I DID IT! Share your latest 1CCs/other triumphs here...

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Screw you, 1.01 Larsa. Thanks again, moh. :3

[Doctor Butler]

I just 1cc'd AsteBreed on the first try, and then my computer crashed before I could take a screenshot.
I was surprised how easy and forgiving it was, so it's not going to be too big of a hassle to redo, lol.

Gonna record a full playthrough soon.

[SunJammer]

got my first 1-ALL on Ketsui last night - really wasn't expecting it so I wasn't able to save a replay T_T

[Jonst]

^ congrats!!

Yeeeeaaaah i just 1cc (1 all) dodonpachi arcade mode!! I was never really that happy about my saturn mode clear,as it didn't feel that legit,so I'm well pleased now!! Now,what next? Progear,sdoj or ketsui?

[chempop]

Congrats Sunjammer, ketsui 1-all is nothing to scoff at.

Congrats Jonstm you should go for 2nd loop requirements in DDP and see how far you can get.
DOJ, Rade, Galuda, or Ketsui would be good stepping stones imho, SDOJ is a lot more challenging than any of those.

[ELabit]

Lords of Thunder 1cc tonight


Air Zonk last week

[Jonst]

Cheers chempop! I have already cleared galuda (not so long ago!)...funnily enough,out of the games you mentioned,sdoj is the one I can get furthest in! I've made stage 5 in a credit a fair few times,plus it's really fun! I would love a ketsui clear but stage 5 just looks impossible (I can't make stage 5 in a single credit on it though!)

[Weak Boson]

After the STG Weekly episode I returned to Psyvariar Revision and reached the final stage without the roll button for the first time tonight. Watch this space!

[pegboy]

Took down Gradius IV last night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpLecf04HAs

Took about 1.5 months of playing to beat it. In some ways it's even harder than Gradius III, particularly because the game is so stingy with extends. In my playthrough I died at the worst possible checkpoint, at the start of the last stage. Comes down to my final life but I pulled it off.

[Nali]

New personal best. I started dropping the ball seriously around 2-3 and 2-4 and 2-5 is nightmarishly hard for me. I will need way more practice on that. No time for that now though. Too much non-STG stuff to do. Amazingly enough this score of 166 million is the same I got Ketsui last week. Interesting coincidence.

[LordHypnos]

Should probably post that I 1LC'd easy mode of Metal Torrent...On my first try. This game could probably do with a little shorter of a gauge for the bomb / shield thing. I think I could score way higher though, with some effort (I think I got around 70,000,000 only). Also, Insane difficulty seems more reasonable to try for survival. Pretty fun game for a $5 3DS game.

[PedroMD]

So I haven't had much time for playing shmups lately (or time for anything, really), but Darius Burst keeps being my companion on the go. And just yesterday I got a No Miss clear on the hardest route with Great Thing as the final boss.
Darius Burst is a very easy game in any way you analyze it, and the only thing separating a one-life run from a barely-a-clear run is four hits. In a game where you get more than thirty shields, that's nothing. But man, am I happy with this. I like this game so much and Great Thing is such a good fight. Now I really wish this game had more stages like the other ones.

(too bad for the first time I had a replay desync, so I'm sad [but not really, I just have to do it again])

[Kiken]

Got the All Clear in Game Tengoku Arrange mode after spending a week relearning the game... and I wasn't recording. So I'll have to do it again. First though, time for a replacement Saturn battery.

[Lilium]

First post on this forum, let us make it a merry one. Managed to get my 10th shmup 1cc tonight. Strikers 99 1-all. Yay.

[mastermx]

I finally beat Gradius III (Arcade/PS2 version) with the Wait level turned off (Wait 0). Don't think anyone has posted a full play-through with Wait 0 so here's my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC7A3iIdAwg

Just want to say again how crazy hard this game is at 0 wait. It's insane. It becomes a combination of memorization and reflex. Bubble stage took me so many attempts just to beat it once. Are you consistent on the bubbles stage? I'm still in awe at your achievement.

I finally beat Gradius III (Arcade/PS2 version) with the Wait level turned off (Wait 0).

That's amazing, congratulations. Gradius 3 is one of the hardest games to 1CC. I normally play it with slowdown, having wait at zero would make the game like a cave bullet hell in certain parts.

Incredible! Bubble stage and Inferno do not play around at wait 0.

I know I'm replying late, but I understand what you mean. Bubble and inferno seems almost impossible for me. It takes me many tries to get through them. I honestly think that for gradius 3, slowdown is not accidental. What are your thoughts on this. P. S. Loved your STG live play break downs of gradius 1-3

[ACSeraph]

So I haven't had much time for playing shmups lately (or time for anything, really), but Darius Burst keeps being my companion on the go. And just yesterday I got a No Miss clear on the hardest route with Great Thing as the final boss.
Darius Burst is a very easy game in any way you analyze it, and the only thing separating a one-life run from a barely-a-clear run is four hits. In a game where you get more than thirty shields, that's nothing. But man, am I happy with this. I like this game so much and Great Thing is such a good fight. Now I really wish this game had more stages like the other ones.

(too bad for the first time I had a replay desync, so I'm sad [but not really, I just have to do it again])

Nice job man! I've been there a few times but never quite managed to down him before getting sucked into other games. I really ought to go back to Burst for a bit. I agree it's quite easy overall, but the GT course feels pretty good to me. Not particularly hard, but challenging, it certainly isn't a free clear. And you're damn right about the actual GT fight being incredible. Dat music

[pegboy]

Just want to say again how crazy hard this game is at 0 wait. It's insane. It becomes a combination of memorization and reflex. Bubble stage took me so many attempts just to beat it once. Are you consistent on the bubbles stage? I'm still in awe at your achievement.

I know I'm replying late, but I understand what you mean. Bubble and inferno seems almost impossible for me. It takes me many tries to get through them. I honestly think that for gradius 3, slowdown is not accidental. What are your thoughts on this. P. S. Loved your STG live play break downs of gradius 1-3

Actually the bubble stage is one of the easier parts of the game in retrospect. I died maybe 1 out of 10 times on that part once I got it down. Even if you die on the bubble stage at least it's early in the game and a restart isn't too painful...unlike the god damn cube level. I can consistently no miss the first 6 levels without too much trouble on wait 0. That all changes once you get to stage 7, at which point I think I've only beaten once or twice without dying.

I practiced recovery on stage 7 A LOT, hundreds of times. Believe it or not but fighting the boss unpowered is actually the hardest part of that level. The stage 8 boss is even worse, much worse.

Fighting that Plant unpowered is impossible unless you pull off a timeout, which isn't exactly easy. It might not look that hard in the videos but those damn "suction zones" are invisible and dodging them along with his massive sprite and bullets it starts to get rediculous. You almost certainly need a shield (or 2) to beat him.

All of this and you still have to deal with the cube stage, which is just bullshit and unfair. If you somehow survive that then you better not die on the last level, recovery is nearly impossible in certain areas.

[mastermx]

@pegboy

Your knowledge of the game is deep. I doubt I'll ever make it to the cube level on wait 0 lol.

I still find it amazing that you can consistently beat the first six stages on wait 0. Everything is just so much harder. I know you said you've been working on this for a while, but how many hours have you spent practicing? and have you ever tried playing the game with Wait on? If you can be consistent with Wait 0, then slowdown must make the game very easy for you.

So far gradius 3 with no slowdown seems to be the most brutal shmup I've ever played.

P. S. On your reply, the last part when you lost your life and had to redo the boss rush underpowered. That was an intense viewing. I can feel the rage, and the intensity. I've never had that watching a replay before. Kudos

[PedroMD]

Nice job man! I've been there a few times but never quite managed to down him before getting sucked into other games. I really ought to go back to Burst for a bit. I agree it's quite easy overall, but the GT course feels pretty good to me. Not particularly hard, but challenging, it certainly isn't a free clear. And you're damn right about the actual GT fight being incredible. Dat music

Thanks! Zone K really makes up for the rest of the game, both the stage and GT are relentless, and the music sets the perfect pace for the fight. Truly the best moment in the game. I need to play the arcade version at least once in my life, must be glorious.
And I think it's time I move on for real to another Darius now. I guess Gaiden is the most obvious recommendation?

[pegboy]

@pegboy

Your knowledge of the game is deep. I doubt I'll ever make it to the cube level on wait 0 lol.

I still find it amazing that you can consistently beat the first six stages on wait 0. Everything is just so much harder. I know you said you've been working on this for a while, but how many hours have you spent practicing? and have you ever tried playing the game with Wait on? If you can be consistent with Wait 0, then slowdown must make the game very easy for you.

So far gradius 3 with no slowdown seems to be the most brutal shmup I've ever played.

P. S. On your reply, the last part when you lost your life and had to redo the boss rush underpowered. That was an intense viewing. I can feel the rage, and the intensity. I've never had that watching a replay before. Kudos

I couldn't even tell you how many hours, probably several hundred though. Started playing it in 2012, played it off and on for a year. Took a break and then got more serious back around October of last year and played it solid for several months until I beat it. I beat all of the levels on wait 0 starting from scratch (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... dxRwTp5TSs), that helped a bunch in figuring out recover strategies. That's the only reason I was able to recover on the last level in my full run, because I practiced it endlessly starting the level from scratch.

I did play it with wait on when I started, but I never really attempted to beat it that way, I'm sure I could have done it sooner if I did it that way. I just wanted to do something different, since no one had posted a video of a no-wait full run, and I wasn't sure if anyone had ever tried to do it, so why not me lol?

In the run I posted, I almost rage quit after dying on the last level. I wanted to smash that controller so bad, after all those deaths on the cube stage just to die at the very last possible point and have to redo the damn boss rush with no powerups... Just proves that you should never quit a run until it's over. My Gradius IV run has kind of a similar moment to it near the end, had to beat he fortress stage starting at the worst possible checkpoint.

[mastermx]

I beat all of the levels on wait 0 starting from scratch (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... dxRwTp5TSs), that helped a bunch in figuring out recover strategies. That's the only reason I was able to recover on the last level in my full run, because I practiced it endlessly starting the level from scratch.

Thanks a lot for the info. I can see how you are so good at recovering, and just have a very good familiarity with all the levels. Especially down the line with later levels where there is more of an emphasis on memorization. Does the ps2 ver allow level select so you can practice specific levels?

[pegboy]

Thanks a lot for the info. I can see how you are so good at recovering, and just have a very good familiarity with all the levels. Especially down the line with later levels where there is more of an emphasis on memorization. Does the ps2 ver allow level select so you can practice specific levels?

Yes, the PS2 version lets you select to start at any checkpoint that you've previously reached. So you can pretty much "credit feed" all the way to end using this feature to reach all checkpoints.

[ACSeraph]

Thanks! Zone K really makes up for the rest of the game, both the stage and GT are relentless, and the music sets the perfect pace for the fight. Truly the best moment in the game. I need to play the arcade version at least once in my life, must be glorious.
And I think it's time I move on for real to another Darius now. I guess Gaiden is the most obvious recommendation?

I've never fought GT in it, but pretty much every boss fight in the arcade version is glorious. The music for even the standard bosses is crazy epic, and like the originals the whole machine rumbles and there are all these flashing red warning lights all over the machine and stuff. It's like a shmup theme park ride, there's really no way to replicate the experience outside of the arcade.

As for the next game yeah, Gaiden is the obvious answer and the one that seems to have the widest appeal. It's definitely the flashiest game and the best looking in the series. I do suggest at least attempting to learn it auto-off though (auto-off is still auto, just slower).

However having cleared a course in almost every game at this point, I have to say I think Darius Extra is actually the best game in the series. It's crazy retro, but in a good way, and the tunes are amazing too, best in the series imo. So maybe give it a chance too and see which one sucks you in more. ST coming soon, it's about 2/3 finished

[japtor]

Nothing other than a personal best, but I finally got to stage 5 in SDOJ a little while ago. Then lasted all of a few seconds.

I've had trouble getting back to that point but had some good runs yesterday, including no bomb/miss through the first 3 stages (shouldn't be too hard but I usually make at least one horrible mistake), and lasting a bit longer on 5. I forget where I died exactly, but I managed to survive the midboss rehash and a while after that, sometime after the bomb carrier, but I think right before the big bees/hyper refill area.

And of course I died making a run for the bomb right after navigating through a crazy swarm, one of those rare "I can see everything!" moments for me (...everything but the stray bullet in open space that killed me).

[EmperorIng]

However having cleared a course in almost every game at this point, I have to say I think Darius Extra is actually the best game in the series. It's crazy retro, but in a good way, and the tunes are amazing too, best in the series imo. So maybe give it a chance too and see which one sucks you in more. ST coming soon, it's about 2/3 finished

Crazy talk, but I eagerly look forward to the ST once it's finished. Best of luck!

[Softdrink 117]

IBARA E SCORE ALL YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!

Recorded live during a stream broadcast! Check out the replay here!
(Apologies for the poor quality, I have bad upload speed, so when the screen is too busy the picture goes to shit)

[Jenseits]

Dodonpachi 1-All C-Ship-Shot around 38mil score...
I felt cheap bombing away the stage 6 boss with the left ressources.
I just wanted to have my first 1-all off the table
Obviously my chaining mainly sucks...
I think i'll continue working on it and do some practice for stage 5 and 6 as well as memorizing bee positions...

Additionally i think i'm heading for Espgaluda.

[xorthen]

Lords of Thunder 1cc tonight


Air Zonk last week

I could never get past stage 3 on Winds of Thunder. That game rapes me badly.

[Jonst]

Dodonpachi 1-All C-Ship-Shot around 38mil score...
I felt cheap bombing away the stage 6 boss with the left ressources.
I just wanted to have my first 1-all off the table
Obviously my chaining mainly sucks...
I think i'll continue working on it and do some practice for stage 5 and 6 as well as memorizing bee positions...

Additionally i think i'm heading for Espgaluda.

Hey,a clear's a clear! Your score was 10 mil more than my 1cc score! Congratulations btw!

[mastermx]

Thanks a lot for the info. I can see how you are so good at recovering, and just have a very good familiarity with all the levels. Especially down the line with later levels where there is more of an emphasis on memorization. Does the ps2 ver allow level select so you can practice specific levels?

Yes, the PS2 version lets you select to start at any checkpoint that you've previously reached. So you can pretty much "credit feed" all the way to end using this feature to reach all checkpoints.

Something just occurred to me. I always only ever use weapon type A. When playing with Wait off, does it make a big difference what weapon type you are using. I've never seen a wait 0 1cc of gradius 3 done with type a. Have you experimented much with weapon types?