Tobe! Polystars - first impressions

[awbacon]

I've been looking for Tobe! Polystars for years, and yesterday my pcb was finally delivered from Japan. Since it's a much lesser known shmup, Ifigured I'd leave my thoughts here.

Gameplay wise, it's a vertical shooter that utilizes a horizontal monitor setup. Interestingly there is a real element of depth in the game as far as screen space is concerned, as when you press forward you aren't so much going up on the screen as you are going "into" the game space in certain areas. (your ship becomes smaller) This was a super interesting component to the game that set it apart from the shmups I’ve been playing recently.

Challenge wise I played my first game on "medium" difficulty (level 5 of 9 in the menu settings) and on my first play through made it halfway through the second stage before I used my first continue. From there it actually became decently difficult, with some interesting boss patterns and enemies coming in from "behind" the screen that you have to avoid while focusing on what is occurring in front of you on screen. That definitely gave the game a bit of extra challenge and dimension, as you aren't just exclusively focused on what is in front of you at all times.

Game is super colorful with a great soundtrack, and definitely slides right into the "cute-em-up" genre. Initially I played it via supergun and my Framemeister, and while it looked great upscaled, it was a bit hard to see the bullets. Once I went into my PVM, it was MUCH easier!

I am definitely looking forward to learning the game and getting to a 1CC level of proficiency with it. Once I get a capture device I'll be recording some playthroughs of the game as well, since there is not a ton on youtube that isn't super old.

But I definitely recommend the game if anyone ever comes across it. Not easy at all to find, but worth picking up if you want to check out a lesser known but fun shooter.

[Udderdude]

Nice that you got your hands on this one. It seems like a really unique game.

[Pointman]

More like it's nice he got his hands around this game, the metal case surrounding it is huge!

[djsheep]

Been looking for a while for this! It's a big piece, wonder how much shipping was

[Pointman]

I used to own it, had it shipped in from Japan. I can’t remember how much it cost, maybe the hurt to my wallet was too much to bear and I locked it out of my mind. It’s a really fun game just a herculean effort to get it set up to play. I think that was the reason I eventually let it go, it never got the love from me that it deserved. So it was really nice when I saw it for play in Mikado in Tokyo last year, it brought back some good memories. I don’t miss the space it took up though.

[Dave_K.]

I was lucky enough to try this PCB+CDROM combo out for a few days, and found the constantly shifting 3D perspectives to be a little too much for me (I was getting motion sickness on the first level).

[awbacon]

The shifting 3D perspective and the 2.5d nature (moving into the screen vs moving up) is something I'm definitely into.

I've probably gotten 5 solid play sessions in so far. Goal is to 1CC the game, and currently I can get to stage 4 on my first credit. Definitely a good amount of memorization involved, especially in later stages when enemy ships start coming in from the bottom of the screen, and you are avoiding shots coming from the front.

Definitely a solid entry in the "cute em' up" genre. Happy to finally have it!

Shipping was right around $100, EMS from Japan. Considering the size of the cage it comes in, it wasn't horrible. Storage is the bigger issue haha...it's my second Konami M2 board set, and they definitely aren't small!

I plan on recording some playthroughs and uploading them eventually, once I get the capture hardware and convert the SCART RGB I am using into my PVM to something that will go into a capture device.

[trap15]

I streamed this a few times since I got it, it's very fun. I want to come back to it and try to 1CC it, I was pretty close before. Don't remember how far I was getting, but I remember I was pretty close. The perspective stuff is definitely weird, but I got used to it pretty quick and I managed to intuitively understand how the collision worked.

[awbacon]

I streamed this a few times since I got it, it's very fun. I want to come back to it and try to 1CC it, I was pretty close before. Don't remember how far I was getting, but I remember I was pretty close. The perspective stuff is definitely weird, but I got used to it pretty quick and I managed to intuitively understand how the collision worked.

I’ve gotten to stage 5 on 1 credit but keep dying there. Getting closer though