Strikers 1945 II

[Acid_Rain]

just played a view credits…

ACD - 595,900 - Ki84 - 1-6 - PS1

[wiNteR]

winteR - 2,078,100 - F5U - 2-8 - Mame

Was a pretty good run but lost lives at regular interval in last few stages. Reached last boss at last life. Kind of a silly mistake to use bomb on the 2nd form (anything after 1st form is quite static and quite easy to execute once memorized) since it disrupts the pattern and of course this also cost the clear.

Although I wanted to get the clear now, I don't think I am gonna try to clear it currently. In a game like this where the first loop becomes so easy after memorization that you are just going through the motions (except a couple of points), and the slight lapse of concentration can lose you so many bombs, full runs are just too tiresome (despite the short length of loop).

[Plasmo]

Nice improvement! Don't give up just now, the 2-ALL is in sight!

[Hagane]

Good stuff man, keep going!

[wiNteR]

Thanks, I probably wouldn't have attempted any more clear runs, for a few months at least. I guess it is good to just get the clear done.

winteR - 2,246,800 - F5U - ALL - Mame

A bit strange that there are hardly any scores with ships other than pancake and hayate, which are generally similar in style. The narrow shot ships probably require more skill to use, but perhaps, might also be more interesting in the sense that you would have to be more aware of the popcorn enemies.

[Plasmo]

Now that was quick! A Psikyo 2-ALL is always something special. You officially have bragging rights now. Congrats!

A bit strange that there are hardly any scores with ships other than pancake and hayate, which are generally similar in style. The narrow shot ships probably require more skill to use, but perhaps, might also be more interesting in the sense that you would have to be more aware of the popcorn enemies.

It's the same for all the other Psikyo games, where you usually have flooded the highscore tables with one or two ships, while the others get ignored:

Strikers 45: Bf-109, P-38
Strikers 99: X-36
Gunbird: Yuan Nang
Gunbird 2: Tavia, Marion
Dragon Blaze: Quaid

Playing with the obviously underpowered ships is very unpopular on this forum. Zero Gunner 2 seems to be kinda balanced though.

[Mills]

Checkout this 2nd loop jap replay with Shinden http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFoEO_qi5kE&safe=active

[stuminator]

Yay, new high score after about 5 years:

stuminator - 1,527,500 - P38 - 2-3 - PCB

[chum]

chum - 1,496,000 - Ki84 - 2-2 - Shmupmame 4.2

Not a big improvement... I'm planning to start routing the second loop soon so I can get further.

[blackoak]

blackoak - 1,306,900 - Ki84 - 2-1 - SAT

Got that in 2-3 days of light playing. Someday I'm going to have to try a Psikyo second loop, hehe

[BOS]

hi !

it's my score for strikers 45 II :
BOS - 2,435,000 - F5U - ALL - Mame

my run :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGujfV4Oikw

[Megan Crimson]

hi !

it's my score for strikers 45 II :
BOS - 2,435,000 - F5U - ALL - Mame

my run :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGujfV4Oikw

nice!!!

[rjosal]

RWJ - 948,900 - Ki84 - 1-8 - PCB

[rjosal]

Broke a million to move up a couple spots.

RWJ - 1,021,200 - Ki84 - 1-8 - PCB

[pegboy]

Here's my first clear of Strikers 1945 II. This is pretty much just a placeholder, my final goal is for a 2-ALL, not sure how long it will take but I've been practicing pretty much every night. I'm determined to slay this game.

PEG-1,275,300 - Ki-84 - 2-1 - PS1

[wiNteR]

Are you going for a clear or a no-miss clear (with a few bombs). There is significant difference between the two.

If you are going for a no-miss clear then you might want to adjust the stage order early on. I had a basic clear with usual order Sky/Sea/Desert/Fortress. Now if you want to get a no-miss clear and save more bombs for bonus, then I think the best order might be Fortress/Desert + Sea,Sky(in any order depending on preference).

[pegboy]

Are you going for a clear or a no-miss clear (with a few bombs). There is significant difference between the two.

If you are going for a no-miss clear then you might want to adjust the stage order early on. I had a basic clear with usual order Sky/Sea/Desert/Fortress. Now if you want to get a no-miss clear and save more bombs for bonus, then I think the best order might be Fortress/Desert + Sea,Sky(in any order depending on preference).

My goal is a 2-ALL clear, at this point I don't care about score and will use as many bombs as I need to get the job done. Also, I have no idea how to adjust the stage order but I can fairly easily clear the first four stages in loop 1 without dying or bombing. Are you referring to the loop 2 stage ordering?

Oh, and I'm playing the Japanese PS1 version of the game (arcade mode/tate).

[wiNteR]

Also, I have no idea how to adjust the stage order but I can fairly easily clear the first four stages in loop 1 without dying or bombing. Are you referring to the loop 2 stage ordering?

Yes, I was referring to loop-2. The stages ordering in the first and second loop remains exactly the same.

There doesn't seem to be any extra bonus for collecting bombs on full stock (as far as I remember), but there is a significant bonus for each life+bomb saved after you clear the second loop.

So what I was simply saying was that if you intend to play game long enough to get a no-miss clear(with few bombs), you would want to choose Fortress/Desert + Sea,Sky(these two in any order). The reason is simple. Once you learn the first loop well enough (which is just a matter or time and knowing the tricks to dodging the more unintuitive attacks), you would be entering the second loop with full stock. Since the Fortress stage (followed by desert imo) is hardest it makes sense to include it early so that any bombs you would lose, you can later recover some of them.

Simple example is you entered the second loop with 9 bombs and you play sky/sea/desert/fortress. You would have 9 bombs entering the desert boss (assuming perfect play on sky/sea). Assuming you use 1 there and 4 on the fortress stage, you would be left with 4 bombs. Add 1 that you would be getting in the stage(fortress) and upon entering 2-5 you will have 5 bombs.

On the other hand, suppose you choose fortress/desert/sky/sea, and enter with 9 bombs on second loop. Used 4 bombs there and left with 5. Used 1 bomb on desert boss (leaving you with 4) and played perfect on sky/sea (again). This way you would be entering 2-5 with 7 bombs (counting 3 you get on stages from 2 to 4).

I am assuming above that you get 1 bomb per stage, but I don't actually remember though. As for stage order, in arcade version it seems to change upon reset. So you can just make a save-state early, quickly go through levels 1-4, and if they are in desired order, keep the save-state and otherwise discard it.

But all that only matters when you are refining your play after a second loop clear. I have been too used to default order and even if I went back to this game(for a better score), I am not sure I would change it even knowing that it means less end-of-game bonus.

Not sure if the console version you are playing has stage select, but good luck trying to clear it without save-states. I expect it to be very hard. And especially, if the game doesn't have stage-select practice for second loop.

Probably even with stage select for second loop, I would rank a simple second loop clear (using bombs/lives freely) without save-state practice to be slightly harder than a no-miss clear (with save-states). And without stage-select probably I would rank it much much harder.

[Lyv]

There doesn't seem to be any extra bonus for collecting bombs on full stock (as far as I remember), but there is a significant bonus for each life+bomb saved after you clear the second loop.

There is a 10k bonus for picking up bombs at full stock, which is (afaik) the same amount you get for any remaining bomb at the end of the second loop.
Ending bonus in this game is much smaller than in later Psikyo games ; getting 2k gold bars seems more profitable for "easy" scoring optimizations.

[pegboy]

I've been practicing loop 2 almost exclusively using save-states in MAME since I started playing the game. However, my goal is to beat the game on real hardware, and since I don't have the PCB or a cabinet, the Japanese PS1 version is the closest thing I've got. While there are differences in the PS1 port compared to the MAME/PCB version, they are close enough that I don't think it really matters.

The biggest difference is the PS1 version has small patches of slowdown in certain parts (like the start of each stage), and some massive slowdown in part of stage 7 after the midboss. Also, I believe the music order is incorrect in loop 2, as it played the wrong song on the fortress stage in loop 2. There are also a few different sound effects (like the lass boss when he tries to crush you with his claws, it has a different sound). I can live with most of these differences, and I don't think they really effect the overall experience that much.

I'm going to try experimenting with triggering different stage orders and see if it's repeatable. Right off the bat it seems random to me, but I'm not sure if starts off using the same ordering every time you boot the game up or not, I honestly never checked that.

[wiNteR]

There is a 10k bonus for picking up bombs at full stock, which is (afaik) the same amount you get for any remaining bomb at the end of the second loop.

In that case, I was under the wrong impression that end bonus for bombs saved was significantly more than the points gained when you just collect them at full stock. Different stage orders shouldn't matter in that case (other than personal preference), just how many bombs you saved in total (if both bonuses are exactly equal).

[Stevens]

Just started playing this beast..

Love everything about it.

[Ex_Mosquito]

wow I haven't been on this thread in 10years! crazy.. A quick tip for people learning the game on the PCB, use maintenance mode for practice, it speeds up the learning process drastically. For those that are not aware maintenance mode allows you to practice any stage at any rank. I couldn't imagine learning the game on the console version. It's possible but it would take significantly longer.

[Lyv]

Lyv - 2,136,200 - Ki-84 - 2-7 - MAME

Getting pretty burned out on Psikyo games, so I'll probably leave it at that.
I might throw in a credit every now and then and wait for the stars to align.

(pic available on demand)

[pegboy]

Did this a few days ago:
pegboy - 1,519,600 - Ki-84 - 2-3 - PS1

I'm kind of pissed off because i keep making really stupid mistakes in loop 2 and losing all of my bombs. Last night I made it to loop 2 without dying and 8 bombs in stock just to immediately die 5 seconds into the 2-1 desert stage. God damnit I was pissed, and just quit right there without even trying to play on. Theoretically I know I can beat loop 2 if I can get past the first 4 stages with 1 or 2 lives left it should be possible. The last 2 stages in loop 2 are a lot easier than the first 6, go figure.

[pegboy]

Another improvement:

pegboy - 1,614,100 - Ki-84 -2-4 - PS1
Died in 1-8 and it really set me back with how far I think this run could have went in theory. Still made a pretty good effort on the second loop, first time I've reached 2-4. I really need to nail down the ability to no-miss the first loop, it's really holding me back now.

[pegboy]

I'm still at this. I've pretty much decided to abandon the PS1 port and just play the MAME version instead. I think my controller is actually the thing holding me back more so than the port itself. PS2 controllers have some weird ass d-pads that seem to make their own decisions without my consent. My PS3 sixaxies works like fucking magic on my PC playing MAME though, I swear that is the best d-pad I've ever used. Dunno why it gets so much hate honestly.

I actually reached 2-8 in MAME with a score over 2 million but choked big time and died at the easiest boss in the game (stage 8 mid boss). I probably won't post a score until I get the 2-ALL, which I think is getting close but maybe I'll post my 2-8 score if the 2-ALL doesn't come quickly enough.

[cobra]

cobra - 1,220,200 - J7W - Mame

[pegboy]

Nearly 2-ALL'd this fucking game last night but died a pathetic death on the final boss 2nd to last form ( even had a bomb in stock to clear the final form easily...ugh). My score was over 2.3 million but I'm probably not going to post anything until I get the clear. I've been playing the default MAME order now since there was some controversy about using a specific stage order. Might try a few ps1 version runs (which are truly random stage order, unlike MAME) to see if I can post anything close. This is probably my last post on this topic until I get the 2-ALL.

[Lyv]

Lyv - 2,611,500 - Ki-84 - ALL - MAME
Replay : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AM3ivfZgG0

So close to the #1 spot...oh well, doesn't matter.

Good luck pegboy, you're nearly there !