Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade Crew)

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DJ Incompetent
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Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade Crew)

Post by DJ Incompetent »

Trailer/PV
Blazing Chrome by JoyMasher, based in Brazil
'Looks like it wants to be Contra: Hard Corps

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ ... rcade-crew
Dotemu launching side publishing business as The Arcade Crew. Dotemu will keep doing (sketchy) ports and some sequels. The Arcade Crew will be publishing indie titles.
Should The Arcade Crew be looked-upon positively because the Dotemu staff are no longer in a position to steal emulation tech? Or should people be pessimistic regardless? Dotemu never got into microtransactions did they?

Super Cyborg by Artur Games was excellent, so unless the controls or framerate is jacked, I can't see this Blazing Chrome thing being a problem.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Ghegs »

From the guys who made Oniken and Odallus, so I have high hopes for this.

Weird that they've partnered with Dotemu / The Arcade Crew, though. They published their previous games themselves on Steam and GOG, why get a separate publisher now? I guess it'll lighten their workload on that side of things and help them focus on the game, at least.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by GaijinPunch »

Looks pretty good to me. The biggest failure of most horizontal action games these days is they try to utilize a 1080p playing field with a 240p character. Too much space and shit on screen... boring.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Squire Grooktook »

Ghegs wrote:From the guys who made Oniken and Odallus, so I have high hopes for this.
That's exactly why I have little or no expectations, myself.

To me those games are the epitome of visually stylish but totally generic and bland action IMO.

Don't mean to be a downer. I'll cross my fingers that they actually managed to craft themselves a soul this time.
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Blazing Chrome

Post by Klatrymadon »

Trailer

Getting excited for this. It's always looked like the real deal, wearing a strong Hard Corps influence on its sleeve, and I like that it shows a lot of confidence in and commitment to its visual style (which is emphasising a lot of battered metal in a way very reminiscent of early Nazca stuff). From the footage the controls seem as tight and precise as Contra's, something I admired in Super Cyborg. This seems to be going further than SC, though, introducing gameplay ideas of its own beyond just slavish recreation of a formula.

Parts of this short developer diary also show some promise. I've always been interested in ('low-res') 2D artwork not simply out of nostalgia for the periods of its heyday, but as a form of art the potential for which is still far from exhausted - as a form of expression that has value in itself. It's heartening to hear this sentiment more or less echoed by someone involved in the production of contemporary 2D games, which are too often mired in knowing, 'ironic' mimickry and repetition. 

It's out on the 11th. Wishing this one all the best, and hoping for the best!
Last edited by Klatrymadon on Mon Jul 08, 2019 12:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Blazing Chrome

Post by Specineff »

Hooooly crap. It looks like a Genesis game with the SNES' palette. Hope I can snag the physical release.
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Re: Blazing Chrome

Post by BurlyHeart »

Super looking forward to this, but it's sadly been delisted from gog in my region. Hopefully it'll be added soon.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Ghegs »

Merged threads.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Klatrymadon »

Ah, sorry Ghegs! Thanks for that. :)
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by reckon luck »

Oof, I didn’t realize DotEmu were involved. Even if they’re just publishing, my enthusiasm just died a little.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by BurlyHeart »

PC Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55fARLfm2wA

This looks so freaking good. I'm genuinely excited to play it.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Klatrymadon »

It's out!

I've only spent an hour or so with it today but my first impression is that it rules. It's crammed with exciting setpieces (every time I think I'm approaching the climax of a level something tops it), controls beautifully, and looks and sounds incredible. Attacks are punishing, but always well telegraphed and fair, and it strikes a really nice balance between the new and old 'schools' of Contra - plenty of run-'n'-gun segments filled with minor enemies to manage, but also plenty of showstopping boss battles. In fact, it takes clear influence from Shattered Soldier in its basic structure, which gives you a choice of four stages from the off before funnelling you into the pre-set concluding levels. It's intimidatingly difficult, but has plenty of features to ease new players in, including an 'Easy' mode and three assistant 'bots' that can be collected in the stages - one to increase your speed and movement options, one to act as an attack drone, and one to give you a two-hit shield. There are two unlockable melee-focused characters and a 'hardcore' mode, too, so there's plenty to keep you going after your initial clear.

It's lots and lots of fun, and I haven't seen half of the game yet. A heads-up on a few things that may throw you, though: be sure to turn off 'auto-switch' in the options, unless you want a nasty surprise at an inopportune moment - it affects whether or not you equip newly acquired weapons immediately. You're not invulnerable during a slide, and dropping through platforms isn't a thing you can do, so stow the down button where possible.
Last edited by Klatrymadon on Thu Jul 11, 2019 5:56 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Marc »

I'll be picking this up. Actually I need to go back to Odallus, from the hour or so I played it didn't seem nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe here.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Klatrymadon »

Stages in this are pretty long - every time I think I've beaten the main boss another one emerges. Thankfully it doesn't suffer from the Metal Slug 3 problem of feeling like a gruelling slog. :P
Last edited by Klatrymadon on Thu Jul 11, 2019 5:01 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by xxx1993 »

Having been a fan of both Contra and Metal Slug, I'm seriously considering getting this. Also, the premise of this game reminds me of Terminator.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by NeoStrayCat »

Yeah, checked this out with my Xbox gamepass sub and yeah, its that kinda Contra difficult, even on easy. But its somewhat fair and you can continue where you left off and not back from the beginning. (Though supposedly in Easy difficulty, Normal and Hard I assume are in their own way.)
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Despatche »

Oh, JoyMasher sold their soul to DotEmu. Great. Disappointed, but no longer surprised.

DotEmu needs to be shut down and every single employee needs to be investigated for fraud. Nothing less will suffice.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by mamboFoxtrot »

A quick heads up for anyone thinking about the Switch version:
a) There's some noticeable slowdown in a few sections here and there, at least in handheld mode. Nothing too impactful, I just wasn't expecting any legitimate slowdown in a game like this on modern hardware.
b) There's no controller rebinding options, and weapon switching (or air-dash with Melee characters) is mapped to X/A instead of the more typical L/R
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by NeoStrayCat »

mamboFoxtrot wrote:A quick heads up for anyone thinking about the Switch version:
a) There's some noticeable slowdown in a few sections here and there, at least in handheld mode. Nothing too impactful, I just wasn't expecting any legitimate slowdown in a game like this on modern hardware.
b) There's no controller rebinding options, and weapon switching (or air-dash with Melee characters) is mapped to X/A instead of the more typical L/R
Oh boy, that's not going to look good for Switch players getting this, especially the control rebinds when other systems can do this, but not the Switch? That's half-assed.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by BrianC »

mamboFoxtrot wrote:A quick heads up for anyone thinking about the Switch version:
a) There's some noticeable slowdown in a few sections here and there, at least in handheld mode. Nothing too impactful, I just wasn't expecting any legitimate slowdown in a game like this on modern hardware.
b) There's no controller rebinding options, and weapon switching (or air-dash with Melee characters) is mapped to X/A instead of the more typical L/R
I'll check to be sure. The PC version has rather low specs, so I would be surprised the Switch version would have slowdown that wasn't in the other versions.

edit: Definitely no way to rebind. Not sure about the slowdown since I didn't get far and played mostly in docked. I did notice that the rebinding program is a bit buggy in the PC version of Oniken. Hopefully, they'll fix the lack of button config in the Switch Blazing Chrome in an update.

edit: Odallus and Oniken on Switch both have an option for rebinding (though the latter is under the "how to play" menu), but seem to be oddly blurry by default and the scanline filter looks off in 1080p. Blazing Chrome on Switch actually looks much better than the Switch versions of the other two Joymasher games, keeping the sprites in their full pixel glory. The lack of controller config options is a headscratcher, though.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by mice »

There's slowdown when playing docked as well. Most noticeable in two player.

And a really annoying bug is that you sometimes can't shoot when in the air. It looks like it happens just as the character starts falling.
Since I'm using the grenade a lot, this happens very often - resulting in instant death. Not sure if this is in the other versions.

Haven't played a game this much in ages, though. So I'm a really happy puppy. :)
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by xxx1993 »

So we should focus on getting the PS4 version, then?
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by BrianC »

I double dipped on the PC version. Runs well on older hardware and has a controller config that isn't separate from the game.

Edit: I jumped the gun on the Switch. It has some framerate drops, but still runs well most of the time.
Last edited by BrianC on Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by iconoclast »

Did a no death run on Hardcore difficulty yesterday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCgSgfL43IY

Great game and a must play for fans of the genre. I'll just point out a few things I don't like:

Scoring is bad and can't be taken seriously. It has two basic, and critical flaws: Score doesn't reset when you continue (as it should), and pausing the game, then choosing to "abort mission" will take you back to stage select, nullifying any mistakes you've made and letting you retry with no penalty. And even if those things were fixed, I still don't think scoring would be good. It seems like speed is by far the most important factor while everything else doesn't matter nearly as much. In a game like this, a no death run should be a basic requirement for a good score, then you can worry about the time. It'd be good if the time bonus is heavy enough to make any potential milking spots irrelevant, at least.

The final boss is anti-climactic. I was hoping Hardcore mode would have a true last boss, like Contra 3's hard mode, but nope. It really needs one.

I also hoped each character would have different weapons, like in Hard Corps, but two of them are just pallet swaps. Disappointing, but not a big deal since there are still two different playstyles.

Other than that, I can't complain much. It's still one of this year's highlights.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by xxx1993 »

How is it anti-climactic? It kinda reminds me of fighting Sigma in the first Mega Man X game... And before that, you had to fight two robots guarding his lair. The final boss looks pretty hard also.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by mamboFoxtrot »

probably because like a third of the fight is a kind of boring auto-scroller
his other attacks honestly don't feel too much harder than most of the other bosses
tbh, maybe its a consequence of the selectable stages, but the difficulty curve on the game does feel a bit flat
mice wrote:And a really annoying bug is that you sometimes can't shoot when in the air.
yeah, I feel like I've had some input drops here and there
although in one instance it turns out its just a weird design quirk -- the melee characters can't airdash during their invulnerability state after respawning. I guess the respawn invincibility and the airdash invincibility use the same variable and this was their solution to preventing a conflict :lol:
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by xxx1993 »

Come on, I've seen the fight. It's a five-minute showdown (seven if you count the two penultimate bosses preceding the final boss, since the mini boss takes about two minutes). Also, let's see what happens if you fought all three of those bosses with just your standard machine gun.
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by Sumez »

The jungle boss in Hard Corps is a five-minute showdown :P
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by xxx1993 »

Also, I'm hearing from some people that this game is better than the Contra series. Is that so?
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Re: Blazing Chrome [r'n'g](Dotemu publishing as The Arcade C

Post by iconoclast »

The game ends with a fight against a ninja clone that can be killed safely in like 2 seconds. It'd be fine if normal difficulty ended like that, but hardcore mode should have had another boss to give the game a satisfying finish.
xxx1993 wrote:Also, I'm hearing from some people that this game is better than the Contra series. Is that so?
I like it more than at least half of the Contra series. Hard Corps Uprising is still the best one tho.
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