I've been to hell and back, and other Makaimura Miscellanies

[pablumatic]

I don't mind the game looking kinda iffy as long as it plays alright, but it kinda sends the message that the developers don't really know/care about what they are working with here. Or is that just too cynical?

I think it simply comes down to budget here. If Capcom would have given this game a proper amount of money for development we would have gotten actual frames of animation rather than motion tweening.

[Sumez]

It's really not so much the budget or amount of effort at display here, as the conscious style choice.
It feels like something that, at best, can still interfere with gameplay (you'd need to at least represent the visuals somewhat with enemy hitboxes, etc), and at worst means that not only the graphics, but the entire game engine is built on awkward marionette physics.

[Sumez]

Gameplay footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqSki9A8fXo

Spoiler

[Marc]

Looks good. Bit worried about padding - GnG games normally get front set piece to set piece pretty quickly, but the first bit there seems to go on a little while before going anywhere. I hope they haven't given into temptation to make it overly long, other than that I'm quite pumped for this. Day 1 for sure.

[mikehaggar]

Looks like it has a lot of promise! Any word yet as to whether Fujiwara was involved or not? This is the major selling point for me.

[Sumez]

I would definitely not place my bets on that.
I'm sure if he was, we'd already know. Didn't he go out of retirement just for goku? That was like over ten years ago already.

[Mortificator]

Some more gameplay footage. The poster who said it was just homaging the arcade games was right, it looks like there's a route for Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Not loving the autoscroller in the latter; this ain't Metal Slug 5!

[Austin]

The gameplay looks decent enough. Not a big fan of Arthur's walk speed, it feels a little slow when taking into consideration the animation frames, but that aside it still looks fun.

[jepjepjep]

I'm hoping the gameplay of this new entry holds up to the classic games. I recently started playing the O.G. Makaimura again, and it's really a great game. It took a while to get used to the controls, they feel a bit cumbersome at first. But once you get into groove, it's a ton of fun.

I was able to capture some 1cc footage. Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i4Qf2Alb7U

[Mortificator]

Nice tap cancel to eradicate the Satans! That last stage is the hardest part of the whole series for me.

[jepjepjep]

Thanks! The game definitely has some tough spots. The bridge is another tough area. I gotta go back and give the US revision a try. The Satans are way harder for us silly Americans.

[Marc]

Up for pre-order on the UK store. £24.99, and it looks excellent.

[jepjepjep]

I'm holding out hope for Resurrection. I'd really like it to be a good one!

I've been playing a lot of Ghosts'n Goblins lately.
It was a close call at the end there, but I managed to get to the happy end!

Replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpK1GxS19Og&t=1921s

[BIL]

I'm finally at a convenient time and place to put some hours on Makaimura, I get on fine with Dai but the first game beats me up. Doesn't even matter which revision, I'm too unskilled for it to matter just yet. Looking forward to Arcade Stadium, fingers crossed as always but the Belt Collection has me hopeful.

[Searchlike]

I still can't believe that I made it to the last part of the final level in the second loop of Dai only to forget to bring with me the Super Special weapon to the end battle.

[Vanguard]

I still can't believe that I made it to the last part of the final level in the second loop of Dai only to forget to bring with me the Super Special weapon to the end battle.

Why the heck would you not get the psycho cannon asap and keep it for the rest of the game?

[Searchlike]

Why the heck would you not get the psycho cannon asap and keep it for the rest of the game?

I wasn't feeling the psycho cannon, to be honest, the limited range threw me off and I convinced myself that I did better with the regular proyectile weapons. I was planning to pick it up again during the descent of stage 4, but I got carried away by my good performance and totally forgot what I was doing by that point.

[Sumez]

It's pretty bad in Cho, but yeah in Dai I also just get it right away and never let go. It's crazy strong.

[Searchlike]

I know better now and I can reliably reach the second loop nowadays so it's just a matter of time until I can get over that embarrassing memory. I must say, though, the first stage led me to believe it would prove to be a bigger challenge, but I don't really notice that many differences in the revisited levels. Is it the same for the rest of the series? If so, this mandatory loops are not all that bad.

[jepjepjep]

I still can't believe that I made it to the last part of the final level in the second loop of Dai only to forget to bring with me the Super Special weapon to the end battle.

I've done the same. The dagger is such a good weapon that I would keep it for the second loop and try to pick it up only at the end of the last stage. Well, if you lose your gold armor...

I know better now and I can reliably reach the second loop nowadays so it's just a matter of time until I can get over that embarrassing memory. I must say, though, the first stage led me to believe it would prove to be a bigger challenge, but I don't really notice that many differences in the revisited levels. Is it the same for the rest of the series? If so, this mandatory loops are not all that bad.

I found that Ghosts'n Goblins/Makaimura is different enough on the second and higher loops that a lot of my first loop strategies would fail. In particular, the Red Arremers are a handful, and even more so on the higher loops.

[jepjepjep]

I'm finally at a convenient time and place to put some hours on Makaimura, I get on fine with Dai but the first game beats me up. Doesn't even matter which revision, I'm too unskilled for it to matter just yet. Looking forward to Arcade Stadium, fingers crossed as always but the Belt Collection has me hopeful.

I'm rooting hard that Capcom continues to deliver. It took me awhile to get used to the awkwardness of Arthur's controls in Makaimura. But it's worth it to deal with the initial frustration of learning the quirks of control, because it's a really fantastic game once you get familiar with it.

If you play on an arcade stick, make sure to use a 4-way gate!

[Sumez]

I know better now and I can reliably reach the second loop nowadays so it's just a matter of time until I can get over that embarrassing memory. I must say, though, the first stage led me to believe it would prove to be a bigger challenge, but I don't really notice that many differences in the revisited levels. Is it the same for the rest of the series? If so, this mandatory loops are not all that bad.

For Dai and Cho the loops barely change.
I think what's going on with Daimakaimura especially is that, like with most arcade games the internal rank just keeps going up as you progress through the game, so by the second loop it'll always be higher. But I don't think the things affected by the rank really makes the game notably harder.
It's definitely most noticeable on the first stage because you can tell the reapers are a lot more aggressive, and then like you said, it evens out on the later ones. The only really noticeable difference I remember there is that projectiles become faster, but it really doesn't make any relevant difference.

As I see it, the second loop in Dai mostly exists to even out your RNG luck, as the game is random enough that you can always have some lucky patterns and get through certain sections with less effort, but beating the whole thing twice in a run makes sure that it wasn't just a fluke, and you know what you're doing.

[Searchlike]

I've done the same. The dagger is such a good weapon that I would keep it for the second loop and try to pick it up only at the end of the last stage. Well, if you lose your gold armor...

I feel better now.

For Dai and Cho the loops barely change.
I think what's going on with Daimakaimura especially is that, like with most arcade games the internal rank just keeps going up as you progress through the game, so by the second loop it'll always be higher. But I don't think the things affected by the rank really makes the game notably harder.
It's definitely most noticeable on the first stage because you can tell the reapers are a lot more aggressive, and then like you said, it evens out on the later ones. The only really noticeable difference I remember there is that projectiles become faster, but it really doesn't make any relevant difference.

As I see it, the second loop in Dai mostly exists to even out your RNG luck, as the game is random enough that you can always have some lucky patterns and get through certain sections with less effort, but beating the whole thing twice in a run makes sure that it wasn't just a fluke, and you know what you're doing.

That's smart game design, luck-proof, I like that.

I found that Ghosts'n Goblins/Makaimura is different enough on the second and higher loops that a lot of my first loop strategies would fail. In particular, the Red Arremers are a handful, and even more so on the higher loops.

Thanks for loops' details, guys. Makaimura sounds mighty appealing now.

[BulletMagnet]

Slightly embarrassed that I never knew this..

[EmperorIng]

Skykid gives an approving nod to the latest entry!

On Legend mode, checkpoints only appear once in the stage’s middle and again before the boss, leading to many an agonising restart. At the same time, this penalty is absolutely required for learning the stage by rote, and while you need monk-like resolve and no small amount of mental fortitude to see your way to victory, it can be achieved. This series has always been about slow, measured memorisation: knowing your routes, methods and weapon specifics, and how to avoid chests containing disability-spelling magicians.

...

If you can’t stand the thought of tackling a game through an arduous process of restarts, walk away now. There are points in the campaign where Fujiwara comes close to overstepping the mark, and you do wonder why sections like the disappearing platforms of Zone Five need to be quite so drawn out, or why the hell he threw a Red Arremer into the mix at the start of Zone Four when you’re already being assaulted from every direction. But we’re here to criticise the game’s architectural makeup and not necessarily its palatability to a broader audience. Although its difficulty isn’t going to be for everyone, it remains solidly coordinated, upholding the series ethos of practice-based progression via old disciplines and new processes.

Meanwhile, one of the lolcows of gamespot (looking suspiciously cow-like) slams the game, crying "too hard!" "fixed jumps!" "you're too slow!" and "gamers abandoned this antiquated difficulty ages ago!" This putty-faced mound of a man sounds like he would be better off at the jarpig farm wallowing in the mud but got upset when a game ground him into the dirt instead. If he can't handle the school of hard knocks*, he should stick to games that hold his hand.

*alternatively, the School of Hard Knockers

[BIL]

That Gamespot review sounds surprisingly promising! ("WHERE MUH WIN BUTTON?! BAWWW" is Jarpig-speak for "Gents, this game is substantial!")

Regrettably, it does not confirm the game is actually good in its strictures - might be Green Beret, might be Haunted Castle, to our blubbering friend they are indistinguishable - but combined with the approval of our own Sky Boy, it's an optimistic start!

Frankly, I was expecting the new title to give easily-broken flipperbabies a generous ball-tonguing ala AAA.

Meanwhile, one of the lolcows of gamespot (looking suspiciously cow-like) slams the game, crying "too hard!" "fixed jumps!" "you're too slow!" and "gamers abandoned this antiquated difficulty ages ago!" This putty-faced mound of a man sounds like he would be better off at the jarpig farm wallowing in the mud but got upset when a game ground him into the dirt instead. If he can't handle the school of hard knocks*, he should stick to games that hold his hand.

All these years later, captpain's Greater Internet Jarpig Theory remains as incisive as ever.

Basically, the reason people don't like Bakraid is because they are fat and dumb

[Sumez]

I'd have been more worried for the game if that GameSpot guy had given the game a positive review.

[BIL]

Indeed! Succinctly put.

[Marc]

Ah, Skykid! I stumbled upon that review yesterday and was incredibly surprised that it was so positive, that explains it.

I have no idea why I'm so hyped for this as I've got a really spotty history with the series.. Absolutely love Ghosts, an all-time favourite, but have never managed the 1CC. I'm hideously bad at Ghouls, and never really got anywhere with either the arcade or MD versions.. I did manage to complete Super back in the day, but going back to it on the Mini recently, there are too many bits where it makes you wait around for stuff, and my attention wondered pretty quickly. I enjoyed what I played of Ultimate, I've always hoped for a big-screen version of that.

Spent an hour on Ghouls last night. It's just so infuriatingly random at times - the start of ST2 can hand you a posting before it's even begun properly if you get a bad sequence of bouncy things. Still, I've more-or-less routed the first two pretty consistently despite much swearing and grinding of teeth, I'll got back for a bit more later.

[Sumez]

I feel confident in saying there are no shitty unlucky patterns in Ghouls n Ghosts that can't be survived.
To me, what makes the game so enjoyable is exactly overcoming overcoming those random moments.