futari 1.5 vs black label

[DestroyTheCore]

This thread makes me want to rediscover 1.5. I have been playing BL Maniac for way too long.

[mehguy]

I havent played either so... is there really a huge difference between the 2? I mean, would it persuade you buy one or the other?

[Strikers1945guy]

I havent played either so... is there really a huge difference between the 2? I mean, would it persuade you buy one or the other?

I'm not an expert but it doesn't really matter what you play first. I started with 1.5 and I'm glad I did. For me, if cave makes a game and it gets a Black Label revision later it's like a remix or an upgraded version, so I always like to experience the original first.
if you're a beginner to average player I guess BL original mode is the easiest to scrub clear if that's what you want to do first, hence the massive amount of people that have that as their first cave clear. 1.5 Maniac is a great starting point for moderate players as the difficulty scaling is great throughout the 5 stages and the scoring mechanics aren't difficult to grasp, but very hard to master, and above all (for me) quite fun.

Eventually if you're an experienced player you've got the hardest difficulties (1.5 = Ultra & BL = God) where God mode is by far superior imo.

So I would say just decide where your skill level rests and go from there. I would start with 1.5 for oroginal anyways since BL original is just... urgh.

Beginner - Original = 1.5
Average player - Maniac = 1.5
Beast - God Mode - Black Label

Edit - I guess to directly answer your question about differences yes and no. Scoring yes lots of differences but that's only if you're playing at a level where scoring even matters. i tried to base my answer around assuming you just wanted to play them for fun / 1CC them to start off since you haven't touched either yet.

[Some-Mist]

So I would say just decide where your skill level rests and go from there. I would start with 1.5 for oroginal anyways since BL original is just... urgh.

Edit - I guess to directly answer your question about differences yes and no. Scoring yes lots of differences but that's only if you're playing at a level where scoring even matters. i tried to base my answer around assuming you just wanted to play them for fun / 1CC them to start off since you haven't touched either yet.

why do you not like BL original?

lately I've been sticking to bl original and bl god, and bl original is so insane once you crank the difficulty on stage 3 since it's a lot more touchy/intense than ver. 1.5 original. for me... by stage 3 the bullets are unfathomably fast and it's fun to see how far I can get without dying. I can't believe some people can just crank it out no life/no bomb. I think that's why a lot of the great players on this forum are currently active bl original players in the hi score thread.

[-S.L-]

My 2 cents:

I prefer the BL for Original mode, because I hate the scoring system on both but at least BL had the good idea to change the multiplier color every 3000 instead of every 500 with 1.5 AND they also put a little sound to alert you it's time to switch from laser to shot (or shot to laser). It is also easier to clear the BL if you are a beginner.

I suck at Original anyway.

Now for the Maniac. I'm a Maniac player since day one, and I've started with 1.5, it is a lot more strict than BL in many ways, just like explained by Iconoclast about the meter that gets to the red very slowly, your character are overpowered on BL (bosses and any large enemies dies 3 times faster on BL than on 1.5). You could just kind of compare it to Daifukkatsu being really strict about chaining on 1.5 but the black label doesn't give a shit about killing your chain if you missed one enemies. I also think they really fucked up RECO on BL, her options are flying around everywhere (in laser mode), locking enemies in a strange way that I cannot personally managed, and so I had to play with Palm, who has a focus shot and laser, lot more precise for scoring stages like 2 or 3 when you really have to kill things precisely such as the crayfish, the ice tower etc... And Maniac BL is also easier than 1.5. A LOT easier.

God >>> Ultra, no need to argue on this one, I think 95% would agree.

So choosing between 1.5 and BL ? As I started with 1.5 maniac and I was really used to it for months, my heart would say 1.5, but being realistic, BL has a much better Original mode in my opinion, it has God mode , and Maniac, well... I cannot choose. I think BL is more fun while 1.5 is more serious. And like them both.

Verdict.

Black Label wins (and I never thought I would say that one day !)

[x91]

Black Label.

Original:

In ver1.5 every bit of the game requires not only careful execution, but also precise calculation(mainly because 500 per switch, too often). The latter doesn't seem right in the case when ships are underpowered.
Simply clearing the BL Original might look like a milk run for someone who's familiar with CAVE games, but once you turn to scoring - I mean trying hard to get above 2 billion, you'll never forget the adrenalin driven action with the 100k+ counter. And brutally even, it has enough depth to sink into.

Maniac:

Unplayed for me. From what I get from the videos, Black Label is easier to play. But, there's God mode.

Ultra vs God:

Ultra gives me a feeling that it's unfinished, CAVE just put every bullet pattern they can think of to KILL the player, neglecting the scoring system. God makes up that perfectly.

[Bananamatic]

CAVE just put every bullet pattern they can think of to KILL the player, neglecting the scoring system.

nothing wrong with that

there's just something about a balls hard game with a really simple scoring system

[Stevens]

My time with Futari is limited compared to most of you, and I like 1.5 Original and Maniac a lot.

But after reading about how many of you seem to love BL it makes me wish I could download it.

[x91]

there's just something about a balls hard game with a really simple scoring system

Unpolished ≠ Simple

Just compare ultra to Ketsui. Both are stone hard, and has pretty simple scoring system. However once you start to score seriously in ultra, the game can be really dull since CAVE didn't pay enough attention to the stage counter, let alone that score counterstop. Gus once told me the game has at least 1 billion scoring potential beyond the 3,999,999,999 line, that could be very discouraging.

And... looking at st2 boss milking... I won't call that right. For difficulty, yes ultra is a great game mode, but no, CAVE didn't pass the score exam on this one. Ultra is far behind the same simple Ketsui. Period.

[Bananamatic]

I wouldn't call ketsui exactly simple, you still want to know where to cash in, different enemy values and stuff
ultra is just big cancels, pick up gems, don't die

the counterstop sucks but 4b+clear is enough to keep you going for over a thousand hours most likely
i actually like the st2 boss milk, takes a lot of skill and while it might be a near infinite dodging the 2nd form that many times without screwing up is near impossible

[Chaos Phoenixma]

I think that stage 2 boss milk only exists in 1.5 as well. I don't think 1.00/1.01 has it, and I know BL doesn't. You can loop the patterns, sure, but there's no point.

[ninn]

Is this the right thread to tell you, that the exploding stones in Stage 1 Ultra Mode suck hard? Their patterns are just plain unfair, and are so random. They are a real pain to dodge and can ruin a run even before the first midboss ...

I am very glad their pattern was removed in God Mode.

[Bananamatic]

Is this the right thread to tell you, that the exploding stones in Stage 1 Ultra Mode suck hard? Their patterns are just plain unfair, and are so random. They are a real pain to dodge and can ruin a run even before the first midboss ...

I am very glad their pattern was removed in God Mode.

the explosions are aimed
or you could just not shoot them and dodge the rocks

there's unfair stuff in ultra (st2 and st3 midboss, st5 boss) but the rocks aren't one of them