Bumping this quality thread with a Crosspost Plus Alpha from the "shumps ticker" thread. Picked up some MD shooters I'd been after for a while, finally got good condition + complete copies.
Gley Lancer Digging what feels like an Image Fight* influence in the powerups, option controls and certain enemies, along with its sense of an archetypal memoriser given a degree of console flexibility via generous firepower and speed control. Excellent pacing provided you play on Hard from the get-go, and a respectable challenge too. "Huge battleship" level is more Thunder Force III tedious than R-Type II menacing, a shame, but the stage's boss rocks with his cluster grenade attack - like Gradius Gaiden's Neo Bigcore ("Formidable Guardians" boss) half a decade earlier. Doesn't hurt that this game looks and sounds splendid and more importantly controls like a dream.
Regarding the Thunder Force III comparisons earlier in this thread: I really don't see it. TFIII lets you switch weapons freely, while GL forces you to decide the best for each area. TFIII's defining mechanic is its multi-weapon system, GL uses Image Fight-style gunpods. TFIII has instant respawns suited to its fast-moving stages full of sudden deaths, while GL has checkpoints and less sudden but tougher to recover deaths that demand you no-miss each segment. As a fan of both developers, GL plays
a lot more like an Irem shooter than a Tecno Soft one in my book. Glad to have both in my game library, regardless.
*I'd cite R-Type Leo, but with it and GL both released in 1992, it's hard to say how much inspiration Masaya took from it if any.
Gynoug Some of the more intense bullet patterns I've come across in a 16-bit original; almost brings to mind Sengoku Ace. Bump the difficulty up one so mini+main bosses can stick around long enough to chuck a few of these out. Interesting variation on the Gradius piggybank - collecting the same subweapon multiple times consecutively before activation = bigger guns. Loud and proud shoutout to "Maximum Speed" stages as well. Unfortunately there's a tendency to pad out levels with repeating waves which Masaya had clearly learned to avoid by Gley Lancer, but it's not a game killer. Used to hate the stubby, tiny sprites (where's my Michael Bolton / Fabio angel barbarian stud?!) but they facilitate those furious patterns and allow tons of enemies onscreen with zero slowdown.
After an aesthetically ho-hum first four stages the roiling, pulsating "bloodstream" stage is a total stunner. Instantly one of my favourite organic levels in the genre. No news that the bosses are consistent knockouts as are most of the minibosses. Manual is friggin' rad. Sad this didn't get a Saturn sequel like Assault Suit Leynos, refinement of this gameplay and that aesthetic would've been a welcome horror shooting venture.
Koutetsu Teikoku / Steel Empire Only hori I've played whose action gives me that Gun Frontier / Battle Garegga feeling of taking on monster machines who retaliate with salvos of bullets, rockets and grenades loosed from bristling turrets and cannons, as opposed to say a torrent of wine gums disgorged from beneath a loli's skirt. I like bullets and missiles whizzing past my ship. Lifebar is probably a blaring warning siren to some, but it actually works out well; the devs commendably used the leeway to design levels and bosses that'd approach typical coinop difficulty, were this a one-hit affair. Patterns are well-designed and the game is entirely no-missable on max difficulty, no lame spam here.
Strip out the neat Laputa-derived aesthetic and you'd have a competent hori not really worth its price tag. It's more one to get for the excellent presentation knowing the underlying game is sound. The naval battle stage is a w e s o m e. Rayforce-worthy sense of being a tiny craft entering a vast warzone when you pass your own smashed fleet in pursuit of the secret weapon that sank it.
stryc9 wrote:Not sure if they've been mentioned yet, but I've been playing the first two Bare Knuckles.
Now I've been playing these games for twenty-one years and I think I've come to the conclusion that the first game is the best.
Ended up getting BK1 largely on your post, thanks for the excellent writeup.
I already had the latter two and figured the first wouldn't hold my interest, but it does indeed have a faster, stripped-down feel that makes it more than worth having. I particularly like how there's no vertical scrolling or area transitions, just a constant procession of beltscrolled ass-whooping. The slightly choppy feeling takes getting used to, but it's entirely consistent and easily adjusted for. Utterly killer soundtrack as well. Shame Adam got the boot for Max and Sammy in the sequel. I like playing as Max but both of their character designs suck and have dated horribly. Badass Black Guy in PVC trousers and biker boots over CAPTAIN 90S JR. and spandex puro beefman any day.