Homura PS2 early reviews...

[sammaza]

Thanks for running the Attract Mode Tests. I will try the retail again.

I understand the attack system now. I think...

Obviously, you build attack up by collecting the yellow cans. You can collect enough cans to fill in the 3 triangles within the Green circle that rotates around the player. If you have all 3 triangles your Bomb will have the most effect ...Sometimes you can take down the 1st Boss on foot with 1 bomb. Another aspect to the attack system is if you have 2 or more triangles and you run the attack near an enemy...it will do the Shinobi-like multi slash combo....this is where you make alot of points...if you wait untill the screen is full and pull this attack you will get the 7x multiplier! Also when you initiate the attack system you Deflect any bullets around. This can be VERY effective. The amount of multiplier for your Superbomb depends on what type of bullets and how many you deflect with this. You can also Control the deflection direction!!!! This is a first I believe. If you are quick you can use this to direct the deflected bullets toward a specific enemy...Im getting the hang of it...try deflecting directly to the left or right to get the feel of it...

Awesome Game !!! Must have

[Ghegs]

Alright, here goes Ghegs' notes on the game and speculation on the scoring system after a few hours of playing.

I discovered another bug. In the arcade it was required to press A+B simultanously in order to release a bomb. You can do that here too, or map bombing to its own button. The problem is, the game actually maps A+B to that button and not the function "bomb". End result: if you're holding down fire and press the bomb button, you get a sword slash. And vice versa.

The gameplay itself is definately fascinating. I really wish there was either a way to save your own replays or even just a practice mode/stage select, since to get good scores on the game, you need to learn when there's a large amount of enemies coming on screen and slash them at the right moment to build up the enemy multiplier.

There seem to be two multipliers - first is the enemy multiplier, which you increase by slashing enemies. The more enemies you slash at once, the higher the multiplier goes, until it goes down over time. All enemies (bosses too), regardless whether they're destroyed by shooting, slashing or bombing, are worth (enemy basevalue*multiplier) points. It seems you need to always slash more enemies then the current multiplier in order to increase it. The best I've got is x40 in first stage.

Then there's the bullet multiplier. It seems as simple as (bullet basevalue*amount of bullets caught in slash). This happens when you're deflecting bullets as well as slashing enemies, assuming you hit bullets as well.

End of level bonuses can be quite hefty, the best I've got so far is ~25 million. It lists the percentage of enemies destroyed, the times of slash attack used, the max. enemy multiplier reached, lives left and bombs left. I think. Somebody with japanese skills can either verify or shoot that down. In any case, I don't know how the EOL bonus is calculated yet.

And that's it for scoring, unless I've managed to overlook something. My current score so far is ~250 million by stage 3 boss.

[captain ahar]

nice to hear it appreciated. hopefully i can pick it up after the holidays. but green blood is the suck. thanks skonec or taito or whatever. not.

[sammaza]

Alright, here goes Ghegs' notes on the game and speculation on the scoring system after a few hours of playing.

I discovered another bug. In the arcade it was required to press A+B simultanously in order to release a bomb. You can do that here too, or map bombing to its own button. The problem is, the game actually maps A+B to that button and not the function "bomb". End result: if you're holding down fire and press the bomb button, you get a sword slash. And vice versa.

The gameplay itself is definately fascinating. I really wish there was either a way to save your own replays or even just a practice mode/stage select, since to get good scores on the game, you need to learn when there's a large amount of enemies coming on screen and slash them at the right moment to build up the enemy multiplier.

There seem to be two multipliers - first is the enemy multiplier, which you increase by slashing enemies. The more enemies you slash at once, the higher the multiplier goes, until it goes down over time. All enemies (bosses too), regardless whether they're destroyed by shooting, slashing or bombing, are worth (enemy basevalue*multiplier) points. It seems you need to always slash more enemies then the current multiplier in order to increase it. The best I've got is x40 in first stage.

Then there's the bullet multiplier. It seems as simple as (bullet basevalue*amount of bullets caught in slash). This happens when you're deflecting bullets as well as slashing enemies, assuming you hit bullets as well.

End of level bonuses can be quite hefty, the best I've got so far is ~25 million. It lists the percentage of enemies destroyed, the times of slash attack used, the max. enemy multiplier reached, lives left and bombs left. I think. Somebody with japanese skills can either verify or shoot that down. In any case, I don't know how the EOL bonus is calculated yet.

And that's it for scoring, unless I've managed to overlook something. My current score so far is ~250 million by stage 3 boss.

So you confirm the attract bug also?

[Ghegs]

So you confirm the attract bug also?

No. Read my earlier post. The attract bug doesn't happen for me. It's probabaly due to HDLoader and/or using a downloaded copy. A genuine copy played normally on a PS2 has no problems concerning it.

[Rob]

since to get good scores on the game, you need to learn when there's a large amount of enemies coming on screen and slash them at the right moment to build up the enemy multiplier.
...

Ah, lame. Sounds more like Night Raid than GW.

[Kiken]

Well, after about 45 minutes with the game, I decided to capture footage of stage 1, kuso-play style just so those who didn't order it or are still waiting can get a decent look at the game in motion (as it looks far better moving than in stills).

Homura Stage 1 Practice (26 MB) Please right-click and save.

A couple of notes:
Watch me waltz into a stray bullet during the final form of the boss. :/
Only managed to nail a max 44x multiplier (I've nailed 46 before)
I did manage to break 200 million in the first level
Stage bonus was over 28 million

Oh, and I really like the boss music.

[Brian]

I managed to break 100 million on stage 1. I have read all about the attack system, but it seems more complex for my feeble mind when I play. Still, I am getting better. Some of this game seems awkward to me for some reason. But, who am I to judge? I think Raiden III is the tops.

[gameoverDude]

Tonight I blew 200 million on Stage 1 and have had the multiplier go to around 53x. Later I had a run of 442721000 which ended at the stage 3 midboss. Giga Wing and Night Raid experience pay off here.

Once you've got a good multiplier going it may be a bad idea to chain again- if you have 40-50x, perhaps the sword should be strictly for reflecting. If you get a lower multiplier you will be seeing it DECREASE- going from 42x to 23x is the suck. 42x to 40x isn't too bad if it results in getting a lot of coins to syphon in on you. The multiplier will not reset if you die. AFAIR you can reflect bullets and get a slash combo in on the same swing.

"Bullet Basevalue" is the multiplier times 1000. So, for 200 bullets slashed at 45x you will get 45000 x 200 = 9000000. A good multiplier can make a goldmine out of certain boss attacks if you can get close to the bullet source (a bit harder than Giga Wing, where you could kick in the RF as you approach and then sit on the boss).

Though the blood is green when bosses die, it still doesn't look so bad. After the first boss is done going kersplat, some of the blood lingers and mists the air- nice touch. The BGs may not be the flashiest, but the 3D flyby effect is nice- especially when you're zooming in on the pagoda at the start of stage 1.

Tonight's best: 458605000 stage 3. That green bar to the left looks like just the powerup meter filled by collecting the coins.

[gameoverDude]

Don't know if anybody's noticed, but the mid-level stage-split directly corresponds to difficulty - left one is Easy, right one is Hard. It even reads so in plain English over the banners.

Oh, and there's no stage select.

I've given the Hard route a shot once on the first stage. The difference there is HUGE- many, many more bullets. The boss' bullets seemed a trifle faster. For now I'll be sticking to the left until I get an All Clear.

[SAM]

行哂 荃彎 各店 都冇正版....(老翻就有!?<--搞錯!)
下一站黃金 (有冇會員行過!?)

(Quote form HK-STG, a local shmups forum)

Translation:
Searched all the Game Stores in Chun Wah, but still can't found a copy.
(Only bootleg copy are avaliable?! <- What kind of world is that!)

Next Stop: Golden Centre (Any one searched there already?)

Man, I hate this dersert island.

The game stores here only got "Main Stream"games.
(Notes: "Main Stream" should be read as RUBBISH here, both of them got the same meaning)

[Dave_K.]

Well, after about 45 minutes with the game, I decided to capture footage of stage 1, kuso-play style just so those who didn't order it or are still waiting can get a decent look at the game in motion (as it looks far better moving than in stills).

Homura Stage 1 Practice (26 MB) Please right-click and save.

Thank you for capturing this Kiken. I don't think I would have figured out these play mechanics too quickly without watching something like this first. Still waiting for my copy to arrive from yesasia.

[agony]

mine just and arrived and... holy crap! really nice patterns really beatiful to see

and of course no bug here

but a Button translation would benice I think :/

[egret]

STG lovers NCS traditionally sums up the port here:
http://www.ncsx.com/2005/ncs112805/homura.htm

[snap monkey]

I'm sad to hear that this doesn't have a stage select for practicing. It's stuff like that that can make the console ports so worthwhile. However, this game looks like a lot of fun; I love the music from what I've heard. I'm still on the fence...

[Zweihander]

Is TATE intact?

[Kiken]

Is TATE intact?

Yep. In fact, it has both the 90 degree and 270 degree Tate modes.

[zakk]

mine just and arrived and... holy crap! really nice patterns really beatiful to see

and of course no bug here

but a Button translation would benice I think :/

It's not that hard to figure out...

There's only two "real" buttons. You'll note one of the possibilities is just a combination of the two real ones. It even has a + sign in it. So that's clearly A+B. One of the possibilities is 'shot' and the other is the 'sword'. There's one other possible entry, but it's 'nothing assigned'.

Play with the default config and note which button does what, then go into the setup and note which button has which japanese characters assigned to it. Voila, you just translated it.

[Wanderer]

In regards to overall quality and fun factor, how is Homura relative to some of the more recently released shmups?

I’m usually a pre-order the newest shooter type guy, but 3 of my last 4 purchases (Raiden III, Chaos Field, and Trizeal) have me second guessing my buying habits.

[professor ganson]

In regards to overall quality and fun factor, how is Homura relative to some of the more recently released shmups?

I’m usually a pre-order the newest shooter type guy, but 3 of my last 4 purchases (Raiden III, Chaos Field, and Trizeal) have me second guessing my buying habits.

I suspect a lot of us are similarly wary, and for the same reason. In my own case I might have went for it without advance word if I didn't feel overwhelmed with other shmupping duties. I just don't have time for Homura right now. Dragon Blaze, Salamander 1 & 2, Mars Matrix, Giga Wing, Gunbird 2, Twin Cobra... No doubt many of you are already tired of these and want the next new thing, but I think I could spend all of next year just on the shmups I listed and be perfectly happy.

[sffan]

Homura is a lot more fun than Raiden III. The scoring technique is fun and it's not similar to anything else I've played. The bullet patterns might remind you of Shiki 2 or Psyvariar, but the game is pretty unique. Don't judge it by the traits of other recent releases.

[Kiken]

There is a massive leap in enemy and bullet density come stage 4 (there's no path select in this stage either). That and the stage 3 boss fires some ridiculously fast bullet patterns.

[Dave_K.]

I finally got my copy from yesasia on Friday (took exactly 7 days to ship to me). I hadn't gotten around to trying it out until last night. Loaded it onto my HD (since this is the way I usually mports) and am loving it! Got up to about 320M.

[Dave_K.]

I've confirmed the lockup bug does exist, but only happens when playing off the harddrive. It appears that the demo/attract mode cannot load the replay off the disk, so the guy just sits there and dies 3 times in a row, and then an end game msg appears with 20 second countdown to continue, and then hangs. Whats really strange is while in the demo/attract mode, you can actually control the player and shoot things (even without starting the game!). I found the same bug when you normally start the game and it shows you the instructions, the guy doesn't move at all, and dies when it tries to instruct on how to reflect bullets...and because of the bug, you can control the guy during the instructions...crazy.

Anyway, when I try playing the game via fliptop (the only other way I can play imports), it works just fine. The demo/attact mode works, guy moves on his own. Have to try fudging around with the HDLoader options to see if I can get it to load the replay correctly.

[sammaza]

thanx davek

If you can figure out how to fix from hdd that would rock!

[Zweihander]

Hokay, so...

Homura finally came in the mail, and damn, it's fun. ^_^ Is there some way to get to a "true" final boss, though? I beat the fat monk-looking guy at the end of level 4, and then it goes to the credits. Too short to be the true ending, imho. Anyone have any insights?

[Kiken]

Hokay, so...

Homura finally came in the mail, and damn, it's fun. ^_^ Is there some way to get to a "true" final boss, though? I beat the fat monk-looking guy at the end of level 4, and then it goes to the credits. Too short to be the true ending, imho. Anyone have any insights?

I assume you credit-fed, because there is a stage 5 (which is a final boss battle). You gotta get there on a single-credit.

[sammaza]

I cant 1 credit it....The boss on 3-1 has bullet patterns that I cant figure out...

Great game...great replayability

9/10

[Kiken]

I cant 1 credit it....The boss on 3-1 has bullet patterns that I cant figure out...

Great game...great replayability

9/10

You mean the sub-boss (sorta like a large octopus/manta-ray... thing)?

The first pattern (the triplets of diagonal red shots) is easily dodged by moving up and down along the center of the screen (starting at the bottom of the screen). The second pattern should be the large green spray with occasional red ball shots.... pick a direction, either left or right and slowly make your way from the center to the edge of the screen and then up that side. The third pattern is the random bouncy red balls which will rebound off the edges of the screen... it's normally easiest to dodge this in about the center of the screen while slowly beginning to move backwards (as you'll be mid-screen from having dodged the green spray). The fourth pattern is a high-speed spurt of blue Nerd (they look like the candy) bullets. You normally have to make 2 quick taps left or right to get through this pattern (it's best to save a Counter Slash for this). The next one is a series of larger red triplets (they slow down as they approach the edge of the screen) with 4 or 5 intersperced triplets of blue balls. If you're starting in the center, you should have a hole to either the left or right to move in to... wait for the triple of blue ball shots before moving though. Repeat that until you get through the pattern (keep a Counter Slash ready just in case your exit disappears). The next patterns returns to the original red shot triplets. If you don't kill the boss by this time, he'll normally self-destruct.

I'm sure some other members here have some different tactics for dealing with this boss.

[CMoon]

Would you recommend this game to someone who isn't particularly fond of Psyvariar 1&2 and the Shikigami series? The game looks very unique, but I don't really like the bullet patterns too much in those games.