GD:Kaitei Daisensou aka In The Hunt

[Mero]

Couldn't see another strategy thread for this game so I've started one.

I've been playing the PS1 version of this recently (Kaitai Daisensou), up to stage 5 so far but I've got a few queries.

Am I right in thinking that whether the orbs are large or small or not depends on your position in relation to the things that hold the orbs when you destroy them? At best I can trigger the first extend just before the second boss, does that sound decent? If I don't get close to 100 by the end of stage 2 then I might not even trigger it till stage 4 .

Also on the stage 3 boss ( the large monster that chases you up a vertical tunnel), right at the beginning of the fight when he comes right up to near the top of the screen and the blocks are falling down on top of you, I cannot yet survive that bit without losing a life. Once he goes back down to the bottom of the screen it's much easier but it's still a pain to lose at least one life there everytime.

Stage 4 (Sunken Town) is much more straightforward, as long as I don't get killed right at the beginning I can no miss the stage unless I make a mess of the boss.

Only been as far as the lava pits on the downward vertical section of stage 5 yet.

[Ruldra]

Check my no-miss run to help you out: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... ature=plcp

And I believe the orbs' size aren't random.

[Mero]

Thanks for linking your vids Ruldra. I'll be sure to check out how you deal with the stage 5 Deep Dark Sea boss (which is where I am currently). I'll hold back watching your stage 6 vid until I've seen if I can work it out myself (if I make it that far ).

And I worked out the trick for the Sunken Ruins boss, he's the easiest boss in the game once you know it's your own shots that cause the blocks to fall.

There are some orbs that are always big no matter what you do, others can be big or small I'm sure depending on where you are when you release them. I can break the 200 barrier just before the stage 5 boss (not that it does me any good).

[Imhotep]

I've recently experienced a bad ending in this game for the first time. There's a picture of the submarine barely escaping destruction right after the defeat of the last boss (instead of the surface / sunshine one) and the credits roll during a scroll through D.A.S. base (instead of the cheering folks back at the harbor). It halts at a scene where the submarine got stuck in a hole, destroyed. There's different music, too.

Does anybody have a clue what triggers it? It doesn't seem to be a time out at the last boss, as I've destroyed it quickly.

[Mero]

Bad ending is what you should be getting, I think you have to use continues to get the good ending.

[Imhotep]

I see. I've definitely been using multiple continues, though.

[Ruldra]

I remember posting about this so I checked my old hi-score thread. Apparently if you reach the final form of the last boss using more than 1 credit, you get the good ending. If you make it that far in one credit, even if you use continues later you still get the bad one.

Can't confirm that info but that's the conclusion I reached back when I played this (almost a decade ago!).

[Jeneki]

I got the crash ending on my 1cc as well.

Related to this is the width of the final form of the boss, the last pattern where it continuously switches between behind and ahead of the player. When the boss moves in front of the player and the cylinder shoots the fast bullet spread, if the hitable area of the cylinder is wide (around twice the width of the player sub) you get the sub crash, and if it is short (less than the width of the player sub) you get the celebration ending.



There is one thing that still mystifies me about this game when I play multiple credits: sometimes large enemy hp jumps through the roof for one credit and then returns to normal on the next credit. This is most notable on the large battleships: on the first stage it takes abnormally long to defeat, and then on the docks stage it can't be killed in time before it runs you over. I have a pretty set route where I pick up the same powerups each time and don't do much different between runs so I have no idea what triggers it.

[Jeneki]

There is one thing that still mystifies me about this game when I play multiple credits: sometimes large enemy hp jumps through the roof for one credit and then returns to normal on the next credit. This is most notable on the large battleships: on the first stage it takes abnormally long to defeat, and then on the docks stage it can't be killed in time before it runs you over. I have a pretty set route where I pick up the same powerups each time and don't do much different between runs so I have no idea what triggers it.

An update on this part:

After spending time with the Arcade Archives port, I don't believe this health spike happens in the Japan version of the game, only the world version (or I've been lucky so far). I've also triggered the health spike on a physical pcb of the world version at Galloping Ghost arcade, so it's not just a random mame thing. I'd be very interested if anyone knows what triggers it.

[Kiken]

There is one thing that still mystifies me about this game when I play multiple credits: sometimes large enemy hp jumps through the roof for one credit and then returns to normal on the next credit. This is most notable on the large battleships: on the first stage it takes abnormally long to defeat, and then on the docks stage it can't be killed in time before it runs you over. I have a pretty set route where I pick up the same powerups each time and don't do much different between runs so I have no idea what triggers it.

An update on this part:

After spending time with the Arcade Archives port, I don't believe this health spike happens in the Japan version of the game, only the world version (or I've been lucky so far). I've also triggered the health spike on a physical pcb of the world version at Galloping Ghost arcade, so it's not just a random mame thing. I'd be very interested if anyone knows what triggers it.

I have the world version of the PCB and I have noticed odd HP jumps on the stage 1 boss. Sometimes it goes through 1 attack cycle and then dies... other times its able to go through 2 or 3 before finally exploding. This is with me using the same weapon at the same strength each time. I still can't figure out what is causing this.

Also, it should be noted that collecting a weapon power up of matching type to a maxed weapon level grants 1 star orb (eg, you have maxed green weapon and collect another green weapon pod). So taking time to collect as many horizontal and vertical power ups of the same type helps out with gaining extends. You could also try milking the item carriers during boss battles some (although some bosses time out pretty aggressively).

Speaking of said item carriers, I've noticed that the world and Japan version function a bit differently during boss battles. The Japanese version seems to prefer dropping horizontal weapon pods while the world version favours vertical weapon pods.