariar: Complete Edition: Special Capture Box - compilation of MU and Revision and bonus DVD.
Psyvariar: Complete Edition: Special Sound Box - compilation of MU and Revision and bonus OST.
Psyvariar 2: The Will To Fabricate - straight port of Naomi sequel for DC.
Psyvariar 2: Extend Edition - Xbox version with less slowdown and replay saves to hard disk, and replay sharing on Xbox Live.
Psyvariar 2: Ultimate Final - port of The Will To Fabricate with extra "mission mode" and bonus DVD

Which one is best is up to you, it's an impressive franchise if you like what it has to offer.
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Post by professor ganson »

BulletMagnet told me that Revision is better than Medium Unit, so I got Revision. It's a nice game. If you decide to go for Psyvariar 2, the PS2 version has the advantage that it comes with a replay disc. Revision and 2 both include tate mode, of course, and they look nice, though the backgrounds are typically a bit on the plain side-- sometimes it's just endless space behind the field of play. The gameplay really does remind one of the Shiki games, though I haven't really spent the time to figure out the Psyvariar scoring-mechanics yet.
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Post by BulletMagnet »

Though you've got the bunch of different "editions" and such that TF listed above, there are really only 3 "core" Psyvariar games to worry about, namely Medium Unit, Revision, and 2. The first 2 are only available (as a home port, anyways) on the PS2, while Psy 2 is on the DC, XBox, and PS2, as described above.

Medium Unit has the most "basic" Psyvariar engine, and is the least "outlandish" of the bunch: you've got one basic gun to use and a limited supply of bombs, as well as the ability to "roll' and adjust your speed and condense your shot: you can do this either by moving left to right quickly to start up, or just use the "roll" button. If you move close to enemy bullets you can "buzz" them and increase your score (the more times you can buzz in a single stage without dying, the more points you get), as well as your "experience" meter (shooting stuff down also increases it); when the meter fills up, you "level up" and are given a moment or two of invincibility. Once you "level up" enough times, your ship changes shape and your shot power is increased a bit. You can only buzz any given bullet one time. The better you do on a stage, the more choices you're given as to where to go on a branching path (basically "easy," "normal," and "hard" stages). One unusual gameplay bit to note is that when you get to a boss, if you want to score well you DON'T want to kill it (they don't give you any points if you do, IIRC!); stay alive long enough and it'll eventually die, though hopefully before it does you'll have buzzed a whole butt-load of shots and bulked up your score. However, when fighting a boss your experience meter goes up VERY slowly, so don't expect many invincibility windows from that.

Revision plays much like Medium Unit, but with a few key changes: for one thing, the graphics are a bit different, though the basic stage themes and such are mostly the same; enemy formations and such are also different, as well as the way your shot powers up. You also have the option of using a "small bomb" as well as a "normal" bomb this time around (you can assign each to a different button); it gives you invincibility, like a regular bomb, but doesn't blow all enemies/bullets off the screen (good to use if you need to get out of a tight spot but want to keep buzzing shots/not kill a boss). The most important change, though, is that you can now buzz an individual bullet multiple times, even more so if you're rolling; this makes leveling up much more frequent, and gives the game a hint of Compile-ness, in that to score well you want to "link" invincibility windows together and rush into tight spots to earn more of them. Thus the gameplay's a bit more unorthodox than Medium Unit; as the prof said, it's my personal preference of the two, but others might feel differently. Both Medium Unit and Revision keep track of your highest scores for both "regular" play-throughs and individual stages, though you can only view the latter during gameplay.

Psyvariar 2 is sort of a combination of the first 2, in some ways. First off, you can pick between 2 "ships" at the beginning, a "shooting type" and a "buzz type." The first has a stronger gun and a "regular" bomb (which hurts stuff), and its experience meter goes up more when it shoots stuff than when it buzzes bullets. The latter has a weaker gun and a "small bomb," but (IIRC) a slightly longer invincibility window when leveling up, and gains more experience when buzzing, as opposed to shooting stuff. You can buzz bullets multiple times, as in Revision, but your ship won't change form until after a stage is over, if you've leveled up enough. If you manage to get through the "main" 5 stages and have leveled up a lot, you get access to a secret 6th stage. The main differences between the 3 ports were mentioned above; all but the DC version have a "roll" button, IIRC.

Hopefully that'll give you the general idea...
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Post by iatneH »

I have Revision and Ultimate Final, but personally I play them nothing at all like Shikigami.

In Psyvariar, I'll wiggle the joystick all around inside a bullet swarm like a wanker, but in Shiki I'll carefully tap the stick to hover near a single target bullet.
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I've got the Psy-R Taito G-Card version...

Post by PC Engine Fan X! »

If you have a Supergun or arcade cabinet setup, then picking up a Taito G-Net motherboard with Taito G-Card of both or either Psyvariar Medium Unit or Psyvariar Revision. Psy-R G-Card is the one to own as it has cool replays to watch and are saved directly to the G-Card cartridge itself.

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Post by Klatrymadon »

I actually prefer Revision over 2, but if you're new to the franchise I'd say 2 is probably your safest bet. :)
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Post by sven666 »

since you live in germany, just pick up the PAL release, it has 60hz option and includes both revision and medium unit and is priced <$10
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Post by Thunder Force »

BulletMagnet wrote:The main differences between the 3 ports [of Psyvariar 2] were mentioned above; all but the DC version have a "roll" button, IIRC.
The Xbox version also does not have a roll button. That option is PS2-only.
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Post by Zweihander »

Bal-Sagoth wrote:I actually prefer Revision over 2, but if you're new to the franchise I'd say 2 is probably your safest bet. :)
Seconded. I personally thought Psyvariar 2 was shit compared to Revision, but the trigger controls for spinning/buzzing for the PS2 version of Psyvariar 2 are much more forgiving than the having to stay in motion controls from the DC version, and a bit easier to handle than Revision's trigger controls, I'll admit. If you're new to Psyvariar, 2 is probably a good idea. If you want something with a bit more replay value, go for Revision.
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Post by iatneH »

Zweihander wrote:having to stay in motion
Much more easily and gracefully done with an arcade stick, and personally I just wiggle since that's how it's done in the arcade (at least I presume so), having the roll button is basically a crutch the way I see it.
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Post by SAM »

iatneH wrote:
Zweihander wrote:having to stay in motion
Much more easily and gracefully done with an arcade stick, and personally I just wiggle since that's how it's done in the arcade (at least I presume so), having the roll button is basically a crutch the way I see it.
Well you can actually "stay in motion" while stay at place. For example, You just keep pressing down while you are at the bottom of the screen. You stay in place while keep spaning.
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CIT
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Post by CIT »

Thanks guys, you really gave me a good overview of the series. I'll try to pick up Revision if I can find it, Ultimate Final is still a tad expensive here.
sven666 wrote:since you live in germany, just pick up the PAL release, it has 60hz option and includes both revision and medium unit and is priced <$10
Actually I'm in Japan currently. I guess I should change my profile, huh.
Also I only have an NTSC-J PS2, so I can't play PAL games.

Kind of ironic, bought a J-PS2 to play all the good shmups, and then I can't get cheap versions of others shmups... d'oh!
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Re:

Post by bikerspade »

CIT wrote: Also I only have an NTSC-J PS2, so I can't play PAL games.

Kind of ironic, bought a J-PS2 to play all the good shmups, and then I can't get cheap versions of others shmups... d'oh!
OPL on a FMCB memory card and a network adapter with a HDD (or via SMB share over LAN) and you are all set.
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Re: Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by To Far Away Times »

After 15 years of searching, CIT's questions have been finally answered.

J/K.

Appreciate the info as it can help others with the same question.
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Re: Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by FRO »

One wonders if Psyvariar Delta is now potentially the ultimate Psyvariar experience. I haven't played these games enough to speak to that, but with it being on current consoles, and region free, it might be the way to go, 15 years on.
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Re: Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by Jonpachi »

FRO wrote:One wonders if Psyvariar Delta is now potentially the ultimate Psyvariar experience. I haven't played these games enough to speak to that, but with it being on current consoles, and region free, it might be the way to go, 15 years on.
Yeah same thought. Why not pick up Delta for the Switch or PS4 and get access to both Medium and Revision, as well as the new Delta version?
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Re: Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by nZero »

O/T some overwhelming nostalgia seeing the posters in the first part of this thread
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Re: Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by maximo310 »

FRO wrote:One wonders if Psyvariar Delta is now potentially the ultimate Psyvariar experience. I haven't played these games enough to speak to that, but with it being on current consoles, and region free, it might be the way to go, 15 years on.
As someone who's been playing Delta for about two & a half months now via PC ( currently trying to beat gluon (X-D Boss) on Psyvariar Revision), id say its the best port of the game so far.

Not only does the port carry over Revision's PS2 ports replay mode/ boss health bar/ practice but adds in online leaderboards, shield chain timer, current exp with % rate per buzz, boss timers, and a closeup of your ship on the UI side. You can also use the axion-u/axion r & blanche ship ( if you purchase the dlc) on any version of psyvariar you want to play ( medium unit/revision/delta) which opens up some interesting possibilities from the replays I've seen. The only minor issues I've noticed are that I wish some UI icons were a bit more prominent on screen.

One of these days, I hope the same treatment is given to the sequel Psyvariar 2, since I've heard quite a few things about how the game feels incomplete in comparison to Revision.
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Re: Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by EmperorIng »

An arrange mode a la Delta for Psyvariar 2 would definitely be a dream come true. I don't know how true it is, but older posts on this forum mention that Skonec had wanted Psyvariar 2 to have different formations/enemy patterns based on shot or buzz type. Even a more fleshed-out arrange with lots more bullets and sprucing up some backgrounds would make a huge difference based on the time I've given both Psyvariar MU/Rev and Psyvariar 2.

A guy can dream.
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Re: Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by PC Engine Fan X! »

The bonus DVD that came bundled with the PS2 Psyvariar Capture Box version goes by the name of Success' Psyvariar Appreciate DVD Vol. 1 that was released under the Reverse Babel Label brand moniker.

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Re: Psyvariar ...so confusing...

Post by Terramax »

The game is going for peanuts in Japan right now, so picked up the Switch version. I had on the PS2, but dismissed it far too quickly. Enjoying it now but, maybe I'm just a moron (no, it is very likely this), but I am finding it very hard to distinguish where the hitbox is, or even see the ship when spinning. Am I the only one here?
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