Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

[trap15]

It's thematic. Also apparently part of the story.

[Squire Grooktook]

Is the Japanese Gradius 1 rom different from the Nemesis master rom? I just 1cc'd it (second credit ever), and was wondering if it was easier or anything, since the game didn't seem as nasty as I've seen it be to some people.

[copy-paster]

Is the Japanese Gradius 1 rom different from the Nemesis master rom? I just 1cc'd it (second credit ever), and was wondering if it was easier or anything, since the game didn't seem as nasty as I've seen it be to some people.

Nemesis master rom use GX system hardware which the bubble system's warm boot-up was removed, and the game was more harder than Gradius due to increased rank system. If the ship goes fully powered up enemies more aggressive (especially in Moai stage) and they shoot bullets much a lot and moves faster.

Luckily the checkpoint system are more stabilized, if you die (at any point) there are few red enemies which leaves power-up if you shoot them, this make lowering the rank and recovery more possible.

And if you lose all lives, it allows to continue (but only 3-4 chances)

[Squire Grooktook]

Sounds about right, thanks!

[Shepardus]

How does the homing laser attack in Ikaruga prioritize targets? Is it simply by proximity?

[ciox]

How does the homing laser attack in Ikaruga prioritize targets? Is it simply by proximity?

Yes, the only two other things you can do to control it is change polarity (weaker attacks = less enemies targeted/killed) or get a certain amount of power before firing, you do the latter in chapter 3 mostly.

[Shepardus]

Got it, I hadn't thought of using polarity switching to control how many enemies I'm hitting. Not that any of it really matters to me, I'm just trying to 1cc the game (but I getting distracted by scoring and getting myself killed as a result - it's just so tempting).

[pestro87]

Did this Karous tribute album ever get released? If so, where can I buy it?

Serial Combination
Forgive a Threat
Two as One

Thanks

[BulletMagnet]

There's a demo of the thing on its DLSite page - I only played a little of it, but it seems to have some manner of Raizing-ness going on, since you get lives and bombs pretty easily but can only hold 3 of each, so you're seemingly encouraged to sacrifice both since dying brings you back with a super-shot. Someone else would have to figure out exactly what's going on though.

[copy-paster]

Does Gradius IV ROM can run flawlessly on recent MAME version?
I tried in ver. 0.161 and still gives amount of lag.

[SapphireDensetsu]

Does Gradius IV ROM can run flawlessly on recent MAME version?
I tried in ver. 0.161 and still gives amount of lag.

The "lag" described probably means that your system isn't emulating the game at 100% speed (MAME can be kind of inefficient with 3D games). As for alternative ways to play Gradius IV, I would suggest procuring either the Gradius Collection on PSP (which also nets you 1, 2, 3, and Gaiden), or Gradius III and IV for the PS2.

[90hell0]

Hi!

I am looking for the battle garegga convenience rom!
If anyone got it please send it to me.


Thanks//N

[copy-paster]

Does Gradius IV ROM can run flawlessly on recent MAME version?
I tried in ver. 0.161 and still gives amount of lag.

The "lag" described probably means that your system isn't emulating the game at 100% speed (MAME can be kind of inefficient with 3D games). As for alternative ways to play Gradius IV, I would suggest procuring either the Gradius Collection on PSP (which also nets you 1, 2, 3, and Gaiden), or Gradius III and IV for the PS2.

maybe it's right, thanks
and yes I've already played IV on my PSP.

[copy-paster]

Hi!

I am looking for the battle garegga convenience rom!
If anyone got it please send it to me.


Thanks//N

you should PM all admins here, I'm sure they have all the ROMs include garegga.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Hi!

I am looking for the battle garegga convenience rom!

[Softdrink 117]

Hi!

I am looking for the battle garegga convenience rom!
If anyone got it please send it to me.


Thanks//N

Asking for ROMs, ISOs, or any other kind of game data is explicitly against forum rules. However, there is an IPS patch for this hack which you should be able to find here.

you should PM all admins here, I'm sure they have all the ROMs include garegga.

I know you're kidding (and it got a chuckle out of me), but please don't make jokes about this. Encouraging members who are skirting the rules to break them more is not an appropriate response.

[90hell0]

Asking for ROMs, ISOs, or any other kind of game data is explicitly against forum rules. However, there is an IPS patch for this hack which you should be able to find here.

Im sorry i should have asked for the ips patch instead. :/ The guy who made the hack has taken down the patch for download
due to some bug. But i really want to get a hold on it so if anyone have it make my day and please share it with me.

[trap15]

That's why it's not available, it's broken and doesn't work.

[Shepardus]

If you can't get the convenience patch, the next best thing is to use MAME cheats to display rank and per-frame rank, and set up a savestate at the title screen to skip the loading screen and the need to enter the code for the Mahou Daisakusen characters.

[Stevens]

Picked up Retro Gamer this month. Great issue even without the shooter article, that puts it over the top. Also I really want to see if I can play Blade Runner.

My actual question is has anyone here spent time with Xexex? I had never heard of it before and it looks incredible.

[BulletMagnet]

Great visuals, but an odd randomized power-up system makes it difficult to play "seriously".

[Shepardus]

Is there a way in MAMEplus to set up multiple autofire frequencies that you can assign to different buttons or toggle through, rather than just toggle between autofire and no autofire? If not, are there versions of MAME that support this? This would be useful for something like Battle Garegga.

[kaicooper]

guys..whats the best dark atmospheric shmups?

arcade..or genesis or snes

[CloudyMusic]

Metal Black is up there.

[Squire Grooktook]

guys..whats the best dark atmospheric shmups?

arcade..or genesis or snes

Anything by Irem, basically. R-Type II, X-Multiply, Dragon Breed, R-Type Delta, etc. all have distinctively oppressive and dark atmosphere. All are fantastic games as well.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Either it's not particulary great or it performed poorly on MAME when I played it there, but Task Force Harrier (coin-op, NOT the MD/Genny port) is darker*) than most. Gun Frontier has the most mournful music. I think Garegga's aesthetics owe both a bit or two.

*) Not sure if "darker" is saying much. More... unwelcoming perhaps.

Anything by Irem, basically.

To say that is to do them disservice, I think. To name In the Hunt, Sqoon, Air Duel - different sorts of oddball, but I wouldn't exactly label these "dark" either.

Hell, Einhänder is the one not giving you much hope. It's very world obviously isn't gonna recover soon. It's a world troubled by something worse than possibility of the playable character's death. I'm not feeling that I "save" anything as I play it.

[BIL]

Gynoug tends to get cited as the MD's darkest shooter, but the overall atmosphere doesn't live up to the show-stoppingly gruesome bosses (such as the inestimable GYNOUG DICKMAN). I would instead suggest Eliminate Down, which takes a spacewar epic on par with Tecno Soft's best, sandblasts all the gloss away, then dunks it in a vat of Irem grunge before parking it outside to rust. A rip-roaring, setpiece-stacked yet decidedly morose space shooter, kind of a punk EP to Thunder Force IV's neoclassical double album. It's also an utterly first-rate game.

Spoiler

Dunno what to suggest on SFC (edit: R-Type III excepted!) outside of Bio Metal, whose Giger riffing isn't quite genre-leading but finds very little competition on the system. For the love of gawd, play the SFC version. SNES not only ditches the integrally melancholic OST, its replacement should've landed someone in the Hague.

[Squire Grooktook]

To say that is to do them disservice, I think. To name In the Hunt, Sqoon, Air Duel - different sorts of oddball, but I wouldn't exactly label these "dark" either.

True, but many of their shmups (even Image Fight, and action platformers like Ninja Spirit) share an audiovisual bleakness that is totally unique to them IMO. Perhaps the word "anything" is not totally correct though, but I think you get the picture.

Hell, Einhänder is the one not giving you much hope. It's very world obviously isn't gonna recover soon. It's a world troubled by something worse than possibility of the playable character's death. I'm not feeling that I "save" anything as I play it.

Well IIRC at the end of Einhander, you put an end to an unending, century long profit driven war. Didn't make the world better, but it seems like it won't get much worse now.

[ciox]

Is there a way in MAMEplus to set up multiple autofire frequencies that you can assign to different buttons or toggle through, rather than just toggle between autofire and no autofire? If not, are there versions of MAME that support this? This would be useful for something like Battle Garegga.

GareMame might be able to do this.

[Kollision]

guys..whats the best dark atmospheric shmups?

arcade..or genesis or snes

Einhänder is a very dark game in the beginning, which is unusual for any shmup. Almost all of them start on clear cloudy skies and descend/ascend into outer space or caves or dark worlds, etc.

On the MD I'd cite Undeadline, and if that gorgeous 1st stage is excluded then Phelios as well.

The SNES has none, they're just too bright and Nintendo-fluffy.