I haven't played the game, so I can't say how it coul'd be... I'm preatty sure it feels like Garegga (my current favourite shmup) and for me it's a very good thing... But I'm not here to express my thoughts on the game, but only to participate in the neverending (and neverboring) Raizing style/rank managing discussion
I have to say that I always loved shmup type of games, I like them for their difficulty, and for their virtuosistic gamplay characteristics: if you can just one credit, for example, Dodonpachi, you have to master not only some strategies, but, especially, a dodging and corridor calculating technique, that can really impress yourself and is very rewarding.
But I stopped plaiyng them from when I was probably twelve years old and I started again playing them on the last summer (two games, two wonders: Espgaluda, Dimahoo). Then, serching on the internet for information about the third Mahou chapter, I found (on Sheep site) the complete list of Raizing games. Then discovered the existenc of this (beloved) board, and read some impressions on Garegga: the game is really appreciated like a true milestone in vertical shmup history, so I decided to try it. Now, I'm playing Battle Garegga from two month, almost regularly, and I can't even now manage rank and survive decently.
For a shmup novice like me, this shoul'd be frustrating and discouraging, but no, I continue playing this, and really love as my favourite title over Galuda, Dimahoo, DDP series, Thunderforce (what a MASTODONTIC
masterpiece), Raiden DX... Why?
The answer is: Garegga is not simply a weired rank managing shmup, Garegga is a simply great, old-school-exasperated-gameplay modern-looking Gun & Frontier-tribute game, that let's you to destroy bosses into THOUSANDS pieces, executing real virtuosistic spectacular manuevers, and let's you to really INTERACT with the background, that is not merely a "coloured roll", but a consistent thing that you can "feel" under your
weapon, that is not a defensive smart bomb, but, ehm... yes, a weapon; and a weapon to milk points, but also to get immediate fun in spectacular bombings...
So, the game is enjoyable even if you don't mind about rank managing, and is up to you if your encounter with the Nose Lavagghin will be a quick kill or a chirurgical operation... and you will also decide to hoard your bombs for those damned big twin-cannoned tanks, the "millipede" ones and the black bombarders in the Plant, or for the scenery bombing that will give you some extends... and the suicide: you don't really do this to manage rank, it's a weapon itself (eh, Lun??
), used to execute some interesting scoring tricks or for regaining bomb fragments. However, I'm not really skilled yet to risk trying a suicide in the game (but I finally can survive 'till stage 5 more consistently than before), and the rank isn't so much hard... probably because I "suicide" randomly out of my will
But the game is yet enjoing, and knowing that when I will be stronger I coul'd milk bosses in those cool ways (but I can yet do some cool things by now, with some bosses) and exploit suicide to get bigger scores (the antithesis of the legendary no-miss philosophy) it's simply exciting. That will probably be the same with Ibara (I can't wait playing it, ordered my copy only today from Yesasia, free shipping option).
And about the rank: it seems to be present also in Raiden, where even not using the autofire, I can see rank jump to hard difficluty in the first stage, but I cannot remember only one person complaining about it, since the game plays great however. And also, a developer coul'd add variety to a game with various selecting ships, all with theire own shot and weapon, or with destructible scenery, hidden medals, acrobatic boss milking, different gameplay-wise level design style... but with the rank he can add even more variety, since in the same stage you will find playing yourself a bit different every strategy you used in the previous. Great.
So, if this is Ibara, I think it's a great game. And I've seen also the same awesome grafics of all the best Cave games and a great power-fusion metal soundtrack, new to the company, that's arranged in a very good way (I'm a metal guitar player from ten years, studied also jazz for two years).
So, if you don't like Garegga and Ibara, I understand, we have different tastes, but if you'd like to understand why the fans do, you shoul'd try to enjoy it for these characteristics, without expecting a complex scoring system, but simply an exasperated old school gamplay with "scenery feeling" and "acrobatic boss milking".
Beside that, I love Cave games as Raizing ones, they are simply great because they are innovative and fresh, giving us new ways to play shmups for scoring, that are also cloned by other companies (Homura, Shiki: very Cave style manics).
But Ibara shoul'd be appreciated in another way.
P.S.: Raizing lovers, keep the Garegga ST thread alive!!
).
Offhand, I'm also trying to remember if Garegga "panned" off to the sides of the playing field, like this does...more than once I've been frustrated as a stray popcorn enemy dies off to the side of the visible screen, and drops a medal that I never lay eyes on.