Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

[Tigershark]

I've bought too many games recently but am feeling spoilt and having great fun with Crimson Cover World Ignition, Deathsmiles and Bullet Soul IB. All great games.

[Stevens]

I've bought too many games recently but am feeling spoilt and having great fun with Crimson Cover World Ignition, Deathsmiles and Bullet Soul IB. All great games.

Crimson Clover is on my to buy list, I am secretly holding out in hopes it comes out for the 360. Barring that though I'll get it on Steam.

I see you're in London. Were you aware this is going on in your city as we speak?

www.streetwars.net

[AntiFritz]

Recca. Pretty fun game but makes my hands hurt holding the small buttons of my 3ds xl. Do people actually play the game on anything higher then speed 1?

[LordHypnos]

Recca. Pretty fun game but makes my hands hurt holding the small buttons of my 3ds xl. Do people actually play the game on anything higher then speed 1?

One of the most obnoxious elements of Recca, to me, is that there are 4 (or is it 5) speed settings. I've only ever used 2, and I have to select through all of them to change sometimes >_<
I do like Recca, but it has many painful things like that in it.

And yes, part of the challenge is having to use a 3DS d-pad and buttons to play it.

[LordHypnos]

Was just playing Mars Matrix (big surprise, right?). Stage 5 boss is slowly becoming more manageable. I've managed to no miss it a few times in practice. The last car is still trouble, but if I time my bullet deflection right, it isn't too bad, actually. I think the best strat for the third car is actually dodging instead of safespot. It's not too hard to dodge. It's fast, but it's static and aimed, and once you understand the different speeds and spacings of different "rays" of bullets, it's pretty easy to dodge.

Also managed to 1 miss the 6th stage up to the boss, once (in practice only, of course), which is good, because the first phase of the boss is impossibly difficult. No idea how so many players (in vids) manage to survive it (usually with no extra lives left, too). I suspect that that's actually the hardest part in the entire game.

Still doing about the same at the 5th stage though (not horribly, but bad enough to fuck up pretty consistently).
Doing better at the 4th stage boss.

The atmosphere in the sixth stage is really cool, by the way. slow scroll speed with massive bullet count in pink and blue and various sizes and speeds. Interesting enemy designs (IMO). Really tense, slow music. You can feel how close you are, as well as how much danger you are in. It's addictive.

[Stevens]

LH - The 1st phase of the last boss in MM has a ton of hit points. That boss does get progressively easier.

[Jonst]

Still under defeat and will be for the foreseeable future...enjoying it more than ever,awesome game! And a nice break from ketsui.the improvements are still coming,just got get more consistent at quick killing the stage 3 boss.

[nosorrow]

Still under defeat

DC or PS3?

[Stevens]

Still under defeat and will be for the foreseeable future...enjoying it more than ever,awesome game! And a nice break from ketsui.the improvements are still coming,just got get more consistent at quick killing the stage 3 boss.

I can usually finish him with 75 left. I can only get the option bonus on the second engine though.

[LordHypnos]

Operation actually make it to stage 6 in Mars Matrix is a failure for the day

It's sad, though, because I was playing really well except for dying twice in stage 3 >_< Actually no missed stage 5 to the final car of the boss, but only one extra life left, and while it shouldn't be too hard to beat the boss dying only once, I managed to die twice >_<

Then I proceeded to practice stage 3 for a while. Actually managed to chain +1500 too without dying once (that ended up being almost 1.2 million exp) , but I mostly did poorly. Needs more work, I guess

[Jonst]

Still under defeat

DC or PS3?

I have it for dc/360 and ps3 but am playing the ps3 version for convienience as its the console I have set up at the moment.

[Jonst]

Still under defeat and will be for the foreseeable future...enjoying it more than ever,awesome game! And a nice break from ketsui.the improvements are still coming,just got get more consistent at quick killing the stage 3 boss.

I can usually finish him with 75 left. I can only get the option bonus on the second engine though.

Nice! I'm a long way off paying attention to times and scores.Just concentrating on survival for now!

[Stevens]

It is an awesome day here, and I spent a bunch of it outside, but I did manage to get two hours in with Under Defeat.

My first run I no missed till stage 5, got cute on the giant plane trying to get more points and wound up losing both my reserve ships. Recovered and proceeded to clear the rest of the game on my last ship. I also had no bombs left for the 2nd and 3rd phases of the last boss. I've always needed at least one.

2nd run I started on 2-1. I made it to the trains on 2-4. Errpo was spot on about the routes being more or less the same. I don't think it is going to take me as long as I initially thought it would.

Last game I just ran with it and wound up with my first no miss run. BOOYAA.

Didn't reach the 2nd loop on either of the clears, but I am totally into this game again.

[Neptas]

Playing the game I quit every 4 months just to return and see how much I unimproved while not playing it: Dodonpachi.

I'm spending almost all my free time doing the same 3 bosses (level 3, 4 and 5) again and again (and again and again) in double play mode. I find sometimes a nice trick, then ragequit cause the third boss is cheating. I mean, really :'(.

I'm making some improvement still, maybe I'll get a good run soon enough. maybe, maybe not.

Oh, look, a bee!

Neptas has left.

[eatdogs]

Alien Soldier (only mentioning it because it's by Treasure)

Brave Battle Saga

Exed Exes

Galaxian

Zanac X Zanac (Neo)

Sin & Punishment

[chempop]

Gradius II on saturn, type 4 w/forcefield. Stage 8 is driving me a little nuts.

[mastermx]

I brought satazius recently, and I am very surprised by the quality. I haven't played it that much, but it is very solid. One of the best horis I've played in a very long time.

[BIL]

Just cleared Gradius II Famicom. Beautiful home rendition of the arcade game, by much of the same team as FC Salamander, Contra and Super Contra. Even having arcade ports of all four games, I'll always keep these versions around too. They play rock-solid and intelligently sidestep hardware limitation with creative license, feeling more remade than compromised. The last stage of GII FC is amazing. Their vibrant graphics and thumping Hidenori Maezawa-powered sound and music don't hurt either. Love how all four credit the original AC teams in their staff rolls, particularly this shout out to Mr. Burning Heat:

[Stevens]

Still playing UD. Made it back to 2-4 but didn't get quite as far as last time. Then I went back and played from 1-1 and made it all the way to 2-3. Fell a bit short of my hi score, but I really like starting on the 2nd loop and then going back to the first.

[LordHypnos]

Mars Matrix still. Stage 3 is starting to give me trouble. Not been practicing it enough with having to learn stage 5, I think. I managed to no miss stage 5 including bosses in score attack mode, but so far cannot be consistent enough to do even close to as well in an actual run. Seriously, there is a world of difference between being able to clear a game in theory and practice. In theory I can no miss all the way to the first phase of the stage 6 boss and clear the game by no missing the rest of the phases, but in practice, I generally game over in stage 4 still (even with both extends), and if not that, then stage 5. Sometimes even 3. I've even come close to game overing in stage 2 once or twice in the past few weeks

EDIT: Seriously, I cannot no miss both stage 2 and 3, and I can't manage to not die at least twice in 4, and usually once at the end of 5 before the boss. That leaves me nothing to make it past the boss with. Grrr!

EDIT2: I mean really! How do people ever get to the point where they actually succeed at execution in these games? You can hardly make a single mistake and succeed

[Kiken]

Still ESPRa.De. with JB5. Managed to get all the way up to Gara's final form over the weekend and got psychic high-fived to death in the first pattern (should have just used some meter to blast my way out). So I'm just wondering... can you use guard-barrier with impunity against her final form (no boss healing like in ESPGaluda)?

[ciox]

Still ESPRa.De. with JB5. Managed to get all the way up to Gara's final form over the weekend and got psychic high-fived to death in the first pattern (should have just used some meter to blast my way out). So I'm just wondering... can you use guard-barrier with impunity against her final form (no boss healing like in ESPGaluda)?

You can use it with decent effectiveness even though Gara will try to dodge it by leaving through the side of the screen, basically only charge up a little bit and let it rip while she's around the middle of the screen, otherwise a lot of power is wasted.

[Neptas]

I brought satazius recently, and I am very surprised by the quality. I haven't played it that much, but it is very solid. One of the best horis I've played in a very long time.

Bought it as well with the Steam Summer Sales. Didn't regret it. I just finished the normal difficulty, and really want to to finish harder mode now. I was really interested also with the level design (looks a lot like Gradius, and it's nicely done) and by the boss attacks.

[zlk]

Playing raycrisis now and am at pretty close to finishing the game. Not sure if I when I clear it with the bad ending, I will play it enough to clear it with the good ending. The game is fun but I don't like the fact the ship will move when you let off the controls. It makes precise dodging unnecessarily difficult. The music and levels are great though.

I am also playing a bit of ddp2 now so I can finally clear combat mode and then IR mode. After that I would like to play SDOJ if I can ever find a PCB for sale or work on ddp or donpachi again.

[Gaia]

DFK BL.

I hate how I have a tendency to push the Reddo Meter into the Red zone when I know I shouldn't, just to push my luck.

Always seem to ruins survival runs that way

I'm playing Using the B Ship (green one) and playing with Strong as its cool to have some Ura patters (if I'm not mistaken) to dodge right from the get go.

[nasty_wolverine]

DFK BL.

I hate how I have a tendency to push the Reddo Meter into the Red zone when I know I shouldn't, just to push my luck.

Always seem to ruins survival runs that way

I'm playing Using the B Ship (green one) and playing with Strong as its cool to have some Ura patters (if I'm not mistaken) to dodge right from the get go.

You are supposed to push the reddo gauge up. Thats how you score and gain hypers. And turn up the bass

[Mortificator]

I've been into fixed shooters recently. For Space Invaders, I think the best are Part II (which has pretty much replaced the original game for me), Majestic Twelve, and Extreme 2.

[Neptas]

I tried Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION, Damn what a great game seriously. It is on Steam, I really recommend it. Also stars. LOT OF STARS. MORE STARZ

[nasty_wolverine]

I tried Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION, Damn what a great game seriously. It is on Steam, I really recommend it. Also stars. LOT OF STARS. MORE STARZ

"My God, it's full of stars"

[Jonst]

While I'm waiting for my LCD tv to be repaired,I've been playing fire mustang and tatsujin on the MD (1cc,2-2 fire mustang tonight!) really fun game,that I didn't know about until a week ago.Not overly difficult,can get hectic later in the game,obviously gets much tougher in the second loop but I really enjoyed this one.Even came to enjoy the weird soundtrack.

Tatsujin is superb! Now I'm on the verge of clearing the first loop,I appreciate how good it is even more than before.Great pacing...they can take as long as they want fixing my tv,I've fallen back in love with my MD (again!)