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Ninja Spirit progress update. I have now witnessed firsthand the horrors/wonders of stage 6.

Still not consistent at stage 4, although I have gotten quite consistent with the boss, which is funny since it's the only part of the stage where I don't have any plan and just wing it.

Finding out the hard way that stage 5 is a time attack was painful, let me tell you. Both times I've made it to this boss on one life I've timed out trying to kill it with sword. Will have to play around with kusarigama/grenades, though runs that make it this far are still frustratingly uncommon. Really not a fan of the gas traps, mainly how the part that looks like the warning kills you and the part that looks like it should kill you is safe.

Stage 6...what do I even say? Every instinct tells me to stick to sword no matter what, but that leaves no real recourse but avoidance for enemy swordsmen. A few kite-flying-enemies are the farthest I've glimpsed so far.

Welcome to ONE MAN WAR

Kusarigama is probably the safest bet for Round 5's boss. Decent damage, and while its coverage isn't Katana-complete, its autoguard will snuff kunai. More importantly, it'll kill him faster - Katana's lack of stopping power can easily get you timed out.

Round 5 is a bit of a joke, tbh. Saigo's strong suit is volatility, and it has little. Sort of an innocuous counterpart to the Ninja Pit. Not as inanely unforgiving, but for consistent results, you should pick a route and master it utterly.

Not to be too down on it. It's very short. It lets me jump like Jesus. There's some decent tension in the Shield heist. And the Grenade speedkill is a blazing moneyshot, with an uneasy coda - moving from the contemplative skyline, straight to the sandy hell of Round 6-1. So on balance I don't mind it.

Katana's low damage output is unsuitable for Round 6-1. Just like 3-2, it'll keep the Greens, Whites and Monks at bay... but not Ryuichis. They'll catch up to you, eventually, and you'll need to kill them. Even if you win the duel, the horde will dogpile and snipe you relentlessly. You know in movies/TV/OoT, where foes politely attack the hero one at a time? ALL LIES

Kusarigama can fend off zako, and chip down Ryuichis for eventual dispatch. Monks can be kept at bay with misdirecting hops, and whittled down similarly.

For projectiles: if you're at Rank50, Grenades can work in 6-1, provided you're calculatedly aggressive. Advancing at speed will trail your Shadows - you can upshot leaping Greens before they fire, snuffing Whites likewise. Heavies can't take more than a couple shots - attackers are pulverised at range, pursuers get mulched in the Shadow train.

Shuriken aren't good here - the aim lag complicates zako, and while they shred Ryuichis, advancing Monks (and their tails) will be shielded.

Rank50 Grenades are great violent fun, but for absolute consistency, I prefer Kusarigama. Ryuichis survive longer, but zako are neutralised, hugely freeing up braintime to focus on advancing. If I get held up for any reason, bullet-cancelling and autoguard will ensure zako can't capitalise, while heavies take lethal damage closing in.

Nice try, Mr. Wolf! Didn't even see you!

Spoiler: show

^^^ note the terrain launcher on Ryuichi, as he hits the shoal. Running enemies who meet an obstruction will vault high overhead - Ryuichis are completely harmless while doing so. This applies even to Round 6-2's jump-slashing Ryuichi mkIIs! Flying Monks, OTOH, will bludgeon you - sneak under them. This is invaluable knowledge throughout Round 6. If there's a rock in your path, and heavies on the other side, know in advance that they'll be going airborne, and exploit accordingly.

At Rank100, Ryuichis are tough enough that zako tend to escape my attention. Even one can prove deadly, with no bullet-cancelling or autoguard, so I'm all Kusarigama there.

(Here's a guide to Rank50 maintenance - middle of post - it requires a handful of hard memo spots, but it's a snap once learned)

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For Round 6-2, I like to keep heavy enemies A) alive and B) behind me, wherever possible. A "full house" (2x Ryuichi mkII, 2x Monk, and Ghost) at your back is a license to steal ground - you should floor it, with judicious bunnyhops to stall the former two. (Ghost will remain undeterred from his MurderTrudge, but cannot keep up! bad knees!)

More realistically, there'll be a Ryuichi/Monk unaccounted for, possibly spawning ahead of you - but advancing bunnyhops will spoof them, too. Ryuichis will jump and whiff, Monks will stop and whiff. Round 6-2 is a much comfier joint than the teeming danger of Round 6-1, imo.

The long stretch of empty sand divides the stages' two halves - beware of Ryuichi mkIIs, who'll take over from mkIs about halfway through. The game allocates each type a pair of spawn slots, so it's entirely possible to have four murderous Samurai onscreen if you enter 6-2 with a couple of tails.

Kites' kunai are well-handled by Kusarigama autoguard, and the daft fuckers actually help as much hurt, causing extra slowdown with their spreads (projectiles slow down Saigo much more than characters). Note their mandatory firing delay, when entering the screen - a very nice amenity, also invaluable in the later Metal Storm. Don't worry about getting surprise-pointblanked if one comes screaming in nearby; you'll have a considerable window to smack him and his kunai.


The deadliest scenario in 6-2 is Ghost and Ryuichi spawning on the same frame, forming up like necro-feudal Voltron to create HELL BULLDOZER. Ghost punishes low, Ryuichi punishes high, a near-unleapable wall of razor death! Incidentally, AWOL from the PC Engine version, which has a bunch of slowdown-causing zako instead. Real shame, WTF!

If bulldozer erupts, and the enemy/terrain situation allows - I like to back up a bit, luring out Ryuichi, before rushing in and high-jumping straight over both enemies. Ryuichi will uselessly counter-jump, into the empty space behind me. As for Ghost, it doesn't matter if I land in his striking range - he'll be in cooldown, having whiffed at my jump the instant I crossed his X-axis.

As usual, with Saigo's innate volatility, this technique needs on-the-fly tailoring. If a terrain-launched Monk is sailing over the battlefield as Ryuichi and Ghost approach - yep, you're gonna risk smacking into him. Consider backing up to buy time, perhaps chipping away at the horde with retreating bunnyhops, setting up outright kills on some or all. But the principle - lure Ryuichi close, then bypass he and Ghost with a single high leap - is consistent.

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Conversely, in Round 6-1, I suggest killing enemies without restraint. While you're holding your fire on heavies, the much deadlier zako presence (Kites got nothing on Greens+Whites) will take advantage. And Ryuichi mkIs are nowhere as easily-spoofed as their jumpslashing counterparts, who'll whiff at every bunnyhop. It's safer to just shred the collective horde, even if it means risking an additional encounter or two along the way.



While 6-2 has the bulldozer, 6-1's grave threat is a simultaneous Monk/Ryuichi spawn. The former will conceal the latter for STEALTH RYUICHI:

Spoiler: show

^^^ a high jump, quite inadvertently evading the lurking fiend.

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^^^ a low spoof that damn near got gashed!

You can actually spot Ryuichi hiding behind Monk, but braintime is at an unprecedented premium in 6-1. More happily, this leads me to my last point in this impromptu ST (I'm still writing, just tied up with Rygar 1LC and none other than crusty ol' Double Dragon atm - best beater SFX ever ) - Ryuichi Hop.

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Slowed-down:

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I used to worry terribly about Stealth Ryuichi, but these days, pff. Ryuichi Hop (not to be confused with Ryuichi Drop! that happens afterward, in-GIF) will bypass him AND his shitbird Monk cover! If you're approaching a rushing Monk, don't spoof 'em. As seen above, that's Stealth Ryuichi's bread and butter: punishing Monk spoofs. Just hop straight over, perhaps while dealing liberal downstrike damage. That'll bypass the guessing game entirely.

Learning to trust in Tsukikage's jump acceleration was key to my finally getting consistent at 6-1. It'll help in 4-1, too! Ryuichi's draw can't hope to beat your jump acceleration.

30XX just got released on Steam as Early Access.

I played the predecessor 20XX a lot during it's early access years ago and loved it, these guys are pretty good.

Also, there is a level editor now which I am looking forward to as well!

Well said. Stage 6 is pure hell. But in a good way!

IESU SHINKEN WA MUTEKI DA (■｀W´■)

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Rygar is infernally compulsive. Green Beret on horse steroids. Nailing default 1CCs, but still can't quite stick the no-miss. It's a long odyssey for our nameless man of buffness! Got to write up a nice big meaty post for this one. For now, a few scattered observations:

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ACA ver includes both Argus no Senshi (Japan) and Rygar (World). Having cleared both on defaults, they seem mostly identical, barring Rygar altering/removing some buried items. Japan's Round 14 extend is a star in Rygar, while Japan's Round 21 Tiger Power seems AWOL. A would-be Rygar 1LC, which carked it in the rapids after, saw me hopping around like a March hare trying to unearth the bastard. Not worth any points, is bout prestige.

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The flying Gremlins' occasional "transformation spark," first seen in Round 7, isn't just for show. It's a warning that gremlin is a shooting type, and will be pelting you from above. (this game's telegraphing is so good )

GET DOWN MR PRESIDENT (■｀W´■)

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AFAIK, shooter Gremlins can't divebomb you at will, the way their non-shooting brethren randomly do. Instead, they'll make a few strafing runs, before finally divebombing, then leaving the screen (needless to say, you should just kill the fuckers ASAP). NB you can freely stomp their projectiles. You can stomp anything in Rygar, even Death!

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Round 17's Ultra Beastman Army, which can be milked to astonishing extremes if you've got the Death-defying skill, works as follows:

Tower spawn. (wait)
Tower spawn. (wait)
x3 Crawlers spawn. (wait)
Tower spawn (wait - repeat cycle)

The Antmen spawn from set points in the stage - the burrows, roughly. It's also possible for them to materialise out of solid rock, particularly if you've had to backtrack, so don't get complacent. After you've whacked the current screen's Antmen spawns, it'll be just you and the Towers, and you can go ham.

The Cross Power advertised at the Round's intro doesn't always appear in the same place - much like the game's first, in Round 7. UNLIKE Round 7's, though, it seems it sometimes won't appear at all. HELP ME JEBUS! Nah it's cool boss, R17 ain't much.

Anyhoo, this is how the game's centerpiece scoring trick works. AFAIK, if you want world-shattering scores, you wanna burn all your reserve lives here. NB there are no "trick towers" in Round 17 - the kind that collapse into a charging horde when approached. In other rounds, tower types are hard-coded; you'll need to memorise which are which. The first tricker appears at the outro of Round 11, it's all good up to there.

Round 12 midpoint: a treat, and a trick. If by "treat" you mean "snakes tryna eat my muhfuckin head off" (■｀W´■)

Spoiler: show

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For a 10k stage clear bonus, hit the "finish line" with your score's hundreds digit identical to your timer's singles digit. If you're holding [down/left] as the shrine scrolls in (the timing window is very generous), you'll get the 10k.

Spoiler: show

Note that if your timer is zero, the game will happily award the bonus, provided your hundreds digit is also. This can basically offset the time bonuses lost by running out the clock.

Hanging around trying for this bonus is responsible for most of my deaths. The "finish line" is invisible, unlike in Mario, and enemies will typically keep attacking to the very end. Takes some rehearsal and nerve.

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As shown in the Gremlin GIF above: even if you're in jump ascent, your foot will stomp anything beneath it - stomp dead, if you're packing Tiger Power (rawr! POUNCEH ). Only a couple flying enemies - Rocs and Owlbats - can survive Tiger; you'll bounce off them, instead. (you'll very likely die afterward, vs Rocs; but you have to work very hard to get above them in the first place. not a likely event)

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Note your jumping frame - see how your foot points sharply downward? You never want your foot's edge to be below your intended target's head - you may well be killed via contact.

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This established, the 50k bonus for decapitating midbosses with Tiger Power is most easily done by getting in their range, baiting out their hop, then jumping straight up - causing them to smack face-first into your foot, as they attempt to land where you were standing. (note their invaluable "Hey WTF RU doin?!" startup, as you approach for the lure - they can be "cooled off" by quickly retreating, if need be. don't run too far away though, you'll de-spawn them! WHAT DO YOU MEAN "GOOD" YOU COWARD FUCK )

Their head's hitbox is moderately picky, though very consistent.

The Burning Red Sky Tells Of The End. And a midboss.
NAO BACK DAT PUSSEH TEASE A MUHFUCKA (■｀W´■)

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This strictly vertical "counter-decap" is much safer than leaping in. If you miss it, they'll simply retreat to their starting position - a clean reset. An advancing attack creates extraneous horizontal motion - and if you miss, you will be in deep shit, with the midboss immediately launching followup attacks, and zako likely closing in.

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The end of Round 12 puts a trio of crabs in front of its midboss. The nearest to him demonstrates the perfect spacing for a counter-decap. Plus, not only do you have ample time to hop free of the waking crab - you're forced to, in order to score the decap! I wonder if this was deliberate? Tecmo are some rad chaps (cf thread title ). At any rate, despite the menacing surroundings, this is IMO one of the easiest decaps, thanks to Mr. Crab.

Be merciful to all God's creatures, OR a crab teaches geometry (■｀W´■)

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At this point, I get all decaps with no complications 90% of the time. Trickiest is Round 20's, since Gremlins and Lavamen tend to amass. Ala the far safer Round 8 (giffed above) - I like to rush straight in from a distance, my stride as unbroken as possible, jump-striking Gremlins that dive at me (Lavamen can be hopped over). Stopping will only allow more zako to gather. If things go utterly to shit here, I'm not above an escape - the screen-nuking finish line is abnormally near the boss's turf.

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The collision on your lower body during the rope segments is pretty lenient. This is good to know during the descents, where the Chameleons have a terrain advantage.

FUCKING TONGUE MY SWEATY BUNG YOU ARSEHOLE-LICKING TROGLODYTE (■｀W´■)

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Occasionally ITT, we've mooted a "sidescrolling Garegga" - meaning something with deep and idiosyncratic scoreplay (the Metal Slugs' milk-a-rama is not idiosyncratic ). I think this one's a decent candidate, though it would need some tweaks for me to really vouch it. AFAIK, item drops are random - I don't know if there's a "master list" that randomly distributes them, but otherwise, some runs give way more stars than others (individually worthless, but granting a beefy 70k bonus for every seventh). I'd prefer a Garegga-style set item order, if not a master list.

The XTREEM Round 17 milking I could do without, but tbh... I'm happy just stipulating no-miss conditions. I've always liked the subversive element of deliberately burning through your reserve lives, then carrying a massive milky haul over the finish line with no safety net.

The more general milking - loitering around whacking enemies until Death arrives and beyond - I'm ok with. It's pretty addictive, with the game's super-tight handling. Currently I run out Round 1 until I've gotten the first Power and enough kills to break 70k - this generally ensures I'll have Tiger by the first midboss, in Round 4.

Maybe make Death speed up faster, if anything.

At any rate, like Garegga, I see myself returning to Rygar to brush up on PBs many years from now. Not often I get that from a manual-scrolling action game (time attack being a different matter entirely, of course). I think six million is entirely doable without resorting to any extreme milking/suiciding; currently getting 4mil with generally nubby, risk-averse play in the game's latter half.

As with Garegga, the pace, intensity and inherent compulsion of whacking enemies/grabbing goodies makes even moderate scoreplay remarkably compelling. A brilliant scrolling action game even in straight survival terms.

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THE BADNESS

I've noticed a couple bugs/glitches here and there - nothing debilitating, but definitely to beware in serious runs. It seems the game can consistently drop your weapon's hitbox when attacking [left] at a couple points, namely Round 12's ending plateau (particularly when attacking Beastmen and crabs), and Round 13's Star Tree (versus headless Drones, who rush you en masse here). I learned the hard way to always double-tap these crowds. I need a bit more research to be sure, got some GIFs cooking up.

The Drones' invulnerability may be more of a feature than a bug... I suspect they have iframes on their wind-up animation. This might be a separate matter from the Round 13 issues - again, more research needed.

Backtracking left seems to discombobulate the game slightly. See also Round 17's Antmen, who can bust straight through solid walls, KoolAid Man-style, as mentioned previously. Backtracking seems to exacerbate this.

Incidentally, Rygar wouldn't be the first top-class sidescroller with "side-dependent" glitches that I've seen. Saigo no Nindou's shuriken are aim-lagged on one side, instant on the other. Dracula X: Rondo lets you super-backflip in one direction, but not the other. Both instances having been noted ITT, but I can't recall the specifics off the top of my head. holler if you need dem deets. ;3

Also, the "whip arm" enemies - the zako who march up before unfurling a nasty tendril attack - are glitchy as hell for head-stomping. It can work - but seemingly half the time, I'll falling straight through them to the ground, with a split-second to kill them before they score a fatal bump. Thankfully, it's just these enemies with this nasty glitch - I wonder if it's some complication, owing to their uniquely long reach. It's a snap to just crouch-kill 'em, anyway - they can't hit you while you're ducking.

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Blimey, this was meant to be short. TOO FULL WITH LOVE

Anyway, main reason for posting is that ACA Guevara is out tomorrow. PREPARE FOR WAR I wanna nail a no-miss before this year is out. Balls hard tactical rotary shooting from Obada-san.

Arcade Archives: Crime Fighters announced. Looking forward to this, I always dug its gritty Technos-esque street violence. The OST is a motherfuckin banger too, savage drum sound and precision six-string horsepower worthy of Priest.



Starring Not Don Johnson and Not Isaac Hayes!

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That's the first in the series right? I'm not too into that, but if it leads to Vendetta.....

Yep! WTB Violent Storm, myself. And MYSTIC WARRIORS ofc. And [raft of other mid-90s Konami titles, not even counting licensed ones]

Personally, given how well the stuff they do cover runs, I'm hoping the next gen might enable them to take on beefier mid/late-90s hardware, without sacrificing their current business model. Even M2 mentioned extra horsepower being not at all unwelcome, RE Batrider. I've grown very fond of them, honestly. Gimme regular, essentials-only releases ala ACA, over the RE Engine bollocks seemingly wracking Arcade Stadium any day.

Wish I could snap my fingers, and make every one of Stadium's current lineup individually bulletproofed and priced ala ACA, or the comparably no-nonsense Belt Action Pack. I'll pay to NOT have extras, when they apparently cock up the goddamn emulation!

Odd situation at the moment. I never like to get my hopes up too high, but slowly and surely, rad things keep happening for arcade gaming on console.