GD: Ibara (PCB/Arcade mode PS2 only)

[Icarus]

I just got this game for PS2 and I was wondering how the different ships work. I chose P1 speed D for my ship, but it still doesn't seem to move as fast as in superplay videos. Icarus, I'm also confused as to how the A,B, and A+B ships work on the PS2. If anyone could help me out it'd be much appreciated. Thanks!

P1 Type D (which is Bond [AB]) is noticeably faster than all other ship types, quite possibly the fastest of all of them. I can certainly tell the difference compared to my preferred choice of default Bond.

I've already stuck up a list of sub-types and their alterations, both on Ord's high score table, and on this discussion thread in the Strategy Forum. The sub-types are the same for PS2 as they are on the PCB:

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   PCB             ----          PS2
Default (Start)                Type A
   (A)                         Type B
   (B)                         Type C
  (AB)                         Type D

I have noticed minor differences between the PS2 ad PCB versions, but not huge enough to affect the gameplay in any major way.

(There really should be some way of consolidating all these split threads into one big master thread...)

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Since air-borne enemys keep dropping machine-gun item randomly, by keeping one side of the ship's gun pod machine gun you can collect them for 10,000 points.

Not "randomly" as you have put it, since the item drops follow a set order in the same vein as Garegga.

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Shot -> Medal -> Shot -> Medal -> Option ->
Shot -> Medal -> Shot -> Medal -> Option ->
Shot -> Medal -> Shot -> Medal -> Option ->
Shot -> Medal -> Shot -> Medal -> Option ->
Shot -> Medal -> Large Shot -> repeat from start

In this case, the Option pickup is the Machine Gun weapon. Always.
You can also use this rule to predict when Medals will be dropped. Just watch out for a small Shot power, and you'll know that a Medal will follow soon after.

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2. the Ground turrets in stage 2 will not fire at you if you fly close to them, or you can take them out just as they are appearing on screen.

Correct, however their effective "blanking" range (the minimum range you can be within for them to stop firing) shortens as rank increases. At default range, it's likely to be around 1/2 to 1 1/4 ship lengths.

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3. The only 1-up item in the game(not sure) can be obtained by taking apart level 4's mid-boss. You must damage both wings to the point they are shooting 3 long rows of bullets at you before destroying the boss

Destroy all parts of the stage 4 midboss before destroying the main body to drop the Extend, the only one available in the game. 8.8MB replay, encoded in WMV.

[cigsthecat]

Finally got the timing down for bombing things in Stage 1, got the 10k medals here too. Best run is 1.35 million so far.

Two things-

How do you get all four medals from the tanks in stage 2? Is it just destroying every part of them before finishing off the body? I know if you bomb them you can get the full bomb at least.

Icarus, have you had any luck beating the third boss without using the Hadou cannon? If I don't have one I get wasted by the nasty final patterns. Gets pretty bad.

[Icarus]

Finally got the timing down for bombing things in Stage 1, got the 10k medals here too. Best run is 1.35 million so far.

Not bad ^_^

My best is 1.6mil+, but only on very good days.

How do you get all four medals from the tanks in stage 2? Is it just destroying every part of them before finishing off the body? I know if you bomb them you can get the full bomb at least.

Destroy the four treads (located on each corner of the tank's body) before you destroy the body itself. Pretty difficult to do, as the body is very weak. I've had more luck blasting it with a bomb.

You get one full Bomb as well as four Medals from these types of tanks (there's three that appear at once in stage5, quite a nice surprise if you come into the stage properly equipped.)

Icarus, have you had any luck beating the third boss without using the Hadou cannon? If I don't have one I get wasted by the nasty final patterns. Gets pretty bad.

Not a chance. One single, well-timed hadou on the final form is pretty much a prerequisite. It might be possible to no-miss no-hadou the whole of Kasumi, but that's only if the rank is exceptionally low.

You should be nearly full up by the time you reach Kasumi anyway, as stage3 is the bomb fragment hoarding stage. Only stage1 and 2 require you to blast everything in sight with partial bombs.

[landshark]

Icarus - would you happen to have a video of some good strategies for the stage 2 boss? I've only passed it once. Once it is down to its last few patterns, I get annihilated. Especially if I blow off the treads and it starts advancing on me because of the scrolling.

[DC906270]

Only stage1 and 2 require you to blast everything in sight with partial bombs.

hmmm... my current strategy is to hoard all the bomb fragments i collect on stage 2 for use on the stage 2 boss (midi?) - is it possible to bust midi w/out using bomb? because if you bomb a lot in stage 2, you would wind up meeting the boss with little or no bomb in stock??

Icarus - would you happen to have a video of some good strategies for the stage 2 boss? I've only passed it once. Once it is down to its last few patterns, I get annihilated. Especially if I blow off the treads and it starts advancing on me because of the scrolling.

perhaps save a bomb to use

[zakk]

Only stage1 and 2 require you to blast everything in sight with partial bombs.

hmmm... my current strategy is to hoard all the bomb fragments i collect on stage 2 for use on the stage 2 boss (midi?) - is it possible to bust midi w/out using bomb? because if you bomb a lot in stage 2, you would wind up meeting the boss with little or no bomb in stock??

Yeah, you're sacrificing stage score when you do that. Which is a fine tradeoff, of course. Bombing in stage 2 gets you lots of points however; many of the enemies are worth 100x more if killed with a bomb and there's a bunch of scenery that spews 10 medals when bombed. Quite a large number of points if you're at max medal.

It's a balancing act. You can hoard bombs and use that to clear the boss, or you can score high in the stage and hit a few extends; using those to assist in clearing the boss.

[cigsthecat]

edit-

[CptIzumi]

Hmm...I don't understand why, but even at max speed for the PS2 version (P1 speed D), it is still nowhere near as fast as the superplays I've seen, or even your vids Icarus. Did they slow down the ships for the PS2?

[Icarus]

Icarus - would you happen to have a video of some good strategies for the stage 2 boss? I've only passed it once. Once it is down to its last few patterns, I get annihilated. Especially if I blow off the treads and it starts advancing on me because of the scrolling.

To beat Midi's last form, you should try and damage her as much as possible using a Napalm you pick up from one of the four box turrets on Midi's back, before she puts up her front shield. Failling that, if Midi advances on you, slowly work your way up the side of the screen to the top, and time her out.

Here's a semi-decent video of an example Midi strategy.
Ignore the two deaths, this was a short-notice job (I'm a bit out of practice) -_-;;

Player: Icarus // Midi Strategy (two accidental deaths) (XVID - 31MB)

Hmm...I don't understand why, but even at max speed for the PS2 version (P1 speed D), it is still nowhere near as fast as the superplays I've seen, or even your vids Icarus. Did they slow down the ships for the PS2?

If anything, I'd say that they've speeded up the whole game a small touch, it definitely feels much faster and slightly more difficult than the PCB, but that might be because the PCB has a tiny bit of slowdown in it.

[freddiebamboo]

Bombing in stage 2 gets you lots of points however; many of the enemies are worth 100x more if killed with a bomb.

Are these the tanks, gun placements or popcorn ships?

Also, when bombing the tanks on stage 2, sometimes I'm given a full bomb and sometimes not. Is it just me accidentally finishing it with shot or is the location of the tank when you kill it important?

[zakk]

Bombing in stage 2 gets you lots of points however; many of the enemies are worth 100x more if killed with a bomb.

Are these the tanks, gun placements or popcorn ships?

Also, when bombing the tanks on stage 2, sometimes I'm given a full bomb and sometimes not. Is it just me accidentally finishing it with shot or is the location of the tank when you kill it important?

Popcorn ships, the uhh 'well' pump type things, the medal spewing scenery, the mech looking guys and a few others. The scoring for various enemies is listed on the bottom of the stage hint/walkthrough Arcadia pages. Icarus' site, http://www.featheredwings.net has these if you want to take a look.

You get the full bomb if you destroy the treads of the tank before destroying the body. You can tell when you've destroyed the treads when the tank stops. As Icarus mentioned before, I find more luck bombing the tank than trying to shoot off the treads.

[freddiebamboo]

Thanks zakk!

[landshark]

What causes an enemy to explode and spew medals all over the place? That is my most common reason for losing a chain.

[cigsthecat]

Those round structures (there are two on the right at the start of the stage) on stage 2 when bombed release 10 medals. You need to position your ship just above them, then bomb and all the medals will be collected quickly. They also give you a couple of bomb fragments so you're set to go again.

If you are not hovering above them when you bomb the medals fly everywhere and you'll probably lose your chain.

If you have the strategy booklet these things are marked with the big yellow stars on the stage map.

[J2d]

To beat Midi's last form, you should try and damage her as much as possible using a Napalm you pick up from one of the four box turrets on Midi's back, before she puts up her front shield. Failling that, if Midi advances on you, slowly work your way up the side of the screen to the top, and time her out.

There are only two napalm boxes. You should try to equip the first one on your back. Same thing with the second one for the 10k bonus plus it gets easier when you're not trying to destroy the threads. When you have picked up both napalms you should try to destory the two guns on the front. Fire only when they open up to damage them. After that she will unleash those triangle swarms. Make sure you fire at the upper part of the body then for a bigger bonus.

I'm not 100% sure on the bigger bonus part since it's translated and I have never been able to compare it myself (still only human) but Archer does it as well so it makes sense.

[zlk]

The funny thing is, even archer dies on the last attack of the stage 2 boss. There is a hiding spot for that attack, but making it work most of the time is really hard. There is an extend mode replay where the player tries to use the hiding spot in the second loop and his game ends when it doesn't work.

[tekneekz]

whats extended mode? is it on the ps2?

[cigsthecat]

Yes, it has a loop.

[freddiebamboo]

What are peoples opinions on the weapons in the game and which ones raise rank the most?

Are rockets at stage 1 a faux pas? I've been quite enjoying them after getting lumped with them on default practise and haven't noticed a massive change in rank up to level 3.

[cigsthecat]

I would stay away from rockets in stages 1 and 2, not only because of rank. Rockets will tend to blow up the medal buildings before you can bomb them in stage 1, and destroy the boss way too fast. In stage 2 you'll end up blowing up prime bombing targets early as well, like those round structures that throw out medals.

From Stage 3 on you'll need more power and less precision, use the rockets/napalm etc then.

[zakk]

It may not be obvious to people, but...

Those round medal spewing structures in stage 2? They raise your medal level by quite a bit if you sit on them. 9-10 levels. If your medal level is low going into stage 2, just properly bombing the first two structures will probably put you at 10k.

[Icarus]

What are peoples opinions on the weapons in the game and which ones raise rank the most?

The stronger the weapon is, the higher rank is increased by it.

Found an old post I made when the PCB was released. This is speculation:

My guess is that, from lowest to highest:

• Machine Gun
• Homing [weak, but rapid and seeking]
• Five Way [higher in power due to five shots, great at point blank(?)]
• Rocket [piercing]
• Gatling [faster Machine Gun, think Juno in Einhander]
• Burner [slower to fire, high powered]
• Napalm [slow firing, explosive missile, high power, residual damage]

If you're going to go with weaker weapons, you might need to raise your Shot level up a bit to compensate. You seem to be able to get a lot of Machine Gun, Rocket and FiveWay in the game, so I don't think that waiting for these weapons to appear is going to be a problem.

[gameoverDude]

Grabbing weapon change items gives a moment of invulnerability similar to Zanac Neo. Bullets will be turned into roses if you come into contact with them during this.

[Icarus]

That's the "aura flash" you're talking about. It only happens for a split second when you collect a new subweapon, or when your ship increases Shot power level. The aura is very very shortranged, and it is not a recommended strategy to rely on constant weapon changes a-la Zanac Neo.

Good to get you out of a fix though, if you know what you're doing ^_-

[Kiel]

That "aura flash" will do huge amounts of damage to bosses too. If you get killed on a boss make sure you grab your power ups right on top of them.

[zlk]

Has anyone figured out how to turn some of the blue bullets into flowers? Sometimes when the stage 2 boss is in its last attack, I can shoot and turn some of the bullets into flowers. It doesn't always work either.

[freddiebamboo]

Does anyone know the determining factors in the stage 3 boss attacks?

After the initial attack of swords and an aimed machine gun, the order of the attacks appears to be random in it's second form. Blue swords is the easiest of it's attacks, but normally it will be blue circular bullets from one of the left or right slots on it's back (or both slots at the same time or, god help you, both slots AND the swords).

I notice the archer replay manages to conveniently miss all the blue circular patterns, although I find it hard to tell what he is doing differently from the norm. He destroys both side guns that drop rockets and then triggers the second stage attack.

I'm willing to bet his game is at a higher rank than when I get to that boss yet I can't find a regular way of avoiding those blue bullets. Even a strategy to avoid getting both sets of bullets at the same time would really help.

[SAM]

Does anyone know the determining factors in the stage 3 boss attacks?

That's totally depands on the mood of Kasumi.

That is hard to guess. As you should already know, Girls are unpredictable...

[DC906270]

Am i correct in my assumption/estimation that you get 50,000 pts for waiting for the little ship to drop off the stage 1 boss and destroying it before it leaves the bottom of the screen?

kind of difficult to get the timing right sometimes, as it tends to get destroyed while still attached to the boss if you are heavily powered-up

[cigsthecat]

Yes, you get 50k for it. Try not to pick up rockets or too many 5-ways on Stage 1 and you can be fairly precise.

Has anyone figured out how to turn some of the blue bullets into flowers? Sometimes when the stage 2 boss is in its last attack, I can shoot and turn some of the bullets into flowers. It doesn't always work either.

Are you sure you aren't bombing (maybe 1 or 2 fragments left) or dying, then picking up a powerup as this occurs? I haven't noticed this happening.

freddie: You really need a hadou in stock for the third boss. Ideally you would destoy the first form just by shooting, loading up on rockets when they are dropped. Then survive as long as you can after that and look for a good time to place the hadou.

Once you get more experience with Stage 3 you'll be reaching the boss with 2-4 hadou cannons in stock anyway.