RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

For posting and requesting strategic gameplay tips on shmups!
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Nana
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RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

Post by Nana »

While I am quite enjoying this game and I do love the music, I have absolutely no idea how pretty much any of it works. I get the 'chain reaction' explosions you can trigger with the hammer (larger items per every explosion in sequence), and that collecting items of the same type/color in a row increases their point value until they're 10x their original worth.


However, I don't understand the options evolution system at all. No matter what I try, I can only get them to grow into the 'fairy/angel/goddess' route, and I can't find out what triggers any of the lower paths.

Also, power up items: how the hell do these work? I've gotten to what I believe is max power by st2, but only 1/10 of the time. Why do power ups only actually increase shot power some of the time, and give me an essentially useless 3k points otherwise?

And for life pickups, what in particular triggers these? I know that they have set positions in each level, but the same boxes will seemingly drop said life pickups only half the time, and just more score items otherwise.

Bosses seem a bit cheap, too, but for that I'll just have to git gud. Somebody please explain the st4 CRAB though.
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EmperorIng
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Re: RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

Post by EmperorIng »

From what I know/can tell, your familiar's evolution is determined by if you collected more animals or jewels per stage.
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Nana
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Re: RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

Post by Nana »

So to go to the 'lower' branch I'd have to collect less than the required amount of both? I tried, but the first stage requirements are so low that I would always accidentally end up with one or the other filled up. I guess I can try just walking through an entire stage not shooting anything.

Sounds like fun.
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EmperorIng
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Re: RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

Post by EmperorIng »

You don't have to collect less than the amount; the game picks based on whichever you have more of.
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Nana
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Re: RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

Post by Nana »

Ohhh, okay. Gotcha, thanks for the tip.

The powerups and life items are still really getting me, though. I wonder if it depends on what you use to break open the containers. That would suck if so, but it wouldn't be all that hard to just memorize all their locations in game, since there's only a couple per stage.
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Nana
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Re: RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

Post by Nana »

Alright, well I figured a little bit more out, and this should have probably been common sense, but if anyone else was in the same boat as me, I figure this would help:

For the powerups, don't just collect them instantly. While they're spinning one direction, they'll be red, but they eventually slow down and spin the other direction and turn blue. They do disappear after a while, but it's a long enough time that waiting for them shouldn't be a concern. When you're starting out, you want your character to pick up three RED heart powerups, which increases the strength of your shot. Only once you do that will collecting blue star powerups be useful, and you can collect three of those as well. So it's actually pretty simple, but this should bring you to full power by the end of stage 2/beginning of stage 3, and it makes the bosses MUCH MUCH easier. The stage 2 boss goes down in like ten seconds if you're full power, as opposed to the minute-long fight I've dealt with when I didn't understand the powerups.

I am almost positive that the one cake slice at the beginning of stage 2 is random and determined per game. It seems to happen exactly every other game. But as far as I can tell, this might be the only random life drop in the game as well. So basically, just don't get hit in stage 1. It's not that hard.
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Kiken
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Re: RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

Post by Kiken »

There are numerous random item drops in the game (score items, life items, even one of the Extends). I still don't fully understand what's governing their drop rate.

As for the stage 4 boss... keep below him (relative since the game uses an isometric viewpoint)... but stay just out of his running path and keep your shot locked firing straight up. Stay in that relative area and you'll find yourself in the blind spot for his spread shot. Just be warned that once his main body and arm are destroyed, he'll deploy the little crabs sitting at the 'left' and 'right' on the playfield. I'll normally drop a bomb here just to finish him off.
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Kino
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this game needs an actual ST thread lol

Post by Kino »

The OP has likely long since figured it out, but for the sake of future generations...
Nana wrote: However, I don't understand the options evolution system at all. No matter what I try, I can only get them to grow into the 'fairy/angel/goddess' route, and I can't find out what triggers any of the lower paths.
Here's a chart detailing how your familiars evolve. The top branches are for if you collected more animals than jewels, or an equal amount of both. The bottom branches are for if you collected more jewels than animals. If you don't meet either of your quotas within a stage, your familiar will not evolve. Spoiler alert: Lich is the one you want.

Image
Nana wrote: For the powerups, don't just collect them instantly. While they're spinning one direction, they'll be red, but they eventually slow down and spin the other direction and turn blue. They do disappear after a while, but it's a long enough time that waiting for them shouldn't be a concern. When you're starting out, you want your character to pick up three RED heart powerups, which increases the strength of your shot. Only once you do that will collecting blue star powerups be useful, and you can collect three of those as well.
Both of them boost strength, in a matter of speaking. Red power-ups increase the spread, blue power-ups increase your rate of fire. Also, you only need two of each to be at max power, and it doesn't particularly matter in which order you collect them. (Although NCP-Nekon seems to deliberately eschew the spread-increase during the early game so as to be able to measure certain enemies' HP better, and/or avoid collateral damage. So in that regard, perhaps it does matter?)

P.S. The cat fucking sucks. :P
Last edited by Kino on Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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EmperorIng
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Re: RQ: Purikura Daisakusen Basics

Post by EmperorIng »

I finally picked up this game for the Saturn so I can really delve more deeply into it. I had forgotten about the chaos of some of the stages which makes it hard to shepherd your familiar's evolution. I usually end up with the valkyrie and make it up to stage 4 (ice stage). That mecha-dragon is a real bitch.

You're right about that cat, even if his melee animation is great. THWAP!

I've yet to find a good time to use the roll, as well. It more or less seems to put me into harm's way.

As a final note, I remember your despair Kino over the way the enemy physics work when hitting them to set off chain reactions. Sometimes it seems like I get half of stage 1 chained from a lucky strike to leave huge jewels everywhere; other times, next to nothing. :cry:
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