Nanostray, pics and video!!!!

jp · Post by jp » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:12 pm

http://www.nanostray.com/about/screens.php

*drools*

Edit: After watching the movie again, let me reiterate:

*drools a whole fucking lot*

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:30 pm

yeah it looks really great.

but if it is only as good as Iridion II, I'm going to pass i think. prove my worry wrong Shinen!

Frogacuda · Post by **Frogacuda** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:34 pm

Oh come on. Obviously Iridion II was a derivitave game, but there's no way could say it's not worth the $15, especially on the system it's on. It was a good game, and a nice homage to viewpoint and axelay.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:49 pm

I agree. While Iridion II may be derivative, it's still an very well designed and fun shmup. IMO, the level design and enemy placement is excellent. I like the way it pays homage to a ton of different shmups too. The little tribute to R-Type in the boss theme is excellent.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:50 pm

its not that it is derivitive. its that there are 1) too many weapons (when just a couple would have been perfect, with right balancing), 2) completely screwed viepoint (too hard to judge space), 3) some levels seem unbalanced (enemy density, wall distribution, etc).

but for my money that $15 could have been distributed elsewhere. that's what i payed for Gradius Galaxies (average, but generally enjoyable) and Ninja Five-0 (actually, this was $10 but you get the idea).

Ninja Five-O is really great by the way. Bionic Commando strikes again!

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:00 pm

captain ahar wrote:its not that it is derivitive. its that there are 1) too many weapons (when just a couple would have been perfect, with right balancing), 2) completely screwed viepoint (too hard to judge space), 3) some levels seem unbalanced (enemy density, wall distribution, etc).

but for my money that $15 could have been distributed elsewhere. that's what i payed for Gradius Galaxies (average, but generally enjoyable) and Ninja Five-0 (actually, this was $10 but you get the idea).

Ninja Five-O is really great by the way. Bionic Commando strikes again!

Too many weapons, but you are never forced to use any of the weaker weapons. You can just stick with one and go with it. The viewpoint seems odd at first, but it's not too hard to tell where things are with a few plays. I have a tip for the game. Hold the charge beam in instead of using the rapid fire. Some enemies get taken out much faster with the charge beam.

Honestly, I don't know why games like Gradius Galaxies and Aero Fighters get labelled as average all of the time. They are much better than a lot of other shmups out there, even if they aren't the most original games. Both are very well designed too. I love those games.

I really need to get Ninja Five-O. I heard a ton of great things about the game.

Post by **Ghegs** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:03 pm

Looks pretty much like Iridion II with better graphics.

Maybe this time they'll go wild and add in a *gasp* battery to save scores and other data!

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:11 pm

yeah frickin password system

anyway, i meant average in a "it's good but it won't be taking my time at home where i have Gradius Gaiden and Harmful Park" sort of way

it is portable though so i am probably being to harsh on it. aside: i still want to find the GB Gradiuses and Parodius (too bad i can't play them on a DS). i didn't know this so i was all stuffing gameboy games in the cart slot, and someone felt sorry for me and informed me.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:15 pm

Well, the comment wasn't aimed only at you. I just hear those games labelled as average a lot, but when I think of average, I think of an unspectacular game that's not really bad, but isn't really fun to play either. I found Gradius Galaxies fun to play, even if other games in the series like Gradius Gaiden and Gradius V are more fun. However, I like Gradius Galaxies better than Gradius I and Gradius III.

Back on topic. That Nanostray video is awesome! The game seems to have better looking weapons than the ones in Iridion II and a lock on laser! The weapons look more useful too, though it's hard to tell from the video.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:25 pm

Wow, thanks JP!

Looks like the ship has some killer charge shots and special attacks. Love the Batsugun lightening weapon at the end of the video!

Blue Lander · Post by **Blue Lander** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:22 pm

I'm always suspicious of western shmups, but this one's looking pretty good so far. Not good enough to convince me to buy a DS, though.

kemical · Post by **kemical** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:58 pm

ninja 5-o is the best GBA game i've ever played. although I haven't played many.

the2bears · Post by **the2bears** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 10:28 pm

I do like the looks of that. Haven't played Iridion II, should get it to have a portable shmup...

Bill

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 10:43 pm

Aww, it has an energy system.

But I wonder how feasible it would be to play solely looking on the bottom screen. From the bottom-left screen, it seems to show bullets as well so conceivably, you could play on the radar throughout the whole game...

Zhon · Post by **Zhon** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:40 pm

The best weapon by far in Iridion II was the forward shot - everything else wasn't worth bothering over, especially when you could convert extra powerups into health refills.

All DS cards come with some saveram (or something functionally similar) so no need to worry about passwords. I think the proliferation of passwords on GBA is what pushed Nintendo to offer some saveram across the board.

Blue Lander · Post by **Blue Lander** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:51 pm

I don't exactly know what to make of Gradius Galaxies, either. I mean, there's nothing really wrong with it other than that it's highly derivative of older Gradius games. It's a fun game if you judge it on its own merits. On the other hand, it doesn't do anything new or interesting, so there's really no reason to play it if you have other Gradius games.

df0notfound · Post by **df0notfound** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:53 pm

anyone know where to get ninga five-0 / ninja cop these days? not ebay they're all bootlegs

Zhon · Post by **Zhon** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:55 pm

Just watched the vid and I have a bad feeling about it.

It could share the annoying aspects of Iridion II - that is, the isometric camera which makes it hard to dodge or aim, plus a very odd hitbox that relates to the previous issue.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:49 am

Zhon wrote:Just watched the vid and I have a bad feeling about it.

It could share the annoying aspects of Iridion II - that is, the isometric camera which makes it hard to dodge or aim, plus a very odd hitbox that relates to the previous issue.

Huh? Never played Iridion but this looks a lot more like Raystorm than the latter. And I will add I was not excited about this game until I just watched the video, it looks really good so far, some of the best use of the DS's graphical capibilities yet. Like a mix of the Ray series and Ikaruga visually.

MadSteelDarkness · Post by **MadSteelDarkness** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 1:21 am

Hmmm..

I might have to buy a DS for this....

That and Castlevania DS, of course

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 1:26 am

This looks good but IMHO the Raystorm-esque perspective is horrible for shmups, I don't know why people keep using it in their games.

If you're going to make it 2D, make it all 2D, if you're going to make it 3D, make it completely 3D. Not this weird slightly skewed look that just makes the game harder to play. I hate having to shoot at things that are smaller in the distance and get bigger.

Frogacuda · Post by **Frogacuda** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 1:47 am

Zhon wrote:Just watched the vid and I have a bad feeling about it.

It could share the annoying aspects of Iridion II - that is, the isometric camera which makes it hard to dodge or aim, plus a very odd hitbox that relates to the previous issue.

Iridion II didn't have an isometric camera. It had a tilted psuedo 3D view like RayStorm. Isometry refers to a view where things that are farther away do not get smaller as the recede. Like the opposite of parallax.

tehkao wrote:This looks good but IMHO the Raystorm-esque perspective is horrible for shmups, I don't know why people keep using it in their games.

Iridion II is not Dodonpachi. It's a slow, methodical, old school shooter based very heavily on Viewpoint. The camera is fine for what it is. It's not a real bullet dodgy frantic kind of game. I don't see a problem.

I agree that it doesn't add anything except some visual pop (whih is nice), but in this kind of shooter it doesn't really hurt.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 1:57 am

Yeah, an isometric view is like in Viewpoint.

I don't like the pseudo-3D view either, simply because it's not always easy to tell what's on a straight line.

alpha5099 · Post by **alpha5099** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 3:04 am

Damn, that video looked nice. Yet another reason to get a DS. For a novelty system, Nintendo sure has scrounged up some amazing looking software for it.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:37 am

Blue Lander wrote:I don't exactly know what to make of Gradius Galaxies, either. I mean, there's nothing really wrong with it other than that it's highly derivative of older Gradius games. It's a fun game if you judge it on its own merits. On the other hand, it doesn't do anything new or interesting, so there's really no reason to play it if you have other Gradius games.

But it's portable! Even when I'm home, the kids often take over the t.v. and I'm left Gradius Galaxies. Just the other night I enjoyed beating a boss that had always stumped me.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:00 am

This may sound odd, but the main reason I love Gradius Galaxies is becuase it's derivative of other Gradius games. The nice touches like the glass level, the core covered in meteors that break off, and some cool bosses like that fire dragon don't hurt either. I also like how it has a speed level and a long level full of bosses.

Blue Lander · Post by **Blue Lander** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:10 am

Portability is a blessing and a curse, though. I like playing Gradius on a TV screen or monitor so I can see all the bullets easily. The picture quality on the GBA is damn good, but sometimes I still get hit by a stray bullet that I didn't see. One of these days I'd like to play it on the Gameboy Player.

I've always looked at Gradius Galaxies as Gradius Gaiden Jr. I like Galaxies, but with 7 other Gradius games I can't think of a compelling reason to play it. When I want to play Gradius, I usually end up playing one of the better ones. And if I want a Gradius on the go, I've got Nemesis on the Gameboy and Gradius on the Turbo Express. Konami could make a killing if they packaged Gradius 1-3 on a GBA or DS cartridge.

I do think Galaxies is judged too harshly. Because no matter how derivative and unpolished it is, the fact remains that it's still a fun game.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:18 am

Blue Lander wrote:Portability is a blessing and a curse, though. I like playing Gradius on a TV screen or monitor so I can see all the bullets easily. The picture quality on the GBA is damn good, but sometimes I still get hit by a stray bullet that I didn't see. One of these days I'd like to play it on the Gameboy Player.

I've always looked at Gradius Galaxies as Gradius Gaiden Jr. I like Galaxies, but with 7 other Gradius games I can't think of a compelling reason to play it. When I want to play Gradius, I usually end up playing one of the better ones. And if I want a Gradius on the go, I've got Nemesis on the Gameboy and Gradius on the Turbo Express. Konami could make a killing if they packaged Gradius 1-3 on a GBA or DS cartridge.

I do think Galaxies is judged too harshly. Because no matter how derivative and unpolished it is, the fact remains that it's still a fun game.

Well, I found Galaxies to be very polished, but what Gradius game isn't inferior to Gaiden? I do agree that Nemesis is the better Gameboy game. In fact, I like some of Konami's other earlier GB games like Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, Operation C, and Quarth too. Castlevania Adventure is ok, but I didn't find it as fun as other Castlevanias. The director (if I remember correctly) of the game is from Treasure, but the second GB Castlevania and the GBA Castlevanias (including the Classic NES Series Castlevania) are better in every way.

Konami didn't package Gradius 1-3 on a cartridge, but they did repackage some of their older GB games on a single cartridge in Japan and Europe. Three of the packs have Gradius related games too.

Blue Lander · Post by **Blue Lander** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:40 am

Gradius Galaxies feels unpolished to me. Just a bunch of minor little niggly nitpicky things that don't really matter much, but add up throughout the game.

The shields are too large, for instance. If you use shields rather than force field, many areas of certain stages are too tight a fit to get through. Not a big deal since you can just use force fields instead, but I like having the option. I don't like the ship speeds, either. One speed powerup is too slow, but two is too fast. I also don't like the way the backgrounds randomly change. Instead of one background fading out and another appearing, it would have looked more professional to have some sort of transition from one area to the next. The levels are too linear, too. In other Gradius games, there's often multiple ways you can choose to take through a level. If you're totally powered up you can just blast through a stage, or if you only have a pea shooter you can sneak your way through the path of least resistance. And speaking of firepower, while it's nice that you can power up your missiles and laser twice like Gradius MSX, I think it's poor gameplay balance to give you that much firepower. And the game intro is weak. The whole "Gradius history" thing is nice, but some sort of animated intro like Gradius III would have been nicer. Then there's the music, which I think everyone can agree is an abomination (especially level 4). And, of course, there's the whole "deja vu" aspect of the game. Just about everything in the game you've seen before. That can be said for a lot of Gradius games, though.

I'm not saying the game is amateurish or anything, but it just doesn't have that sheen of Konami perfection.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:52 am

The speed thing didn't bother me too much, though I did have to practice with two speed ups to avoid crashing. I don't like the big shield, but it's not the fact that's it's too big that bothered me. It's the fact that anything that touches it counts as a hit. It's impossible for it not to get hit.

I like how Gradius/Nemesis II GB has some nice touches like the ship chase at the beginning and multiple paths in the first stage. I didn't like it as much as Nemesis, but I did like it quite a bit. I remember using the shield more than the force field in it, so I think it works great.