Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

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A Skeleton
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Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by A Skeleton »

The spooky season is in sight once again, so it's time for my third annual look at a collection of shmups on Steam.

https://youtu.be/EnT_dpHRDbs
My second video on Steam Shmups
https://youtu.be/SHYu_ETEmJE
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BulletMagnet
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by BulletMagnet »

Always a (trick or) treat to see you stop in. A few thoughts on the latest compilation:

- Always amazing how as soon as I start thinking "I must've tried every weird unknown shooter by now" you always seem to find one or two I've never even heard of. Some of which I even want to play!

- I'd be kind of interested to hear a bit more on what makes you like Eschatos so much more than Judgment Silversword, since they're built on such similar foundations; I wouldn't personally call either one a favorite, but I can't help but be a bit curious to dig a bit deeper into your take on the two.

- I think "XIIZeal" is pronounced "Twelve Zeal" (as in the Roman numeral) since the highest your multiplier can go is 12.

- Hellsinker tends to be a bit too much for me to wrap my head around as well, but if you haven't already read it maybe this interview with the developer on Shmuplations will at least give you a better idea of what he was going for when he did what he did.

- Some of the "difficulty rating" clips this time around are hands down the most disturbing you've dug up yet.

- Prepare to be declared the new king of YouTube once the uncut "Freedom" video you promised goes live.

- He's totally gonna sneak that stupid song in there somewhere and get it stuck in my head again...don't be fooled, it's totally in there...gotta remain vigilant...well, maybe I'm overthinking this a bit...eh, guess he coulda forgot...how about that, he YOU MONSTER YOU IRREDEEMABLE MONSTER
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by Abadd »

Yeah, with Hellsinker, you can't really apply what you know from other vertical shmups. It's something to be learned from the ground up.
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by A Skeleton »

Judgement Silversword plays fine, but I find it boring compared to Eschatos. Also the music is repetitive. Eschatos is a spectacle with fast paced gameplay and a baller soundtrack. My reasoning doesn't go much deeper than that.

Thanks for watching!
My second video on Steam Shmups
https://youtu.be/SHYu_ETEmJE
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by SolDirix »

Very entertaining! When I saw you reviewing Mushihimesama it really hit the nostalgia.
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by FRO »

BulletMagnet wrote:- Prepare to be declared the new king of YouTube once the uncut "Freedom" video you promised goes live.

- He's totally gonna sneak that stupid song in there somewhere and get it stuck in my head again...don't be fooled, it's totally in there...gotta remain vigilant...well, maybe I'm overthinking this a bit...eh, guess he coulda forgot...how about that, he YOU MONSTER YOU IRREDEEMABLE MONSTER
LOL, this is pure gold.

I mentioned this elsewhere, but good video, Skelly.
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by A Skeleton »

Thanks very much guys.
My second video on Steam Shmups
https://youtu.be/SHYu_ETEmJE
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

A Skeleton wrote:Judgement Silversword plays fine, but I find it boring compared to Eschatos.
I mean, to each their own I guess, but...
Spoiler
• Eschatos is flashy but its flashiness arguably comes at the cost of attack visibility due to the way enemies can rapidly come onto the battlefield from offscreen (purple pinecones say hi). Enemy collisions as a result are a real issue.

• The Steam release also has a new soundtrack option for JSS that's enabled by default which remixes two of the themes with Survive from Eschatos's soundtrack and sounds amazing. Though the rest of the songs do loop quickly, I think they set the mood well.

• Eschatos's wideshot has a really awful blind spot in front of it which makes it tricky to use, in addition to it being short ranged. The main thin shot getting thinner as you move left and right (causing your ship to angle) is also a weird thing to deal with in a shmup. These are less of an issue in Advanced with its powered up shots but then you sacrifice your max shield strength. Advanced's mechanics including scoring are weird and frankly inferior (you want to actively dodge the gold F bombs because they reduce your multiplier). Most people stick to Original or Time Attack because those modes are better conceived. JSS's shots are much more conventional and that makes the game pretty approachable.

• Though I can't necessarily argue against aesthetic tastes (I do really think JSS looks and sounds great for a Wonderswan Color game, let alone what was originally an independently developed game made for a development contest), perhaps the strongest argument in favor of JSS being the better game is it simply has more, and better additional content. JSS has multiple difficulty modes, and also includes goodies like additional modes on top of the main game including a boss rush with several unique bosses, a second shot type that's really fun, and Cardinal Sins, a really fun caravan-style mode focused on scoring that's arguably good enough to be considered a totally separate game. Eschatos is rather lacking by comparison; its unlockables are pretty much all cosmetic.
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by A Skeleton »

Perhaps I'll revisit it and do a video about it. Could be interesting.
My second video on Steam Shmups
https://youtu.be/SHYu_ETEmJE
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by Afterbirth »

HELLSINKER...
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by A Skeleton »

Yes! Accurate!
My second video on Steam Shmups
https://youtu.be/SHYu_ETEmJE
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by BulletMagnet »

Skelly is too modest to advertise it here, but it is nigh.
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by A Skeleton »

BulletMagnet wrote:Skelly is too modest to advertise it here, but it is nigh.
Aww fuck. I can't believe you've done this.
My second video on Steam Shmups
https://youtu.be/SHYu_ETEmJE
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Re: Even More Steam Shmups - The Bone Zone

Post by BulletMagnet »

I can only wish I'd done this.
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