Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

[mrmccormo]

Ghost Blade HD (digital; PS4). Going for a 1cc Normal completion because it's a fairly easy game and seems like a good one to attempt my first 1cc.

Since posting this on the 15th, I've doubled my score from 1.02 billion to 2.1 billion, landing me in the top 25 on the Normal leaderboards. I can get to stage 5 on a regular basis but can't quite clinch the 1cc victory. I don't think there's anything special to do: just need to take a break from 1cc attempts, practice individual levels/bosses a bit more, and then get back to attempting the 1cc run.

[Goompaolo9500]

Playing CAVE Danmaku Shmups.

[Perikles]

Outside of preparing myself for the Parodius Da! arcade 2-ALL, I also was in the mood to set up savestates for the second loops of Battlantis and Detana!! TwinBee, respectively.


The latter is a veridical conundrum. At first I was pondering that the entire idea behind the second loop must've been to thoughtlessly disseminate almost impenetrable walls of suicide bullets which harmonize exceedingly well with the amazing hitbox in this game. But if you manage to get to the second stage you realize that they also added stupendously devious new set-ups in their bottomless sagacity, such as flying cudgels in stage 2 (which can only be destroyed by the shippo barriers and of course disgorge a cornucopia of suicide bullets the instance they dissipate), many squadrons of UFOs in stage 5 and several instances with these bulky ships that crash into you, most notably in the final stage. They even treated these with a new coat of paint, the final stage also has a vibrant blue background instead of the green one of the first loop.

In other words, there was actual deliberation put into making the second loop as unassailable as possible, it wasn't just some offhanded idea that ended up making the game such a nightmare in the process whereupon the Konami staff snickered in unashamed glee, keeping it in. No, it was a contemplated, purposeful conception, the suicide bullets (up to five or six from small-sized regular enemies alone) was not enough to satisfy their sadism, they had to add more enemies and boss behaviours to make absolutely sure.

Now, with such a rampant challenge comes a certain satisfaction even when you're merely flailing around and resorting to savestates all the time to see the end. Unlike the second loop of any other brutal Konami arcade shmup where harder sections simply demand prior knowledge/a cunning plan, you can get lucky in Detana!! and absorb waves of suicide bullets with the shippo barriers by accident/lucky dodging. It will obviously not work in a continuous manner, yet allows for comparatively quick progress with savestate study. And on paper, it's such a daring and ingenious mechanism to implement. Trailing options that neutralize all non-laser projectiles and furthermore kill enemies by touching them, it almost sounds as abusive as an indestructible pod in front of your ship. It invites obsessive routing as much as it helps with extemporaneous dodging, the spacing and delay of the options is expertly crafted in that regard.

Too bad it all falls apart when faced with the ridiculous hit detection and unbelievably cheap enemy locations. Many of them don't even do as much as quickly blink in advance before they materialize out of thin air while at the same time enemies come from above, supported by turrets on the ground. Of course, suicide bullets also are delayed and can't be suppressed, meaning that getting pulverized from behind or the sides is a constant threat. Have to say that I'm vaguely intrigued nonetheless, if only to pay respect to such savageries.



However - speaking of savageries - I almost find myself genuinely enjoying Battlantis for some reason. Might be because I got the 1-ALL and thus the pressure out of the way, or the fact that this game is great for proper dismantling due to the extremely short stages, or maybe I'm just indolent now.

One thing is commendable in any case: instead of increasing the base difficulty, adding suicide bullets or new enemy formations/patterns here and there, the second loop of Battlantis is another set of 16 gloriously brutal stages. Some of them are similar to the ones in the first loop, you also fight against all the boss enemies again (oftentimes in splendidly cheap constellations), but nonetheless, most of it is original content.

Having spent a considerable amount of time on the first loop, I even found some basic rules you can stick to in most stages for a minimally easier time. Granted, you still have to memorize every single enemy and aren't allowed to miss even one of them when trying to desperately move along the battlements, yet it doesn't feel quite as tormenting anymore, I'm occasionally having a grand time, even.

That's not to say the game isn't unbelievably ruthless, it's grossly unfair, of course. Especially some of the boss combinations where you have to fight four or six enemies that can trap you at a moment's notice without any way out by dint of your barbarian moving at a glacial pace and the hit detection being more than just a little bit questionable are outrageous. The final boss can fill an entire side of the battlement with its numerous projectiles, it's madness. I believe there are a handful of techniques that have a modest chance of manipulating certain patterns, but egad!, there is no such thing as certainty in this game.

I believe the reason why I've come to respect and partially like (love?) the game is its stunning honesty. There is no pretense, no cute atmosphere, no siren's wailing anywhere that tries to practice deceit, you know exactly what you're into after playing the game for 5 minutes. You're one unwashed troglodyte on a battlement and have to defend the entire thing against countless hordes of bloodthirsty enemies. Why, what do you expect how this turns out? Furthermore, there is no penalty upon dying and you do earn several extends, it's very sincere in its deviousness. I can most certainly see myself randomly selecting a couple of stages from loop 2 and dabbling with them for a while, without any exaggerated expectations or psychological strain.

[Stevens]

- Dogyuun - Awesome. Can't think of a single issue I have with it. Weapons could been a bit more varied?

The one thing I dislike about it is the waypoint system, when you respawn there instead of instantly where you died.

I hear you. It is so good that while that normally annoys me I was willing to look passed it. That said I wish the weapon sound effects were louder.

Making some real progress in V-V. Was one minor mistake away from no missing to stage 6. 2nd half of six eats me alive though.

[KaizaCorp]

Getting started with DariusBurst CS - AC Mode after dabbling with CS mode in the past. Trying to improve my ADH score as I test out the ships! Hopefully post some scores soon!

[Kiken]

Last Resort (Neo CD ver)
After Pulstar, I've been on a Neo Geo kick lately so I figured I'd give LR another shot. For the first time ever, I managed to single credit up to 1-5. I think this game's eclectic design is finally starting to click. I don't think aiming for the 2-All is out of the question... it's just gonna take some time and practice.

[Klatrymadon]

It'd be great to see you go through with that, Kiken. I think it was watching your 'Neo Geo Shooting Special' (over ten years ago?) that got me to finally spend some serious time with the game.

[Perikles]

I can most certainly see myself randomly selecting a couple of stages from loop 2 and dabbling with them for a while, without any exaggerated expectations or psychological strain.

I take that back, the new boss groups are completely insufferable. I could handle the stages (some of them will take away at least one life, though), having to deal with two boomerang-hurling barbarians simultaneously or two ghosts and two fireball-tossing insectoid men is neither fun nor something that can be learned. This would have to be its own project, if at all.

I don't think aiming for the 2-All is out of the question... it's just gonna take some time and practice.

The second loop of Last Resort is almost identical to the first one, the only section that is noticeably harder is the stretch with the mid-boss in 2-3. If you can clear one loop, you can clear both.

[Stevens]

Still splitting time with Dogyuun, V-V, and have added Air Gallet to that list.

Truxton 2 I think you could have been something really special if your stages were a little shorter (90% of my issue with it). Once in a while explosions will hide bullets, but it really doesn't bother me. Although the 1st bosses water shots are almost the same color as the BG. And lets not even get into the whole time out on the 3rd boss thing, what were they thinking?

Air Gallet - Knew Gazelle was a descendant of Toaplan and have wanted to spend time with this one for a while. Top notch sprite work and enemy design, the bosses are especially awesome from the four I have encountered. Sound effects are excellent and I love the radio chatter as it reminds me of Under Defeat. It starts off a little slow, but damn by stage three things start to pick up nicely and by stage four and five it really takes off. The soundtrack fits like a black leather glove:D

Off to the questions thread..

[Kiken]

Just got my first loop 1 clear of Last Resort... and then managed to make it up to stage 2-4 with my remaining 2 lives. I'm still quite a ways off from a no miss all clear, but getting much closer to a 2-All. There are a couple of SURPRISE, FUCKER! moments in loop two where extra enemy formations appear or a boss launches an extra attack.

[BurlyHeart]

Ketsui (ps3) arrived in the mail today. I felt almost intimidated by the game as I was loading it up. Got to stage 3 on my first run, so pretty pleased. It's actually my first Cave game too

[G3n3raL86]

Resogun on PS4. Such a blast:)

[Marc]

Last Resort (Neo CD ver)
After Pulstar, I've been on a Neo Geo kick lately so I figured I'd give LR another shot. For the first time ever, I managed to single credit up to 1-5. I think this game's eclectic design is finally starting to click. I don't think aiming for the 2-All is out of the question... it's just gonna take some time and practice.

I got the first loop myself last week, not sure if I've the patience for the second though. It became immeasurably easier once I realised it's not bloody R-Type, and sticking the pod to the front 9f the ship isn't always the best thing to do. Couldn't cracked the fifth boss until I got that through my skull.

I'm yet to see a point to the charge shot though, feels weedy as fuck.

[Kiken]

Last Resort (Neo CD ver)
After Pulstar, I've been on a Neo Geo kick lately so I figured I'd give LR another shot. For the first time ever, I managed to single credit up to 1-5. I think this game's eclectic design is finally starting to click. I don't think aiming for the 2-All is out of the question... it's just gonna take some time and practice.

I got the first loop myself last week, not sure if I've the patience for the second though. It became immeasurably easier once I realised it's not bloody R-Type, and sticking the pod to the front 9f the ship isn't always the best thing to do. Couldn't cracked the fifth boss until I got that through my skull.

I'm yet to see a point to the charge shot though, feels weedy as fuck.

The charge shot is actually quite powerful in comparison to the standard firing weapons on the ship. Plus, the red Unit in particular (with its ability to adhere to walls) is exceedingly useful in stages 2, 3 and 5. Aiming the Unit diagonally and then allowing it to run along the floor or ceiling to take out multiple targets is quite effective (ex: the area in stage 2 with all the cannons lining the surfaces). But I do agree with the fact that you can't simply approach it the same as R-Type... well, maybe R-Type Leo.

Last night I managed to no miss the first loop and got to the mid-point on stage 2-4 before losing my first life. I then proceeded to die 4 times in a row in the last portion of the stage before just barely killing the stage 4 boss. I then died to a very dedicated homing missile right before you enter the massive cruiser in stage 5 (the little fucker was absolutely determined to hit me). But that puts me one step closer to the 2 all.

[Sumez]

So for a couple of days I was getting really scared that Ibara would turn out to be a bad investment. It's just.. the same as the first impression I originally had when the game came out for PS2. All the classics - hard to see bullets, enemies obscured by debris, "invisible" flame attacks, etc. In general, Yagawa's shot patterns have always just been difficult for me to grasp. Sure, Ibara has a reputation for being difficult, but I feel like this was way more difficult for me to get into than how people usually see it. Garegga and Muchi have been giving me the same experiences even though I really wanted to like those, too.

But all of a sudden the game just started to click. I'm consistently getting to the fourth stage now, I regularly max my medals before the first warehouse (without doing any suicide/hadou tricks either), I'm getting patterns down for a lot of enemies and subconsciously weave in and out through ridiculous patterns like you could never get away with in any Cave game. The game is fun to play!
I've been waiting for many years to get into a Yagawa game, seems like it's finally happening with this one. <3

A 1CC is probably FAAAR away, though.

[null1024]

Layer Section II [Saturn].
in a word: don't
It framedrops really, really badly, really often. The third stage seems to be running at half framerate the whole time.
I'm also pretty sure what little flat lighting was there is gone now.

Thunder Force V [Saturn].
also in a word: nah
Any time a large polygon enemy comes up, the framerate drops a bit. The backgrounds are nicer, but only a little, and it's only really noticeable in the city stage.

[Square_Air]

Ghost Blade seems OK in a DDP tribute way, but there i's too much shit on screen, and pink bullets on pink and purple backdrops is not cool.

While I think Ghost Blade looks decent, I can't help but feel like just putting more time into Crimzon Clover: World Ignition instead. I'll give it a shot eventually, it's just hard for these, as you put them, "DDP tribute"/Cave tribute games to really stand out when something like CC:WI debatably exceeds the games it was trying to emulate.

Taking it easy right now, gonna go for a simple clear of Gradius so I at least have something Konami on my list... the other Konami titles have not been as kind to me as I often feel like an orangutan faxing an email with a microwave in these old horizontals.

[KaizaCorp]

I've been enjoying Gunbird (MAME) after watching the STGWeekly episode! I've mainly played Cave or Cave-related games, so this Psikyo style takes some getting used to. The charge up attacks can be quite satisfying though!

[CHI]

I've been away from shmups for far too long, trying to get back into DariusBurst Another Chronicle EX on Steam...
So I've grinding Chronicle Mode for the past 2 hours, but only managed to completed 2 missions
Hopefully I can improve some scores on Original Mode with different ships...

I might even play some Mushihimesama, also on Steam

[Stevens]

Hey Chi - It's been a minute. How are things? Coming stateside anytime soon?

kaiza - Haven't played the original but Gunbird 2 is dope. Psikyo does take some getting used to, but the great thing is that the Gunbird and Strikers mostly play the same (rapid shot, charge shot, bomb) except GB adds the melee.

If you decide you like Psikyo you should also check out Zero Gunner 2 is you can (the DC game is not cheap, but I think it emulates O.K.) and Dragon Blaze.

I haven't played either, but some others here like Sengoku Ace/Blade. One is a hori and one a vert, not sure which is better.

I'm still playing Air Gallet. Last full run I made the stage five boss, who I can kill fairly easily when I'm playing random save states. Maybe my shooter ADD won't kick in this time, but I say that a lot.

Akai Katana/Progear/Dogyuun - All games I have made it to the final boss and then moved on to something else.

[CHI]

Hey Chi - It's been a minute. How are things? Coming stateside anytime soon?

Hey Stevens - yeah it's been a while, how's things with you?
I'm good, been busy with work as usual, was working in Hong Kong for 6 months...
I've been thinking coming back to the States for a visit, let me see how things goes, I'll message you

[Marc]

Tried Last Resort again last night, wondering how far I to the 2nd loop I could get. Ended up with a complete mental block and unable to pass the 4th round with the big thing you have to fly through just before the boss. Most annoying.

[CHI]

Ok, I'm done with DBACEX Chronicle Mode, I've been at it for the past 2 days...

Today I've been on Original Mode just playing H Zone using Legend, Next, Origin, Formula and Gaiden ships...
I planning to go through I, J, K and L Zones using the same ships, just want to update my old DBAC scores

[charlie chong]

been brushing up my basic shooter skills with some old favourites after years off playing online shit on pc
managed a scrub bombfest dodonpachi 1cc
not getting past level 5 on twin cobra as something always go wrong trying for da loop tho
and playing ketsui and esp ra de at the arcade cafe.. the panzer jager on level 5 took out my panzer jager today

[KaizaCorp]

Stevens - Awesome, I'm looking forward to playing 2. I tried a bit of Strikers and it's nice to have a familiar feeling. Even the power up and bomb icons are the same!

Thanks, I will check out Zero Gunner 2. I'm having difficulty getting Dragon Blaze to work, so I might need to find another way of playing it.


Still testing out characters in Gunbird, and getting caught out by moving too much. Leaning towards Yuan Nang or Marion, but I was pleasantly surprised by the shot power and charge attack of Valnus. I should probably stick to one of them if I want to see further than the 4th stage though!

[Shepardus]

I'm having difficulty getting Dragon Blaze to work, so I might need to find another way of playing it.

Are you trying to play it on MAME? There was a rom update some time ago (a year or two back?), so you'll need to have the right romset for the version of MAME you're using, or vice versa.

[KaizaCorp]

I'm having difficulty getting Dragon Blaze to work, so I might need to find another way of playing it.

Are you trying to play it on MAME? There was a rom update some time ago (a year or two back?), so you'll need to have the right romset for the version of MAME you're using, or vice versa.

Yup, I'm using shmupmame 4.2. I might need to try a different version of MAME then? I'm still rather new to MAME.

[Shepardus]

Yeah, unless you can get the old romset your best bet is to download a newer version of MAME. Vanilla MAME works fine with Dragon Blaze, only one frame of input lag so Shmupmame doesn't really give you anything in that front.

[Xyga]

Vanilla MAME works fine with Dragon Blaze, only one frame of input lag so Shmupmame doesn't really give you anything in that front.

I thought the Psikyo driver had 3 frames of lag, not even counting the video renderer lag that's a lot.

Vanilla MAME is the wort possible option lag-wise at the moment anyway no matter the renderer, at least ShmupMAME removes a frame of delay period (which breaks sprites sync in many games, but not Pikyo iirc), and if groovyMAME doesn't do that it can remove the considerable video buffering queue (2~3 frames) by using d3d9ex instead of basic d3d, ogl or bgfx, achieving the lowest total delay of all builds.

Correction: I'm not sure about ogl actually, I've read conflicting stuff and experienced bizarre results myself.

[Shepardus]

The old Psikyo games have three frames of input lag, but the newer Psikyo games starting from Strikers 1945 II are on different hardware and their driver has one frame of lag (which is low enough that I personally can't even notice it).