Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

[BareKnuckleRoo]

How hard is Pink Sweets generally considered to be? The standard game, not Arrange mode that is. I'm curious, because I'm having a hard time finding any footage of a 1CC that doesn't use the infinite lives trick.

[BulletMagnet]

I'm having a hard time finding any footage of a 1CC that doesn't use the infinite lives trick.

Methinks that ought to tell you most everything you need to know, heh. I couldn't recall off the cuff how the rank system works, but it's supposedly pretty sadistic.

[xxx1993]

I seem to recall that the difficulty settings didn't quite match up in some fashion, but otherwise the Saturn port is pretty faithful to the arcade version, AFAIK.

That's it? So I can just stick with playing it on MAME, then? Because it's frustrating to get a Sega Saturn.

[BulletMagnet]

If you're wondering about extras, there aren't really any to speak of, it's pretty much a straight arcade port.

[pokemon123]

So just out of curiosity which of these three would be considered the most difficult? Garegga(default difficulty) batrider(advanced course) bakraid(advanced course)

[xxx1993]

If you're wondering about extras, there aren't really any to speak of, it's pretty much a straight arcade port.

Gotcha. This applies to Darius Gaiden, too, right?

[BIL]

^ yep. Although for DG enthusiasts, it'll be of interest that the Saturn version fixes at least one bug present in the arcade release.

[KAI]

How hard is Pink Sweets generally considered to be? The standard game, not Arrange mode that is. I'm curious, because I'm having a hard time finding any footage of a 1CC that doesn't use the infinite lives trick.

PS is veeereeeeeeeeeeery hard, even if you are not playing for score. It has the most unbalanced risk/reward system ever made. You need to go full survival if you want to clear it.

[xxx1993]

^ yep. Although for DG enthusiasts, it'll be of interest that the Saturn version fixes at least one bug present in the arcade release.

I'll just stick with it on Taito Legends 2, thank you. I don't think I've encountered that bug before.

[Shepardus]

So just out of curiosity which of these three would be considered the most difficult? Garegga(default difficulty) batrider(advanced course) bakraid(advanced course)

I have yet to clear any of them so I'm probably not the best judge on this, but I want to say Garegga's the hardest largely because of how crazy Black Heart mk.II is. You could also easily make a case for Batrider being harder because of how it only lets you keep two spare lives in stock, but on the other hand Batrider's pretty generous with bombs and certain characters (like Shorty with her homing options) make many parts significantly easier to handle. Either way the two are pretty close in difficulty. I'm less familiar with Bakraid but I'm under the impression that it's slightly easier than the others.

[trap15]

Bakraid is much easier. I'd put Batrider ahead of Garegga if not using the Start button on boot trick, otherwise they're about equal I think.

[xxx1993]

Another shmup related question: Why do some people say the PlayStation version of Soukyugurentai (aka Terra Diver) is inferior to the Saturn port? I actually think I like all versions of the game, but the PlayStation version has a few things the Saturn version does not, such as a female narrator at the start of each stage, and an extra boss after you defeat the final boss. It's because I saw this review dissing the PlayStation version before.

http://shmups.com/reviews/souky/index.html

[BulletMagnet]

If memory serves the PS version of Souky has a fair deal more slowdown than the Saturn port, which is apparently pretty close to the arcade original - the PS-exclusive ship is also considered somewhat overpowered compared to the others. PS Souky isn't unplayable or anything, but the Saturn port is generally the preferred one despite the former's extra stuff.

[xxx1993]

Slowdown hardly matters to me. As long as it's all the same, then it's still good, right?

[ACSeraph]

It matters in competetive play and if you were trying to learn the game in order to play it at the arcade. Otherwise it's just personal preference. For a beginner slowdown might be a good thing.

[xxx1993]

All right. And while we're still on the topic of Soukyugurentai, for the Saturn port, what's the difference between the normal port and Otokuyo? I think Otokuyo is the better version, right?

[BulletMagnet]

Otokuyo has a bug fix or two (IIRC the original print would have some garbled text when played on a non-native Saturn or something like that), and a couple of extras (sound test menus for some of Raizing's previous games, and a demo of Garegga, was it?). Nothing too huge, to the best of my knowledge.

[xxx1993]

That's it, right? And it doesn't include the FMV death scenes for each of the bosses as well as the female voice over and the extra final boss that the PSX version had?

[Jeneki]

The cutscenes in the PS1 version are not in the Saturn Otokuyo version.

[Pretas]

The Data East-ported PS1 version of Soukyugurentai feels very, very off in a way that extends beyond the slowdown. It's a curiosity at best.

[xxx1993]

I kinda enjoy the boss death scenes in the PSX version as well as the inclusion of an extra boss, though...

[dunpeal2064]

I have a question about Batsugun Special

In Stage 5, near the end of the stage, you can uncover two rows of large stars. Sometimes when I pick these up, they are worth 10k points each, and other times they are just worth their normal amount.

What is it that causes the stars to be worth 10k? Is it just the amount of stars collected, or is there some input I have to do somewhere?

[Immryr]

can someone tell me how rank works in simple mode on crimzon clover? is it just that rank gets higher with your bomb meter, or are there other factors?

[Shepardus]

It's based on how full the bomb meter is, but it might also be based on the number of star items you've collected. In World Ignition bullets definitely get faster in all modes the more stars you have, but I'm not sure if the same is true in the original version since it doesn't allow you to change your star count freely in training mode. The manual does suggest that star count affects rank, though:

Even if the Rank is kept low, what will happen if you keep grabbing ☆ items…？

[xxx1993]

I know this might be in several other topics, but... When is Raiden V for the Xbox One and Astebreed for the PlayStation 4 coming out? What's taking them so long?

[Immryr]

astebreed is coming to ps4???? sweeeeet.

and thanks shep

[Pretas]

I know this might be in several other topics, but... When is Raiden V for the Xbox One and Astebreed for the PlayStation 4 coming out? What's taking them so long?

Raiden V has been given the vague date of "sometime near the end of this year." It's taking so long because it has to be MOSS/Seibu's biggest project ever, and they have to acclimate to new hardware.

[xxx1993]

Astebreed has been announced for the PlayStation 4... And will Raiden V get a release date in America? As a physical copy even though UFO does DLC now? Then what about Natsuki Chronicle?

[Obscura]

So, what's the "proper" thing to do when there's a Raiden power-up circling around changing colors and I know I'm not going to have a calm moment any time soon?

So far, the approach I've had the most success with when in this position in Raiden 3 has been "fuck it, bomb when it turns to the right color", but surely that can't be the right thing to do?

[M.Knight]

Maybe you should try not to focus too much on it, and pick it up if by chance, it eventually ends up reachable and with the right color? If you think too much about the power-up, you'll not be able to concentrate on those fast bullets, I guess.

I have a question as well : Gun Frontier is a cool game, but Taito's not very nice calling me a cunt* just because I didn't want to destroy my fingers. Even with 5-delay autofire, there's a chance to trigger it. Is there a way to be sure not to have our initials replaced? Or maybe a external hack?

*Yeah, I know it is supposed to stand for "Continue" (･ω･)