It was feared, and because of its shape called EINHÄNDER

Mortificator · Post by **Mortificator** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 2:19 pm

Fear.

Squire Grooktook · Post by **Squire Grooktook** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 2:24 pm

Einhander General?

EmperorIng · Post by **EmperorIng** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 2:49 pm

Is this the first acknowledgment of Einhander's existence in over a decade from Square?

I'd rather have an Einhander HD than a FFVII HD, lol. That being said, it's a game I really need to spend more time with to appreciate. So much about it is top-notch.

Perikles · Post by **Perikles** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 2:55 pm

It's actually spelled (and called) Einhänder, with a fashionable diaeresis (or, more appropriately in this context: Umlaut) to be precise, pedantic and elitist.

Like EmperorIng, I also have to spend some more time with the game, it's quite intimidating given the length, involved scoring system, perspectival changes and overall difficulty. I always procrastinate playing it for some reason, but now it's the only console shooter left I'm really interested in, so there's a good chance I might finally give it a whirl.

copy-paster · Post by **copy-paster** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 2:58 pm

Einhander...

Limited ammo makes me quit playing the game.

Squire Grooktook · Post by **Squire Grooktook** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 3:10 pm

copy-paster wrote:Einhander...

Limited ammo makes me quit playing the game.

Then just don't play the third ship.

*edit* even that one has an unlimited ammo machine gun.

HydrogLox · Post by **HydrogLox** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 3:51 pm

For a moment I thought that I was looking at some kind of excitebot ...

Glick · Post by **Glick** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 4:58 pm

EmperorIng wrote:Is this the first acknowledgment of Einhander's existence in over a decade from Square?

I'd rather have an Einhander HD than a FFVII HD, lol. That being said, it's a game I really need to spend more time with to appreciate. So much about it is top-notch.

For whatever reason they actually threw in a reference to it in a dungeon in FFXIV: http://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/ ... #Einhander

Squire Grooktook · Post by **Squire Grooktook** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 5:00 pm

Thought it was a coincidence until

The boss switches between two (?) forms and will disappear briefly while switching between each form. There is an obvious tell each time as Einhander will hold a different weapon in his talons.

good show

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 5:33 pm

Does anyone know how the Einhänder gets its upgraded thrusters in the last stage?
One of the best uses of 3D backgrounds in any SHMÜP, if you ask me.

EmperorIng · Post by **EmperorIng** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 5:42 pm

Well it takes place one month after stage 6... I suppose the Einhander pilot went all Metal Black and smashed the compromise known as WAR and stole some hyper-thrusters to deal out some nihilistic justice. Certainly cooler than Thunder Force V's anemic "upgrade + battle in space" moment.

Sumez · Post by **Sumez** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 8:02 pm

Perikles wrote:It's actually spelled (and called) Einhänder, with a fashionable diaeresis (or, more appropriately in this context: Umlaut) to be precise, pedantic and elitist.

Considering "ä" sounds quite a bit different from "a", you get a pass on this one. You don't call anyone elitist for insisting that R-Type isn't called "R-Tupe"

EmperorIng · Post by **EmperorIng** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 8:46 pm

Ich bin eine Einhänder.

Sumez · Post by **Sumez** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 9:06 pm

3 points for the PWEI reference

Kollision · Post by **Kollision** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 9:55 pm

Gorgeous game that deserves a real sequel.

Fuck those lazy 3D re-releases.

Squire Grooktook · Post by **Squire Grooktook** » Sat Sep 10, 2016 2:32 am

EmperorIng wrote:nihilistic justice

Good name for a rockband, game, or spellcard.

Edge Factor ~ Nihilistic Justice

Tregard · Post by **Tregard** » Sat Sep 10, 2016 7:00 am

I wish the superplay of this which was set to disc 1 of Paul Oakenfold's Creamfields set still existed. The two fit together so well. I actually preferred that sweeping and faintly melancholic sound to the audio of the actual game, which felt far more dystopian.

ZacharyB · Post by **ZacharyB** » Sat Sep 10, 2016 8:06 am

But, it does still exist! (I made a playlist of it years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR1hr4b ... D623DA4BAD )

Tregard · Post by **Tregard** » Sat Sep 10, 2016 8:52 am

All praise The Internet!

Thanks for preserving a video that changed my life in a small but important way. I went all in on shmups and trance for about 5 years after that.

The vocal crescendo of Point Zero set against the level 1 boss, while lightning rakes the sky, is just magnificent!

Edit: Also, my god does that guy tear the game a new one.

Mortificator · Post by **Mortificator** » Sat Sep 10, 2016 2:44 pm

Title now appropriately metal.

Squire Grooktook wrote:Einhander General?

I was just thinking of showing the cameo, but go for it, nothing Einhänder is off-topic here.

Kollision · Post by **Kollision** » Sat Sep 10, 2016 4:27 pm

ZacharyB wrote:But, it does still exist! (I made a playlist of it years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR1hr4b ... D623DA4BAD )

THIS IS AWESOME!!!

tks for sharing

ZacharyB · Post by **ZacharyB** » Sat Sep 10, 2016 6:36 pm

Tregard wrote: Edit: Also, my god does that guy tear the game a new one.

If anyone is looking for superplays, this guy is the Einhänder master: https://www.youtube.com/user/AstraeaFGAmk2/videos

Perikles · Post by **Perikles** » Sat Jan 07, 2017 10:44 am

Time to excavate this thread once more!

Have to say that - after an initial phase of trepidation - I was (am!) comprehensively impressed by the quality of the game.

I did not thought it possible that the weapon balance could be this smooth. On first glance, some candidates such as Blade and Hedgehog might seem utterly useless, yet with specific knowledge/in certain situations, both of those proved invaluable for me. The former for swathing a path through an otherwise deceptively difficult section in stage 5 as well as for languorously cutting the two turbines in stage 6 to bits, the latter for the mid-bosses in stage 4 and for a few sections in stage 5, also. Depending on your style and goals (particularly regarding scoring) you might get a lot of mileage out of Riot or Grenade (which a lot of high-level players seem to avoid), whereas some weapons such as Cannon or Wasp are evidently universally useful etc. To think that Squaresoft made a game with so many meaningful options while subverting an unspoken genre convention (never implement ammunition) is rather ironic considering their RPGs are littered with useless battle items and other junk.

It's also rather surprising just how hard this game is for a console-exclusive (again, from Squaresoft of all people). Compared to the rather tame R-Type Delta, Einhänder is certainly the "iremesquer" game of the two as far as tricky stage set-ups, careful planning and vicious bosses are concerned. Especially the fifth boss and his potential gatling gun drumfire was a constant sword of Damocles for me when inexorably getting closer to him, "Du wirst sterben", indeed! Hyperion, while technically not terribly difficult, is a phenomenal final boss, I think - not only the relentless fight itself and the constant movement from all factions, but the vast scope of the outer space setting that gets underlined by the camera rotation. It all seamlessly blends together for one last hurrah, I'm hard-pressed to come up with many similarly epic final bosses.

Also marvelled at some of the tender touches - one time the third boss killed itself with its grenades, for example.

Or one of the enemy planes crashed into the turbines in stage 6. The spasmodic mecha flinching when those get hit by sufficiently potent weapons is as much writhing in pain one can expect from inanimate foes. The cold determination from enemies to pull themselves together even when horribly maimed, seemingly getting weaker as well as angrier in the process. The tracking shots throughout to invoke a better understanding of the scenery. It speaks volumes of the craftmanship of the developers that it seems so effortless, natural, cogent even though it easily could've been done differently or ended up being detrimental to the substance of the game.

Without a doubt one of my favourite console-exclusives now, assuredly worthy being integrated to the anointed PS1 shooter trinity together with R-Type Delta and Gradius Gaiden (J. O. Parodius is also up there, but it's also available for the Saturn).

sn0zc0r3 · Post by **sn0zc0r3** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 3:59 pm

For as much as I really like this game, god I wish I was better at it. #feelsbadman

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 6:07 pm

I probably shouldn't be emulating this on a PSP-1000 which suffers from tremendous ghosting. Its screen already makes things hard to make out, and some sections require you to manually readjust your eyes because of how fast the background is scrolling (the section after breaking all the signs in ST1 comes to mind). I also wish I wasn't tremendously crap at this, I already blasted eight continues on the Stage 4 first checkpoint on EASY.

MarioNintendo · Post by **MarioNintendo** » Fri Jan 27, 2017 4:53 am

couldn't agree more with this review. The game is an absolute delight. Long live grenade!

The price on it has gone way up, still cannot believe I managed to buy it for $25 on ebay few years ago. Time for a rerelease, squenix

MintyTheCat · Post by **MintyTheCat** » Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:00 am

I like the feeling and setting: he is on a oneshot, suicide mission. Quite moody with the undertones of war doctrine. As I recall, he is on some king of pre-emptive strike against the enemy of his state. I remember playing it eons back and liking it. I never actually got a copy though but I would.
It is a fairly sophisticated story for a shmup.

shmups.system11.org

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