What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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Stevens
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Stevens »

Prodeus is really fun. I've given a fair amount of the user created maps a try. Some of them are excellent one off stages with fun objectives and well thought out set pieces.

About 20% through teh main game.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by mycophobia »

Blackfielding wrote:I finally tried Ghost of Tsushima (on PS5). It seems like it's going to be really damn good. I'm only like 2.5 hours in.

It's weird how the game runs locked 60fps, but some of these early cutscenes are pretty choppy.
i had fun with it but i recommend not doing too many sidequests cuz you end up just doing the same shit over and over. the action is good but theres not much in the way of variety
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Searchlike »

I did it...

I BEAT SUPER MONKEY BALL'S MASTER MODE!!!


Not a 1CC, that's the only thing left now, maybe some other day, but Master 9 says "Forget about it!" :lol:

I have no cool picture to share with you since I didn't get any special ending, just the usual "Beat your high score" line. Gimme a break, game! LOL
Spoiler
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Thanks to BIL for the cool celebratory font and I dedicate the win to you! That's right, YOU, whoever's reading this, hope you're doing well! 8)

That's my last Monkey Ball post for a while... or is it? :mrgreen:
Licorice
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Licorice »

Good work dude. You're killing those pacifist game 1CCs.

Are pacifist games your personal preference or is it just coincidence? If the former try the SFC The Firemen game. Or just play it anyway it's great.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

How well does Ignition Factor compare to The Firemen?
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Searchlike »

Licorice wrote:Good work dude. You're killing those pacifist game 1CCs.

Are pacifist games your personal preference or is it just coincidence? If the former try the SFC The Firemen game. Or just play it anyway it's great.
Thanks, Licorice. Super Monkey Ball, Umihara Kawase Shun and Crazy Taxi form my Holy Trinity of games so you're onto something. Though I'm still not entirely sure I would call Kawase's behavior as pacifist, she works at a restaurant, you know. :wink:

That said, I do plenty of (videogame) killing on the side. I would say I have a special fondness for alternative action games that mix things up, so a side scroller that has you shooting pictures instead of guns à la Gekisha Boy will always grab my attention, not so much because of the pacifist aspect but because learning a unique playstyle is my kind of thing.

IIRC there was a pacifist challenge in Contra 4 that was a lot fun. I would love for a good developer to take that idea and run with it, BUT without killing any motherfuckers in the process. Call it Contra 5: Bill Rizer Gone Antiwar and give me some precise dodging and jumping.

I've put a few hours into The Firemen, but I'm stubborn and always tend to go straight for the highest difficulty so I got my ass kicked by Expert. I might give it another try this week.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Blinge »

SotN and Dark Souls 1 are pretty fun to play pacifist. if you only consider certain unskippable bosses ok to kill.

i did a pacifist run of sotn and accidentally killed 1 extra skeleton, but i've since learned that alucard's teleport and fireball spell can be cancelled before the shot comes out. so you can simply phase through enemies if you need to.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Searchlike »

Having never played those, wouldn't the bosses be a tad annoying to fight without leveling up? At least on SotN, I hear DS is much better balanced.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by BIL »

As I'm sure Burinju will agree - AGREE WITH ME BURINJU (O`W´O) - a first SOTN run should be spent just enjoying the game. Not an especially great work in cold hard design terms - but as a sumptuously produced scrolling leisure toybox, it's a classic. I'd have to give it a spot on my desert island top ten, just for how singularly relaxing it is to amble through every few years. It's not all fluff, either - the mechanics are airtight, collisions are explosive, and the handling is buttery-smooth. It could've supported a much sterner kind of action game, easily, but tbh I'm over pining for that.

Plenty of scrolling action out there that'll beat me up, but only one I'd dub ~Magical Vacation Dracula~ ¦3

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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Mortificator »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:How well does Ignition Factor compare to The Firemen?
Nooooot well. The Firemen's a Commando-style game sheathed in flame, or one of its consolized descendents. Its fires are enemy types that will move around and attack you. The Ignition Factor's are a terrain hazard. That game has inventoy, encumbrance, and an adventure game like emphasis on using the right item for the right job.

The most memorable thing about IF to me is the secret crossover stage with Rushing Beat 3 where you're suddenly attacked by mutants. I don't even like Rushing Beat! It's that phenomena where sudden genre mashups have more impact, like that Ace Combat level where you go into space or the surprise xenomorphs troubling He-Man at the end of Biru's recent arcade adventure.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Searchlike »

BIL wrote:I'd have to give it a spot on my desert island top ten
OK then, since you promised to play Shun I'll make it a pact and play one of your favorites, SotN. Just post whenever you decide to do so, doesn't have to be this summer, Bloodborne might keep you busy.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Blinge »

Ours is not to question the Taskforce leader..
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by BIL »

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^^^ MFW :wink:
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Mischief Maker »

Picked up Mighty No.9 on deep discount.

...I don't get the hate. I mean, like Yooka-Laylee it's a solid 7/10, possibly an 8. Not the absolute kusogame it's made out to be. You've just gotta lean heavily on the dash. It's ball-bustingly hard at points, but no worse than Mega Man 1.

Is this a gamergate thing?
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Stevens »

Fights In Tight Spaces got a great update.

Deck draft and difficulty levels. I haven't played in anything harder than default, although the enemies seem to move after they spawn now, which is actually helpful.

Deck draft allows you to build your starter deck. You select one of three random cards, and you do that (I think) 15 times. This is awesome cause you can go immediately for cards that are synergistic like throat punch (stuns) and sucker punch (extra damage on stun). I've also seen heal come up during draft which is really strong. Some other sick combos have come up too, kind of kills the pre made decks but I'm glad they are there.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Driller land.
This industry has become 2 dimensional as it transcended into a 3D world.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Squire Grooktook »

Been playing:

God Hand
Maximo Ghosts to Glory
Zone of The Enders 1 and 2

ZOE is probably my personal favorite action game series right now, rivaled only by Ys Oath/Origin.
Mischief Maker wrote:Picked up Mighty No.9 on deep discount.

...I don't get the hate. I mean, like Yooka-Laylee it's a solid 7/10, possibly an 8. Not the absolute kusogame it's made out to be. You've just gotta lean heavily on the dash. It's ball-bustingly hard at points, but no worse than Mega Man 1.

Is this a gamergate thing?
It's an average to mediocre game in a genre and franchise that somehow both have thousands of better options, on top of disproportionately high and naive hopes riding on it at the time. Core mechanics and level/boss design are janky but middling enough that it won't piss you off too bad if you only only care about gameplay and don't care about all the little things that add up to piss off normies.

Play Luminous Avenger instead, it does the dashing thing better and is an actual good to fantastic game instead of mediocre to average.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Mischief Maker »

Zone of the Enders does indeed rock.

I played a little more Mighty No.9 since posting that and uninstalled. Thanks in large part to Zone of the Enders, I'm naturally inclined to be positive toward dash-heavy games, but Mn9 is just mediocre. Dashing to keep ahead of the falling chimneys in the fire level was cool, but the hide-and-seek fight against Sniper Man in city hall was just lame.

Oh well, like I said, I got it on deep discount. Second Covid shot's finally scheduled for next Tuesday.
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.

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Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Squire Grooktook »

Mischief Maker wrote:Zone of the Enders does indeed rock.
It's almost shocking how advanced the game is, from its intuitive and dramatic camera to the fighting game esque trinity of attack-block-throw/burst. Game was made in 2000-2003 yet feels as buttery smooth and in many ways deeper yet simpler and more innovative than most of the top tier 3d action games made today.
Mischief Maker wrote: I played a little more Mighty No.9 since posting that and uninstalled. Thanks in large part to Zone of the Enders, I'm naturally inclined to be positive toward dash-heavy games, but Mn9 is just mediocre. Dashing to keep ahead of the falling chimneys in the fire level was cool, but the hide-and-seek fight against Sniper Man in city hall was just lame.

Oh well, like I said, I got it on deep discount. Second Covid shot's finally scheduled for next Tuesday.
As I said, give Luminous Avenger a try if you have time. Inti seems to have been experimenting with offensive dashes throughout both series...with MN9, it's janky and forced. With the first Gunvolt games, it's convoluted and dumb. Luminous Avenger really nails the idea at last, successfully rolling combat and movement into one package and encouraging you to maintain endless stylish forward momentum.
RegalSin wrote:Japan an almost perfect society always threatened by outsiders....................

Instead I am stuck in the America's where women rule with an iron crotch, and a man could get arrested for sitting behind a computer too long.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by drauch »

Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive.

Good lord, this game is pushing my stool in. Enemy AI is fairly unpredictable/unforgiving with their patrolling and visual cones, and once alert they stay alert for a lengthy duration. That's all fair and good, just excessive trial-and-error, but the biggest difficulty hurdle is the clunky UI. I don't know if I've ever played a game before that told me to press a hotkey and then didn't explain what said hotkey was, lol. After rebinding to my liking it's a wee bit better, but still selecting my desired character quickly, then my unique skill and finally my target, it's often quite hard to deliver the desired action. There's a bit of delay that complicates things, and the whole thing is pretty awkward. I love real-time tactics and dig the sweaty palmed, eyes everywhere at all times approach, but this experience thus far has been largely frustrating.

I "quit" about three times last night, only to come back a few minutes later after cooling down. The Western theme and lovely presentation keeps drawing me back, but I'll see how long my patience lasts.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Mischief Maker »

Squire Grooktook wrote:As I said, give Luminous Avenger a try if you have time.
Do you know if it's Steam DRM-free?
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.

An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.

Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Squire Grooktook »

Mischief Maker wrote:
Squire Grooktook wrote:As I said, give Luminous Avenger a try if you have time.
Do you know if it's Steam DRM-free?
Attempting to launch the exe from the files results in a steam log in window popping up, so alas no.
RegalSin wrote:Japan an almost perfect society always threatened by outsiders....................

Instead I am stuck in the America's where women rule with an iron crotch, and a man could get arrested for sitting behind a computer too long.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Mortificator »

I've had nothing to add to this thread due to playing nothing but shooting games for weeks, but recently I've hit up some fighters. One was a game I've praised on here before, Street Fighter EX2 Plus, with main man Darun Mister.

That led to me picking up Fighting EX Layer. I started training mode and saw his command grabs now had basic inputs like up + punch! After a moment I realized I could switch to "classic" motions. Funny how I would have jumped for something easier way back when I was learning standing 360s, and now it feels weird to see big damage throws come out without twirling.

EX Layer continues with some unwelcome changes from EX3, like the removal of guard breaks and custom combos. The big new addition is that you select one of 15 decks before the start of a match - no customization, only presets. Cards automatically activate when specific actions are taken. They're not too interesting and it seems meta has predictably dug in on best picks.

Character select art is nice, the actual models are usually plastic and lifeless. Despite the original game running on PS1-based hardware, it had stronger presentation and a lot of fun flourish. EX2 Plus moves included...

* A flash cut of Skullomania delivering a tremendous beatdown to his opponent, containing a single frame of them sitting down for a cup of tea.
* Nanase pole vaulting into outer space, then plummeting back to Earth, burning with the heat of reentry, to punch you in the gut.
* Cracker Jack's fists ballooning like a Tex Avery toon as he attacks.
* Kairi firing a huge G Darius-esque energy beam, putting his own life into it and collapsing afterward.

All that's gone now. Speaking of Kairi, there used to be a lot to differentiate him from Ryu and Ken, but now (probably due to that couple's absence) he's become a straightforward shotoclone. The cast is much smaller without the Capcom representatives, and a single SNK guest doesn't make up the difference. Sorry, Terry.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Mischief Maker »

Squire Grooktook wrote:
Mischief Maker wrote:
Squire Grooktook wrote:As I said, give Luminous Avenger a try if you have time.
Do you know if it's Steam DRM-free?
Attempting to launch the exe from the files results in a steam log in window popping up, so alas no.
Thanks for checking anyway!
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An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.

Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Sumez »

Squire Grooktook wrote: Play Luminous Avenger instead, it does the dashing thing better and is an actual good to fantastic game instead of mediocre to average.
Every time I see recommendations for this game it makes me want to get it. People seem to like it a lot.
But then, a lot of people also seem to like other mega man (or mega man'ish) games by Inti Creates that aren't very good, so I have my hesitations. I forgot, what are your takes on Mega Man Zero, MM9/10, Gunvolt and such?
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Squire Grooktook »

Sumez wrote:
Squire Grooktook wrote: Play Luminous Avenger instead, it does the dashing thing better and is an actual good to fantastic game instead of mediocre to average.
Every time I see recommendations for this game it makes me want to get it. People seem to like it a lot.
But then, a lot of people also seem to like other mega man (or mega man'ish) games by Inti Creates that aren't very good, so I have my hesitations. I forgot, what are your takes on Mega Man Zero, MM9/10, Gunvolt and such?
Zero = p.good, though I'm not fond of the first game due to its stage recycling and otherwise bland level design. In the rest of them dashing through stages and close quarters slashing through enemies is good fun, but the eternal flaw remains the tiny screen res that makes reacting to stuff as you dash through a little less comfortable than in X or ZX. Some people don't like the inventory and cyber elves but I find them harmless (the former are roughly equivalent to the capsules, weapons, and e-tanks of past games, while the latter are comparable to the items in devil may cry: ez mode boosters that penalize your rank and are even discouraged from use in-universe since they represent murdering the cute little critters).

ZX and ZXA = Flawed due to the half-baked attempts at shoehorning metroidvania elements in, but I can't help but have an overwhelming affection for them due to their killer pixel art, colorful and endearing setting and characters, great soundtracks, and getting to play another X-styled game where the resolution is actually large enough that I can dash through stages and react to stuff comfortably. Can't comment on the level/boss design too heavily since it's been a while. Second game improves on the first ones map/exploration issues by a lot.

9/10 = I'm honestly not particularly attached to the Classic Mega Man games, so I can't bring any strong feelings towards these one way or the other. 9 and 10 are...alright. Competently made on a technical level, probably better than 5-6 and maybe even 8 (can't stand the slow ass walk speed in that game), but there's not much truly memorable about the level/boss design and overall doesn't compare to the first 3 games. Good soundtracks though.

Mn9 = Janky and mediocre on a "pure" gameplay level, and overall one of the most unprofessional major releases I've ever seen. I'm still in awe that the fucking credits are 3 hours long lmao.

Gunvolt = Only played the first game, but it SUCKED. Stupid fucking lightning tagging mechanic convolutes the basic act of shooting for no reason and adds absolutely nothing. Level design is bland and repetitive with the same two enemy types in generic warehouse halls over and over, boss design suck too. It's overwhelmingly a superior game to Mn9 but it disappointed me more due to my higher hopes for it at the time as the successor to the X series. Hate, hate, hate.
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Instead I am stuck in the America's where women rule with an iron crotch, and a man could get arrested for sitting behind a computer too long.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by Blinge »

I hit floor 300 in Let it Die. doesn't get any harder from here, another 50 floors at max difficulty.
I've pretty much tapped out. Can't believe I sunk..almost a thousand hours in only to realise it is kusoge
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Gave Sekiro another spin. My experience is much the same as before. The lore is great, the gameplay is great, combat is fun and satisfying... and then you run into tight indoor sections where the camera is absolute garbage, where it becomes a struggle to see what's going on should your back touch a wall, and where your lock on just decides to break on its own now when the game feels like it. This sort of thing is infuriating to me, and I'm remembering now why it was a huge struggle for me to get through my first playthrough where I eventually said screw it and ended up skipping many of the indoors minibosses.

God Hand - How am I supposed to play this game? What's the correct way to hold the controller? I say this, having beaten it a few times and being actually pretty decent at it. It still feels weird having to move my thumb between the face buttons to attack and right stick to dodge. I always feel as though my dodges are slower than they could be if the controls let you have your thumb on the right stick while attacking. I'm actually thinking if the shoulder buttons and face buttons had been swapped, it might've been better so you could always have your thumb on the right stick? Might try this in an emulator, with the L and R buttons as the main attack buttons. Another option is a weird grip with thumb on the stick and index/middle finger on face buttons but this is not comfortable or natural to me at all.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by To Far Away Times »

Been playing Touhou Luna Nights. For those unaware, this one's a metroidvania /castleroid, not a shmup.

Great animations in this one. Gameplay is good, boss fights are fun.

Its kinda missing out on the feel and atmosphere of Symphony of the Night, which is what I really love about these games though.
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Re: What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

Post by BIL »

Squire Grooktook wrote:
Mischief Maker wrote:Zone of the Enders does indeed rock.
It's almost shocking how advanced the game is, from its intuitive and dramatic camera to the fighting game esque trinity of attack-block-throw/burst. Game was made in 2000-2003 yet feels as buttery smooth and in many ways deeper yet simpler and more innovative than most of the top tier 3d action games made today.
Good reminder! The PS4 ver of TEH 2ND RUNNER is on sale currently so I grabbed it. Still got the fuckin 200x GH reissue somewhere in storage, but you know. Give me convenience or give me death motherfucker Image
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