Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

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BrianC
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by BrianC »

I'm not sure about SNK 40th's consistency with difficulty. The Samurai Showdown collection and SF collections had the difficulty tuned low for a surprising amount of games. Especially puzzling for SS since level 4 was the standard, AFAIK.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by trap15 »

cave hermit wrote:Does anyone know if there's a glitch in Zed Blade for the Neo Geo which causes the stage BGM to suddenly get interrupted by the title screen BGM until the boss shows up?
I've played the game a lot on cartridge and never seen that happen.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by ACSeraph »

BIL wrote:I've been wondering about starting a small database of DIP defaults, lately.
This would be an amazing resource if we had it, but it would also be a massive undertaking. I never realised those old SNK titles actually did default to easy; I've always been turning up the difficulty to normal.
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Licorice
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Licorice »

One cool thing about Kyukyoku Tiger for the Mega Drive, as noted by others on this forum, is the 4:3 aspect ratio which makes it a really intense close combat experience.

Is the FM Towns conversion the same? What about the X68000 Hishouzame? From a casual glance at videos on youtube, this might actually be the case.

Or is the cut off area still "active"?
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by BIL »

I've not played X68k Hishouzame, but I can confirm the Towns one leaves the cropped-off playfield active. So you're constantly exchanging fire with offscreen enemies, often killing them without visual contact. It's a shame, as it otherwise captures the feel of the arcade version. Toaplan's own policy of the cropped border being the new edge of the playfield in their MD conversions was the far superior approach.

VING would do a lot better with their Saturn RayForce, whose yoko mode is similarly afflicted (lots of stuff is now out of bounds and can't be targeted), but whose tate is close to arcade-perfect.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Licorice »

Thanks BIL. I should clarify here that I was asking about FM towns Kyukyoku Tiger (not FM towns Hishouzame), which is also Ving, so it might just be the same anyway, since from your report it seems like the active off is a Ving thing.

X68000 Hishouzame is Kaneko, so more hope there.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by OmegaFlareX »

I recall seeing a video of someone demonstrating trackball support in X68k Kyukyoku Tiger, that was pretty amazing.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Kiken »

trap15 wrote:
cave hermit wrote:Does anyone know if there's a glitch in Zed Blade for the Neo Geo which causes the stage BGM to suddenly get interrupted by the title screen BGM until the boss shows up?
I've played the game a lot on cartridge and never seen that happen.
Same here. Played the cart a bunch on both MVS and AES hardware and have never experienced this behaviour.
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DietSoap
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by DietSoap »

Are any of the __zeal games worth a shot if I'm a scrub? I see they're all on sale on steam but I don't know anything about them.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

I had a lot of fun with Trizeal. It's pretty easy to pick up and learn while still being sufficiently "weird" to feel like a unique experience and give you a good taste of what Triangle Service's games are like.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Kiken »

DietSoap wrote:Are any of the __zeal games worth a shot if I'm a scrub? I see they're all on sale on steam but I don't know anything about them.
As BareKnuckleRob stated, Trizeal is perhaps Fujino's most focused and conventional game. Second best would be DeltaZeal (aka G-Stream 2020) which, while a bit rough around the edges, has a fairly flexible power-up system and player-selected stage variants. XIIZeal (aka XII Stag) and Exzeal are more of an acquired taste with all their joystick wiggling-based play mechanics.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Jonpachi »

Is there any way to control rank in Einhander? I wasn't aware the game even had a rank system, but now that I've been working on it I'm finding it to be quite aggressive. One clear example is the Stage 3 mid-boss. The entire stage layout actually changes depending on how well you do. Get there without dying and there will be narrow corridors to fly through (while he's shooting at you) and he will power-up a secondary enemy on the ceiling to fire a wide beam that tracks back and forth across the stage. Yet if you come in having died, you won't get funneled into any corridors, and he won't use the charge beam.

Just curious if there's a way to control rank other than dying? The game is not generous enough with extends to go full Garegga on it.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by steveovig »

I'm reaching with this one but can anyone help me figure out how to do well in Space Raiders for the GCN/PS2? I just bought a CARBY adapter for the GCN and I'm playing this but my scores are nowhere near the top default high scores. There's a combo mechanism for consecutive shots but it doesn't seem to do much. Does anyone even remember this game?
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by BazookaBen »

Did Radiant Silvergun on Xbox 360 every get an update to support fullscreen on 4:3 displays? Or does it still letterbox to 16:9?
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by GGA_HAN »

Is anyone familiar with the Brook Universal Fighting Board? I'm trying to see if there is more than 1 level of autofire, as the one that normally activates is pretty slow (about 5 shots per second, if I were to guess).

I couldn't find any documentation searching on their site or anywhere else, most people tend to use it for fighting game application.

thanks in advance!
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by dark »

I think these songs are very similar to each other, does anyone else agree? Sonic Wings also had a helicopter character that could angle shots, kind of like a 2D Under Defeat...

Under Defeat music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTguKOrN4CU

Sonic Wings music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-lyl9Z ... 05&index=7
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by CloudyMusic »

GGA_HAN wrote:Is anyone familiar with the Brook Universal Fighting Board? I'm trying to see if there is more than 1 level of autofire, as the one that normally activates is pretty slow (about 5 shots per second, if I were to guess).

I couldn't find any documentation searching on their site or anywhere else, most people tend to use it for fighting game application.

thanks in advance!
I have a shmup stick with a UFB in it. Unless they've released a firmware update recently that changed something, it only has a single level of autofire.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by XoPachi »

How do the gray medals in Darius Gaiden work? Sometimes I get 12800 other times I get 50... }:[
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by BIL »

XoPachi wrote:How do the gray medals in Darius Gaiden work? Sometimes I get 12800 other times I get 50... }:[
Ruh-ruh-ruh-random. Unfortunately. :/
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by XoPachi »

BIL wrote:
XoPachi wrote:How do the gray medals in Darius Gaiden work? Sometimes I get 12800 other times I get 50... }:[
Ruh-ruh-ruh-random. Unfortunately. :/
That pisses me off. You're pissin' me off!
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by BIL »

Still not as bad as Metal Black's bonus rounds ;3
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by XoPachi »

There's a specific type of music I hear in this genre that I can't really describe other than "smooth". Listen to these examples.

https://youtu.be/VDdPz_itl-0
https://youtu.be/arC5tIYUViA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCjZfRgQ5x4&t=623s

Does this have like...a name? And I feel like I've heard more of this sort but I'd like more if anyone can think of anything else.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Sengoku Strider »

XoPachi wrote:There's a specific type of music I hear in this genre that I can't really describe other than "smooth". Listen to these examples.

https://youtu.be/VDdPz_itl-0
https://youtu.be/arC5tIYUViA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCjZfRgQ5x4&t=623s

Does this have like...a name? And I feel like I've heard more of this sort but I'd like more if anyone can think of anything else.
Electronic genre definitions are often tricky, the closest term from the time that you'll find is likely progressive trance, which can have a lot of overlap with progressive house. Prog trance involves a lot of ambient elements, which accounts for the 'smoothness' you're picking up on. Ambient techno-trance is another adjacent genre that will likely get you some of what you're looking for.

The Garegga title music you've linked sounds inspired by early Underworld and the general sequencer prog aesthetic of the mid 90s. When I hear it I'm reminded of various parts of the opening Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love sequence on their second album (if you listen to the whole thing, you'll hear the various elements):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oYoRg6 ... D28A63E1E9

That second track is more of a jazz fusion style, you still hear lower key versions of stuff like this in Japanese super markets & shopping malls.

All of the examples you linked have a particularly 90s Japanese flavour to them, so they were likely inspired by musicians I've never heard of who were in the air at the time.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by XoPachi »

Sengoku Strider wrote:
Electronic genre definitions are often tricky, the closest term from the time that you'll find is likely progressive trance, which can have a lot of overlap with progressive house. Prog trance involves a lot of ambient elements, which accounts for the 'smoothness' you're picking up on. Ambient techno-trance is another adjacent genre that will likely get you some of what you're looking for.

The Garegga title music you've linked sounds inspired by early Underworld and the general sequencer prog aesthetic of the mid 90s. When I hear it I'm reminded of various parts of the opening Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love sequence on their second album (if you listen to the whole thing, you'll hear the various elements):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oYoRg6 ... D28A63E1E9

That second track is more of a jazz fusion style, you still hear lower key versions of stuff like this in Japanese super markets & shopping malls.

All of the examples you linked have a particularly 90s Japanese flavour to them, so they were likely inspired by musicians I've never heard of who were in the air at the time.
I...wow.

Thanks a shit ton. I was half expecting no answer at all or some smarmy retort that doesn't answer a thing. This is extremely informative and helpful. I appreciate it.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Codiene »

Used to be a member here back in the day but haven't been around since 2011 or so as life kinda got in the way of everything and I didn't have much time or a place to have a setup to play retro games. (I thought my ID was Delay but I can't seem to log in with that account anymore). Anyway I recently discovered that I still have my old Sega Saturn that I thought I sold in the mid 00's boxed up carefully packed away, sadly the games are long gone. It is a UK PAL version with no mods. I wanted to get it out and start playing some Shmups again (I was terrible back in the day but still loved having a go). I'd like to get and start playing some of the more obvious choices for the Saturn and have a couple of Q's.

1) Is it possible to create images of the original discs to run on the machine without mods or some other boot load hack?
So I did more diging/research and it seems you can do this with a boot hack on a memoery card/action replay cart, bonus.

2) Has anyone ever ordered anything from these guys? https://www.retrorepro.games/product-ca ... ga-saturn/ I'd love to be able to get some originals in time but prices are quite prohibitive at the moment for some of the Saturn shooters but I'd love the nostalgia of selecting the game from a shelf and loading it up.

3) I bought an ISIS SU 20 for about £50 just before I stopped retro gaming and sold a load of my equipment it's been sat in the box in storage for 9 years. Does anyone on here have any of the later firmware update files for one. I remember a number of people looking at getting them back when i got mine.

4) I don't have a CRT anymore and not really the space for one now. Does anyone use the Isis SU 20 to run their Saturn on a VGA monitor? I don't have any games yet to see if ti is any good or not, is it better with a scan line generator in the mix?

As you have probably gathered I'm a little rusty at all of this so please don't burn me and if anything is covered elsewhere just link me to it I'm happy to do the reading up there.

Thanks, any help is always appreciated.
WelshMegalodon wrote:Both of those run just fine in MAME 0.222, pal. Maybe the problem is your shit-tier hardware.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by MJR »

My friend claimed that in the end of one japanese shmup, a message says "You have completed your duties"- but did not remember what shmup it was. Doesn't ring a bell either - this is not a whole lot to go with.

Does this message ring bell with anyone? "You have completed your duties".. which shmup?
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Fudoh »

I'd love to be able to get some originals in time but prices are quite prohibitive at the moment for some of the Saturn shooters but I'd love the nostalgia of selecting the game from a shelf and loading it up.
remember that copied Saturn games won't boot on an unmodified system. You need either a modchip or a special cartridge to run such games.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Codiene »

Thanks @Fudoh.

I did some more research on this and realised this was going to be the case, I also found a mod kit that lets you replace the optical drive with an image loader to load from SD cards. I might have a go at getting a second Saturn to perform this hack on in the future just in case it goes wrong I don’t want to wreck the only unit I have. I’ll try and get hold of a cartridge first.
WelshMegalodon wrote:Both of those run just fine in MAME 0.222, pal. Maybe the problem is your shit-tier hardware.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Out of curiosity, are there any top-down games where the ship has an asymmetric design, like with the hitbox off to the side? Something like the Outrider from Star Wars where the cockpit is off to the right. I'm trying, and I honestly am struggling to think of a top-down shmup where the shmup isn't symmetrical in design.
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Re: Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

Post by Jonpachi »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:Out of curiosity, are there any top-down games where the ship has an asymmetric design, like with the hitbox off to the side? Something like the Outrider from Star Wars where the cockpit is off to the right. I'm trying, and I honestly am struggling to think of a top-down shmup where the shmup isn't symmetrical in design.
Esprade comes to mind. As you move left and right, your silhouette changes and your hit-box shifts positions.
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