Cotton Reboot, COTTON ROCK N' ROLL 2 ANNOUNCED!

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BIG
9
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COT
16
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TON
15
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PAN
30
30%
TSU
31
31%
 
Total votes: 101

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Jonpachi
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Jonpachi »

Ms. Tea wrote:Why do people still buy Japanese games from Play-Asia? You can regularly get retail Japanese games from Amazon.co.jp or CD Japan for a lot cheaper, at the retail discounts people get them at in Japan. Play-Asia are charging like $20 US more for the same game.
Examples? I tend to shop between the two and there's not a ton of difference, at least when shipping to the US. PA at least gives me the option for cheaper (slow) shipping, while Amazon is always around $20.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Sumez »

I often use Play-Asia *because* it's the cheaper alternative. Amazon JP has had better prices on some things, but it's far from the standard.
Jonpachi wrote:
EmperorIng wrote:Good thing any sane person can just import and start playing this great game RIGHT AWAY instead of waiting months for a long-delayed sick-grab.
THIS. I do not understand the support for these LR-style companies over supporting the Japanese devs directly with an import purchase.
If I'm not mistaken, this game is getting a completely standard wide release, like TNWOA also did (another Inin game). Personally I'd really like to support that.
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BrianC
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by BrianC »

Sumez wrote: If I'm not mistaken, this game is getting a completely standard wide release, like TNWOA also did (another Inin game). Personally I'd really like to support that.
It did, but not right away. Usually, they come after the limited releases. I think there was at least one case of the store release coming earlier, but I'm not sure of that was SLG or another limited games company.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Jonpachi »

Sumez wrote:I often use Play-Asia *because* it's the cheaper alternative. Amazon JP has had better prices on some things, but it's far from the standard.
Jonpachi wrote:
EmperorIng wrote:Good thing any sane person can just import and start playing this great game RIGHT AWAY instead of waiting months for a long-delayed sick-grab.
THIS. I do not understand the support for these LR-style companies over supporting the Japanese devs directly with an import purchase.
If I'm not mistaken, this game is getting a completely standard wide release, like TNWOA also did (another Inin game). Personally I'd really like to support that.
I hear you, but you're not gonna get that wide release unless the original market is supported. Import chicken laying the WW egg if you will. :)
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Ms. Tea
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Ms. Tea »

Jonpachi wrote:Examples? I tend to shop between the two and there's not a ton of difference, at least when shipping to the US. PA at least gives me the option for cheaper (slow) shipping, while Amazon is always around $20.
I mean, this thread's about Cotton, right? ¥7200 on Play Asia vs ¥5100 on Amazon or ¥5500 on CD Japan. A few other examples: Kyukyoku Tiger Heli (¥7200 on Play Asia, ¥5200 on Amazon); Rolling Gunner (¥6800 on Play Asia, ¥3700 on Amazon); Deathsmiles I&II (¥6000 on Play Asia; ¥4800 on Amazon). Preorders with bonus items tend to be closer to full retail price on either Amazon or CD Japan, but Amazon gives you the option to buy without preorder incentives with a discount, and both still tend to get better prices.

Amazon have done nice sales on pretty recent games too. Last year I got Cotton Reboot for something like 40% off a couple months after release, and A-Train Tourism for 50% off.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by EmperorIng »

Ms. Tea wrote: I mean, this thread's about Cotton, right?
That's kind of why I wish the last few pages were "Check out this cool trick I discovered with Ria on the stage B midboss!" or "what route do you recommend for someone who's just trying to 1cc?" or "how do I milk the final boss' missile attacks as Kawase? This seems impossible!"

I've added that ps4 amazon link to the op, however.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Augemitbutter »

I'd like to support domestic releases if the package is on par with the JP release. If a regular retail version is available, even better!
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Sumez »

Jonpachi wrote: I hear you, but you're not gonna get that wide release unless the original market is supported. Import chicken laying the WW egg if you will. :)
I've never shyed away from buying import releases. Whether I import a game from Japan, USA, or Germany really makes no difference to me, though it's usually a lot cheaper to stick to EU countries because you don't get taxes and customs fees thrown on top (both of which do nothing to support the developers).
But when a local retail release has already been confirmed, and it's cheaper to boot, I consider it a win/win scenario in terms of supporting the practice. :) I am really excited to try this game, it looks really good, but I also have enough recent games to play as it is.
Last edited by Sumez on Sat Jan 22, 2022 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Jonpachi »

In my eyes, it's the best new shmup we've had in a long while, maybe since GG Aleste 3. It's my pick for SOTY 2021 for sure. Super glad it's getting out to as wide an audience as possible!
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by harborline765 »

I'm not in love with Rock 'n' Roll, but it is pretty great game, and I'm really happy a game of this quality and significance is also pretty original and unique rather than the derivative throwbacks that are common these days.

I wasn't expecting Studio Saizensen to knock this one out the park either considering their track record when changing genres has been spotty (Shining Hearts and the DS Glory of Heracles were...not good, and Umihara Kawase Fresh was an unnecessary sequel). Hopefully this means they get more work in the genre.

Also bonus points to see a game running on proprietary technology suited for the game, so many developers are going for Unity or Unreal now.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Herr Schatten »

It's really a great game. I don't know if it's the best Cotton game available, as I haven't played 2 or Boomerang enough to compare, but Rock'n'Roll easily outclasses both the original and 100%.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but what exactly are the unlockables in Rock'n'Roll? By beating the game with Luffee, I unlocked her (brutally hard) bonus stage "Empire Sky" and Tacoot as a playable character. I assume every character unlocks a personal stage like that? Does that include Silk and Tacoot? And does Tacoot fight himself in stages G and H or are there replacement bosses?

I just realized that the last three shmups I've sunk significant time into (R-Type Final 2, Sisters Royale, Cotton Rock'nRoll) are all games where picking a different ship/character can transform the gameplay to a point where it feels like a whole different game and requires you to adapt your playstyle and re-learn the stages. I wonder if this is just coincidence or if it may point to a general future trend in the genre.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by JBC »

Herr Schatten wrote: I just realized that the last three shmups I've sunk significant time into (R-Type Final 2, Sisters Royale, Cotton Rock'nRoll) are all games where picking a different ship/character can transform the gameplay to a point where it feels like a whole different game and requires you to adapt your playstyle and re-learn the stages. I wonder if this is just coincidence or if it may point to a general future trend in the genre.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Martinov »

I don't know if this newsworthy, but it looks like Cotton Rock 'n' Roll / Fantasy will be getting a retail release in some form in Europe: I see both Switch and PS4 copies listed on Base.com and The Game Collection, set for release at the end of March. I will likely cancel my Strictly Limited pre-order and buy a retail edition.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Ghegs »

Martinov wrote:I don't know if this newsworthy, but it looks like Cotton Rock 'n' Roll / Fantasy will be getting a retail release in some form in Europe: I see both Switch and PS4 copies listed on Base.com and The Game Collection, set for release at the end of March. I will likely cancel my Strictly Limited pre-order and buy a retail edition.
Also listed at Amazon.de at least. Looks to me the Strictly Limited version also releases at the end of March and is the exact same game otherwise, so it's really a question of which cover you want at this point. Though it looks like the manual cover art for the Strictly Limited release is the box cover art for the retail one.

I, too, am waiting for either the European retail or Strictly Limited release for the cheaper price, cheaper shipping, and not having to deal with customs tax.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by BulletMagnet »

Ghegs wrote:Looks to me the Strictly Limited version also releases at the end of March
.....we shall seeeeee....
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Sengoku Strider »

BulletMagnet wrote:
Ghegs wrote:Looks to me the Strictly Limited version also releases at the end of March
.....we shall seeeeee....
I skipped the other Cotton stuff, but they weren't too bad about getting Cotton Reboot out.

Though it is weird. I'm not gate-keepy about the limited aspect; this is a game about a cute little witch flying around, people other than middle-aged men with worn out credit cards should have a shot at getting it for birthday presents or whatever.

But I don't get the business aspect on Strictly Limited's part. "We retain the exclusive rights to collect interest off people's preorder money." That seems to be all it amounts to.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by JBC »

Sengoku Strider wrote:people other than middle-aged men with worn out credit cards
Hey, I resemble that remark :o
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Sumez »

Sengoku Strider wrote:this is a game about a cute little witch flying around, people other than middle-aged men with worn out credit cards should have a shot at getting it for birthday presents or whatever.
And they do. There's no reason for anyone to order the SLG version.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by drauch »

Booted up reboot for the first time since launch and realized ps4 wasn't online and I was at 1.0. Got back online and no update incoming. I've got the US ps4 version. Read through and didn't see anything, but is the patch only for the JP one?
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by EmperorIng »

the only patch I know of was the Japanese patch that forcibly removed the English dialog, ha.

EDIT: how could I forget the visibility patch. Thanks Jonpachi!
Last edited by EmperorIng on Wed Feb 09, 2022 5:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Jonpachi »

I happen to have both the US and Japanese versions of the Switch release.

Japanese version is currently at 1.0.4.

US version is at 1.0.2

Beyond the translation un-patching, I believe one other update addressed visibility issues with the VFX.
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drauch
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by drauch »

Ah okay, thanks. Hmm, I'll give it another shot tonight. Really wanting that visibility patch.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by BrianC »

Thankfully, the PS4 version still has the workaround for the English cutscene text, even with the latest patch (JP disc version).
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drauch
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by drauch »

Yeah I dunno if the US PS4 version has the patch out yet. Still not getting anything and still at 1.0. Can anyone else confirm?
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by m.sniffles.esq »

For whatever reason, the shop near my work had Reboot for $25 new. Since it seems everyone's biggest caveat was that it was too expensive at $50 or whatever, I decided to pull the trigger.

I guess I never realized it was completely redone. I thought it was just the original with new, vector graphics.

Anyway, it's a lot of fun. I guess I always knew Deathsmiles/Trouble Witches was greatly 'inspired' by it, but I'm not sure if I realized just how much.

I also have Rock and Roll on the way from Play Asia, so suddenly I seem like some kind of Cotton superfan (I'm also one of the three people that bought Rainbow for Dreamcast)
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by BulletMagnet »

Official Western console release date for Rock n Roll/Fantasy is May 20th.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by m.sniffles.esq »

RnR is cool, but I actually may like Reboot a little better...
I dunno, tough call. They're very similar.

I probably need to spend a little more time with RnR, but Reboot has me a little burnt on the whole 'Cotton-verse' at the moment.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Warp_Rattler »

I just got an out-of-the-blue shipment notice from Strictly Limited for my Switch copy of Cotton Fantasy. DHL is of course going to fart around with it for two weeks before it eventually arrives, but I'm pleasantly surprised and will be even moreso if it gets here in advance of the Western launch. Guess I should spend some time in Reboot to brush up before it arrives...
m.sniffles.esq wrote:I'm also one of the three people that bought Rainbow for Dreamcast
I grabbed a new copy off of eBay in the years following the Dreamcast's cancellation, when a lot of imports were still super niche and not stupidly expensive. I don't think I played it too much, and finally, foolishly, sold it it along with a bunch of other miscellaneous games from my vulture-collector phase when I needed to pay for grad school. This was right before the prices for everything in "retro" (Dreamcast lol) gaming shot through the roof and it turned into the gouger/scalper's wasteland it is now. Given how rarely the game popped up at the time, I hope it went to some superfan who treasures it to this day, because I think I got all of like $30 for it.

I sort of wish I'd held on to it given the prices it sells for now, because I'll likely never have an original copy again--but then I remember one of the reasons I'd sold it in the first place was because it just wasn't a whole lot of fun. I loved the entire aesthetic (was that the first level where you fly through the snowy town with all the Christmas lights up? I remember thinking it made such a great use of colored lighting at the time) but the gameplay just didn't interest me much. It may be for the better that I passed it on--I haven't used my Dreamcast in years because of what a pain it is getting pre-HDMI/component consoles running nicely on modern TVs. But with so much attention on all of the rest of the Cotton games (minus the NGPC but at least that emulates easily), I keep hoping to see an announcement of a rerelease/remaster of Rainbow, just to see if I missed something when I dismissed it all those years ago. It would look great with a nice HD remaster.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by Sengoku Strider »

Warp_Rattler wrote:I just got an out-of-the-blue shipment notice from Strictly Limited for my Switch copy of Cotton Fantasy. DHL is of course going to fart around with it for two weeks before it eventually arrives, but I'm pleasantly surprised and will be even moreso if it gets here in advance of the Western launch.
I got the same. It's funny you say that about DHL though, they've been the best option for me by far. It's FedEx who are a nightmare to deal with every time.
I haven't used my Dreamcast in years because of what a pain it is getting pre-HDMI/component consoles running nicely on modern TVs.
Fortunately Dreamcast is dead easy because of its VGA capabilities; it still plays nice with 99% of computer monitors.
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Re: Cotton Reboot and COTTON ROCK N' ROLL! (2021, PS4/NSW/PC

Post by m.sniffles.esq »

Warp_Rattler wrote:I keep hoping to see an announcement of a rerelease/remaster of Rainbow, just to see if I missed something when I dismissed it all those years ago.
You didn't. It's not very fun. To quote myself:
m.sniffles.esq wrote:It's biggest problem it's that it's just kind of a janky mess. Very thrown together feeling, and not very fun to play.

And yeah, most Dreamcast games a VGA compatible (Gunbird 2 being a noted exception) with an adapter.
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