Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[BIL]

First forays have all ended there so far, mostly at the hands of the weird spinny-stick-boomerang Shiren-the-Wanderer looking dude, I don't remember how I ever dealt with them except vague memory of using kusarigama .

As with basically all of Saigo's heavy enemies: Spoof 'em. They get madly jealous if your Y-axis is bigger than theirs, even temporarily due to a hop, and will stop to throw their cane. At that point you have total carte blanche to whack 'em, or run past - I prefer the latter in st3-2, as like all Saigo enemies they'll just keep coming, and getting two at your back then bunnyhopping away at full throttle will block others from spawning.

I like to use Katana for 3-2, since its standing overhead will buffet charging Monks back indefinitely, if for some reason I can't hop over immediately. It'll also terminate their flying cane, a good option to have (just don't be between the cane and its owner when it goes rocketing back, a rueful end). Even the base Katana is a fine anti-Brown, anti-White Rain umbrella too.

Writing up this ST has made me realise something... Browns and similarly aggressive zako, like Rifles, are actually as harshly-constrained numbers-wise as heavy enemies. Just two onscreen allowed. But because they respawn at such a furious pace, basically as fast as you kill them, it creates the illusion of a much bigger crowd, most of all in Round 3-1, where you have Browns and Rifles competing for your attention at frequently four differing angles of attack. Clever IREM. Saigo is almost as hydra-esque to write about as it is to play, there's a ton of vitally useful info and subtlety to note down. Mean Mr. Ryuichi in particular is comprehensively outfoxable, not that it makes him any less of a DEFCON 1 nemesis type.

Ryuichi you a bitch, your ceiling game WEAK (｀ω´メ)

Spoiler

Went back to Dragon Marked for Death, erasing my old maxed out save and starting a fresh file. Sure has improved a lot since release, starting out as a new character is a lot better now, quality-of-life improvements out the wazoo, improved moveset options. My previous ambivalence is gone, game is kickass now.

I'm glad to hear you like DFMD! I put quite a few hours into it over the summer but got distracted (by dear old SOTN of all things - tried the PS4 version out of morbid curiosity and was astonished by its competence). Was distinctly enjoying myself, but wondering how it'd hold up in the long-term. Was using Empress and Empress/Shortsword, mostly. Dug the latter's aggressive "attack as movement" mechanics. Fast-falling while flattening stuff with the Dragon Blade, airdashing over boss's heads with the ice bazooka, etc etc.

One of the last missions I cleared was that "mysterious crying from the top of the tower" affair, and I was so into hurtling my way uppward, I kinda steamrolled straight through the bathos of it being a trapped ratbat, or something. I remember getting a decently eerie vibe out of that mission (impressively so given the sunny vista) and wondering if a revisit might develop it at all. Probably nothing, probably all in my head. I like the game's cheerfully-drawn yet fairly grim aesthetic either way, reminds me a bit of that Bigjohn The Bigdude cartoon from the 80s...

...whose name I never recall offhand, but which MA BOI Eddie has uploaded in full on his channel! EDIT: Hmm, seems the dub ain't got shit on the original Japanese - I uh mean Flemish version. The way they talk about the latter is like I remember the English ver being as a 5y/o! Perhaps it'd be better to track down a sub, but at least Eddie's got the word out.

---

Well fuck. Went on a recon run to confirm if Katana can deflect Ryuichi more than once consecutively (don't ever bother doing this in a real run, it is pitifully counterproductive), and was enjoying so much I got a fairly stompin' no-miss. HOWEVER not only did I not record Round 1, I also had to take a phone call in the middle of Round 5, AND I still didn't get my data. But still, I'm feeling pretty pretty good! 6-1 grenade theory continues to hold steady. No R6/R7 doki-dokis! Forgot I was on a practice run though! Said "CRUMBS" when I checked the replay. Oh well!

Suspected I'd received another low bolt from Boney but this time, hauled it up by sheer Power Of Anger (IE: wrung every last frame out of my jump while sticking close to Boney, forcing the dread voltage up at the sharp angle it seems to struggle with), then bunnyhopped him TWO TIMES on the way back and ended up having to hop out of the corner, like in a few previous runs, which I suppose is a strategic failure in my book (ideally I hop further into the corner banking on him dying before his shots can reach you), but I still felt pretty good about it because Boney's a random sort and I wasn't scurred.

I suspect Gachi (Mikado badass)'s low bolt hop may be significant, it looks scary but at least it's over and done with fast. The higher ones that really give me the goddamn willies.

[jepjepjep]

Nice to see you playing Saigo, Voteccer_Jack! Even if it feels impossible to progress, just stick with it and it'll start to come together. I recall counting about 33 credits to credit-feed through the game when I first started playing.

@BIL Daimakaimura is so awesome. I plan on dusting off my skills again too. I've done the 2-ALL but not the 1LC on that one. 1988 was such a glorious year in arcade gaming to bring us both Daimakaimura and Saigo. I've been spending some time with AC Makaimura recently. I got the first loop down on one credit, but still have a lot to learn. The controls are a bit wonky but I can see why it's regarded as such a classic. It has a different type of RNG rush than Saigo, less frantic but present throughout. There is a great port on 360 as part of the Capcom Arcade Cabinet. It was done by M2, so it plays perfectly.

I love that "Phone is ringing, oh my god" video. So many times my wife will come up and talk to my while I'm playing Saigo and the momentary break in concentration leads to instadeath.

[BIL]

Funnily enough Round 5's midpoint is among two spots I can think of where leaving the controls doesn't mean swift and certain death. The other is waiting at the Ninja Pit's "diving board," guess they figured they'd get their coins soon enough when play resumed there.

I'd not even twigged Saigo and Dai were both 1988, what a year indeed!

Realised in this evening's recon session that the Katana actually deflects Monks even in neutral. I think I got it in my head to always use [up] because in 3-2, you're at constant risk of death from above via Browns and White Rains (blimey I hate typing those two in succession gotta be incisive though! ).

Not sure if I ever knew that Katana will deflect Purple Kusarigamas. As I'd remembered, while it technically can drive back Ryuichi, it's nowhere as safe as Monks, and it's suicidal to do so anyway. This simply isn't a game that leaves you at liberty to duel enemies one-on-one. In 4-1+2's cases, Earth Ninja (going with PC Engine manual names - to me, he is the infamous MOLEMAN) will be along shortly to jam a yari up your hellnoplace. Amusingly, his opposite numbers, the Black Katanas, can't hit a stationary player at all, even a furiously sword-clashing one.

This is all moot - IMO, it would be utterly crazy not to bunnyhop Grenade/Shuriken or at least Kusarigama the entireties of 4-1+2 - but I'm going for comprehensiveness.

[Volteccer_Jack]

Floundering to stage 3 boss semi-consistently now, sword-spam to inch monks back makes getting past them much easier, although whether or not I kill the boss seems almost entirely dependent on whether or not I have POW grenade ready. Stage 4 samurai is like the fucking terminator. From the gifs here though it looks like at least this is a hitbox I can get around, unlike the monster zombie jerk in stage 3.

I'm glad to hear you like DFMD! I put quite a few hours into it over the summer but got distracted (by dear old SOTN of all things - tried the PS4 version out of morbid curiosity and was astonished by its competence). Was distinctly enjoying myself, but wondering how it'd hold up in the long-term. Was using Empress and Empress/Shortsword, mostly. Dug the latter's aggressive "attack as movement" mechanics. Fast-falling while flattening stuff with the Dragon Blade, airdashing over boss's heads with the ice bazooka, etc etc.

Shortsword Empress is a great example of something that simply did not exist when I was playing through the game the first time! Was added as recently as the version 3.0 update, I believe, the same time they added Greatswords for the Warrior.

The main source of long-term appeal for me is that all 6 characters have very distinct playstyles (and each character has a bunch of builds based on weapon/element/stats!) and I find all of them greatly enjoyable, although my favorite is definitely the Warrior. Full invulnerability behind the Dragon Guard, chipping away with powerful axe swings, waiting for the right moment to drop the hammer with the warcry or Dragon Smash. Float like a bulletproof butterfly, sting like an ICBM. Maybe not as much raw dps as the Empress, but watching 2/3's of a boss life bar vanish in a single swing of the axe is delicious. Plus, I'm definitely a sucker for that MMZ1-style objective-focused mission design. I might be the only person who got excited to see an escort mission in DMFD .

One caveat would be that the game doesn't scale well at the highest levels (70-100), but the main game story ends at quest level 30, and the DLC story ends at quest level 50, and that post-game power-levelling stuff has never been my jam so I'm not really bothered about it personally.

[BIL]

I am mortified to note it's aykshually THREE Browns/Rifles onscreen max in Round 3, not two. However, if you're letting them live long enough for that to happen, you're either

1] failure-testing 1337 STRATZ
2] doing XTREEM challenge runs, or
3] GON DIE

Stage 4 samurai is like the fucking terminator. From the gifs here though it looks like at least this is a hitbox I can get around, unlike the monster zombie jerk in stage 3.

Samurai's sword draw is mechanically similar to Zombie Butcher Man's, but it seems to have been deliberately engineered for the player to slip through. There's a pretty nice delay between the initial draw and the rest of the attack, which a proactive hop is apt to fall through. From there you've got carte blanche to either execute him or move on.

Improvised Ryuichi Drop, medium-altitude

Spoiler

Slowed-down:

Spoiler

(it cannot be overstated: in a sidescrolling slasher with the pace of a run/gun, where you cannot actually run and gun, bunnyhop is fundamental Alone on The Hellish Battlefield™, IMMA COCK MA GLOCK AND HOP-HOP TIL THEY ALL DROP )



Thinking Rabbit, NGL, I think 8 Eyes' (or however it's apostrophised >_>) kinda sucks but your logo is perfection

Now, while Ryuichi Iaido can be fought, it is not to be sought. Deliberately executing Ryuichi Drop on even ground, like Round 4-1's, is awkward and discomfiting. I think so anyway! Besides, I can just hop over the bastard and atomise him via downshot. The SECOND Ryuichi in the below GIF, however, now that is the time and place, with my already hopping a Purple's kusarigama.

Round 4-1 is some dangerous shit

Spoiler

Slowed-down:

Spoiler

I'm pretty sure a TASbot could do similar techs on Ghost, but not a human. That shit lashes out near-instantly. Of course the necro-feudal tradeoff is, while Ryuichi is fighting-trim and unleashes one mortal blow after another, Ghost's hellish undead power takes a toll on his rotting joints, and so he's wide open for a relative eternity after whiffing.

Plus, I'm definitely a sucker for that MMZ1-style objective-focused mission design. I might be the only person who got excited to see an escort mission in DMFD

I was thinking while escorting professor dude around the poison swamp, it's like the sidescrolling answer to Ys I & II Complete, where escorting Feena out of jail / random kid out of cave is like being Pac-Man With A Knife. Awesome viewpoint, perfect controls, monsters rushing in, monster guts spraying EVERYWHERE

[BIL]

Oh heck no

Instagiffer has a hard time compressing Round 5 GIFs, 3.5mb is shamefur

Spoiler

I've vague memories of hearing about a Round 5 instakill bug. IIRC, this is my first time ever seeing one, in what must be hundreds of hours logged over the past year. I wonder if it's related to screen wrap-around. I've seen Round 2's boss do some very weird shit, in roughly comparable vertical context. If you haul ass down/upstairs, the game will sometimes just zip him wherever, to possibly deadly effect (for this reason, and because he's boring, I always take him out ASAP with zero vertical scrolling).

Would not surprise me in the least if this was known about in the Japanese community. Went and consulted Gachi's live run. His route veers right at "the seam" (as I call it - that vertical line of three stumps, one of the precious few visual landmarks here), like mine does, then diverges completely. Not sure if that's a deliberate avoidance or not.

For now, I've just altered my route slightly, so the gas trap that seems to glitch me in the GIF is much nearer. They stop appearing after you get the Shield, thankfully, and Gachi takes the same route up to there, so I hope that's that. It's not as comfy as the old one - the game chugs like a bastard with all that activity - and for all I know it's just as vulnerable. Will have to see. If it comes down to it, I'll just copy Gachi's 1:1. If that's fucked too, I guess it's gonna be a cross your fingers and toes job.

Straight up the seam onto the Shield ledge, then let's GTFO (■｀ω´■)

Spoiler

Not the worst place for it to strike, I guess. I remember one time Tsukikage just crumpled over and died in the open sand between 6-1 and 6-2, and I thought "later then Saigo" - then I checked the replay, and realised I was so sleep-deprived, a friggin Ryuichi had been running along with me the entire time like the old Jesus' footprints story. I heeded the Colonel's advice and unplugged the machine!

---

Gave maxed-Rank play a go this evening to refresh my memory. Lets large enemies survive POW bombardments a half-second longer than my usual mid-Rank. That sounds insignificant, and generally is.

Round 4-1, nuking Ryuichis, mid-Rank (same GIF as above)

Spoiler

Round 4-1, nuking Ryuichis, max-Rank

Spoiler

But in Round 6-1's pressure cooker, that half-second takes on disproportionate impact, and I end up doing more kunai dodging than I prefer. Not impossible to grenadier, but feels nowhere as dominant. So Kusarigama remains my weapon of choice, sacrificing offense for defense. My current solution to the relentless zako pressure and deadly Ryuichi/Monk mixup is to actively kill everything in sight, and I do mean everything. The Red Rabbit is terrible to behold. Bunnhopped POW swings will do for the zako. The front mixup game is do/die as ever, but better they be half-dead and without air support. Such voracity is typically wasted at best, outright counter-productive at worst. Here though, it's simply not worth holding back on heavies, the way it is in 6-2. Greens and Whites will survive, too, backstabbing and anklebiting you at every turn.

Had a couple good maxed 1LCs to the Ninja Pit thus, in last night's session. When I cock up the Ninja Pit, let alone twice, I know that's quite enough for one day.

Max Rank's lesser stopping power really blows after a year away, particularly as I get sweet FA in return for making my beautiful weapons marginally EuroShumpy. :/ Base Katana is more than enough for 3-2 and 4-3's counter-offensives. I avoid Shuriken, the aim lag is too risky, but again - even if I did, they match POW Grenades at base when it comes to shredding Ryuichis in 4-2 and 7-1.

Mid Rank turns POWs into suicide bombers/landmines, a scenario I am more than okay with. Well not quite landmines, since this is not a Yagawa game, and max Rank is a mild annoyance at worst. I've deliberately written up parallel low, mid and max-Rank runs, with replays to match, so it's all covered whichever the player prefers.

[Sumez]

Spoiler

Holy hell. I have that box, and I was so amazed by the front I never noticed how amazing the back is.

[BIL]

First-rate work as usual per Mr. Kaida. If you've got Whip Rush make sure to check that one out too. Great sense of speed, distance and scale, with some super-clean detailing.

Spoiler

Dai, Whip Rush and E-SWAT are all solid games at minimum but they'd be tempting pickups just on those boxarts alone.

---

I'd forgotten how useful POW Shuriken are in 4-2, it's basically a free ride if you know Black Katanas' mortal weakness. Can't hit a stationary player, so Ryuichi and Brown Zako Corp get Shadow-trained to ribbons. Admittedly you can do this just fine with POW Grenades, blowing away Blacks in the process, but where Grenade splash/tick can feel dicey in close quarters, not even Ryuichi can withstand a solid wall of razor death for more than a couple steps.

Works great in Round 7-1 too, again where Grenades always feel a bit scary, not even the most dastardly spawns have a hope in hell of breaching that murderwall. So that's one benefit I guess. And where base Katana handles 3-2 aptly, POW Katana completely dominates it. It's been nice using these weapons again, and verifying a few "item shops" I typically hustle past. It's not worth it ultimately, imo - a skilled player can get excellent results with base Shuriken/Katana, and do far more damage with non-nerfed Kusarigama/Grenades, but it's not a flat loss either.

Max Rank Boney-sama is a different beast from mid-Rank, had three consecutive runs end at him after delivering bombings that'd have done for the latter (Saigo can't be beat for efficiency.... got ten minutes, let's go on another trip to JIGOKU ). Seems I need a fourth Act to complete the usual run under / run back / hang n' shoot sequence.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone fight Boney at low Rank, meaning one POW. I wonder if he just keels over if you whap him a bit, though his Evil Voltage will probably put paid to anyone staying in his vicinity. TBH I'm not sure if the whole low-Rank thing wasn't some figment of my imagination, or maybe I misread a bad Google translation on BGR's old runs. >_> EDIT: WTF am I saying, any checkpoint restart Boney kill is gonna be low-Rank, that's all the game allows you. It's been a while since I didn't reset after eating it.

[FinalBaton]

willing to go through hell TWICE for Prin-Prin's AZZ & TIDDIES & PUSS.

I know I would. She damn fine

my boi Arthur caring for his COCK. but also indulging in his violent side/love of killing, in a very kvlt afventure

[BIL]

That is the saving grace which, besides its classic MD boxart, ensures Dai its place alongside Double Dragon II and Kengo in the arcade WAIFU MURDER INTRO triple crown. What could be more macho than a man going to hell and back for that ass?

BIRRY LEE goes to hell in a way too, but it is a more metaphorical descent, ala that of JIMMY JAMES from noted Dead Waifu Simulator Silent Hill 2 - that is, after caking his fists and boots in the blood and brains of his enemies, BIRRY is left without much more than his lonesome self and a mountain of corpses It is good to explore a range of themes!

[Licorice]

Spoiler

Holy hell. I have that box, and I was so amazed by the front I never noticed how amazing the back is.

I'm amazed by her front too but I can't see the back.

[Sumez]

Beat the game and you'll get all the details you need.

[Licorice]

[BIL]

RODS AT THE READY LADS



ACA Rod Land out tomorrow on PS4/NSW. Always got a good vibe from this one's players. Have taken a recent shine to Jaleco's late 80s/early 90s AC stuff, too. Charming OST at the very least, Tsukasa Tawada is a star.

I wonder if its companion puzzler Soldam will show up at some point, seems an easy pick with all the Mega System stuff popping up on ACA lately.

[Marc]

Ooh, insta-buy. Not a ton of experience of the arcade version, but I cleared it on C64 and Amiga. I believe the Amiga version was pretty close as well.

[Sumez]

The Amiga version is really good. The NES one is ass.

I really like the arcade game, but it's a hard PCB to track down, so this release is very welcome.

[BIL]

I almost got the FC version (cute boxart! weird-ass square Jaleco box! even weirder Jaleco cart!), but hesitated, ELITISTLY, at its NON-NIHONJIN ORIGIN

And holy moly! I didn't even realise P-47 and Saint Dragon are Mega System games, too! That's even more from ACA 2019-2020 than I thought, alongside EDF, Plus Alpha and 64th Street, plus Rod Land.

As a diehard proponent of Great Big Fuckoff Mecha Twatting Metal Objects With Beamswords And Rifles, it makes me hopeful that Cybattler will arrive at some point.

[Vanguard]

Rod Land isn't anything amazing mechanically, but it is cute and charming. I love that it has a darker sequel hidden right inside the game itself. AFAIK none of the ports include story 2 or the TLB.

The NES port is inferior as a game, though I am a fan of its surprisingly thorough options menu. You can turn on jumping and friendly fire and mess with all kinds of things. Rename your character to something like SEX or TIT and her face turns red. Strangely, ASS does nothing.

[BIL]

Rod Land isn't anything amazing mechanically, but it is cute and charming. I love that it has a darker sequel hidden right inside the game itself. AFAIK none of the ports include story 2 or the TLB.

That sounds so cool. I'd noticed the OST got decidedly less cheery further in. Completely tangential, but both Rodland and Soldam's song titles, and their more somber tunes give me a slight Sakimoto FF Tactics/Vagrant Story vibe (middle of post).

Probably as much to do with the darker aspects of old "faerie" lore, as the games/OSTs themselves (Celtic fairytales get KVLT as a motherfucker - IIRC Dullahans are from there, eyeball-slashing spinal column whips and all).

I love seeing those debug-esque menus in 8bit games. Gun-Nac's CONFIG.SYS is another goodie (lets you prioritise game speed or sprite limit - Recca could've used this, gets a bit breakup-happy in the second loop).

[Udderdude]

The full list of naughty words that makes Rod Land fairies blush: "SHT", "FUK", "BUM", "TIT", "SEX", "VAJ", "CNT", "POO", "NOB", "DIK". Quite the variety. You can name both of them DIK and DIK for twice the DIK. In a game called Rod Land.

https://tcrf.net/RodLand_(NES)

[BIL]

DikDik Van Dik's mighty red wood of friendship would be proud!

Must've been Cadash fans.

[Marc]

Played a bit of Rod-Land last night. Nice, but lacks that certain something that makes for a truly special single-screen platformer IMO. Still at these prices they're no-brainers. There's only really Ninja Warriors and Fairyland Story I'd refund.

I was looking into Athena, but thankfully took it for a test run on my Pandora. God damn that is some terrible, terrible shit.

[BrianC]

I was surprised to find out that Steve Snake (Kega Fusion) and Jools Watsham (Mutant Mudds) were involved with the NES Rodland.

I finally got around to double dipping on Rygar PS4 since the US version STILL hasn't updated to the point of the JP version. US version has no scanline filter and only the US Rygar version. JP version not only has the JP version, but also has scanline options and the US Rygar version. I also got Terra Force on sale. Plays like a combination of Terra Cresta and Mag Max so far.

[Marc]

How in the holy hell have I never played Thunder Fox before? That shit is amazing.

[BIL]

I know right? After the upcoming Mizubaku, that's my #1 pick for a Taito F2 Arcade Archives release (#3 is Metal Black ). Blazing-fast Ninja Warriors x Rolling Thunder hybrid. Particularly fond of its tier-switching jump doubling as an invincible flashkick/stomp, and the general-purpose zako-mowing A+B attack. The MD version looks accurate on paper, but in practice it's dishwater-dull, with none of the arcade's rollicking pace.

Out of my way, bitches! I must crash this jeep into a stack of oil drums!

Spoiler

^^^ Blue Homie all set up for a game of Codename Viper, his plans evaporated along with his face

I'm ambivalent on the upcoming scrolling Taito brawler Kuri Kinton (still need to test it out), but TF would be day 1 without question.

[BIL]

Oof, I am done with Saigo. MAX RANK SAIGO THAT IS Didn't want to finish my guide on year-old recollections, or crusty ol' runs that lack the refinements of my more recent Mid Rank ones. Also, I had a lot to learn before being able to elucidate consistent 6-1 survival.

Ryuichi draw gits BEAT by Tsukikage's jump acceleration. DON'T U BE SCURRED (｀ω´メ)

Spoiler

U can't be scurred if ur gon win (■｀ω´■)

While Ryuichi Drop remains a valuable finesse maneuver, Ryuichi Hop (followed by a stiff thrashing via Bunnyhopped Shadow Kusarigama) is the BNB of consistency in 6-1's RNG crucible. Terrain interaction is also critical, note the launcher gifted by the end of 6-1's final shoal. Any running enemy that hits a terrain obstruction is gonna get suplexed a mile overhead, buying you massive time.

Oh noes they got me pinned down! Ryuichi gon get me! NOT RLY LMAO（＾ω´ )

Spoiler

Lots of good material to write down before I forget.

Didn't see the st5 deathbug in any of this past week's sessions. That's ten hours or so, hopefully a good omen. As before, 1:1ing GACHI-sama's route remains a possibility. Hopefully that'd work...

At least half a dozen would-be runs ended at Boney this time. I didn't mind much, with 6-1 having receded from a DEFCON 1 nightmare to Very Hard. And while Boney RNG still menaces, I think I've developed a better toolkit for responding to it. Certainly less praying n' spraying lately. This particular run followed on the heels of another where I tried to stay in the lucrative initial attack - you can kill him outright, if he fires "grounders" consistently - and took a crawler right in the nuts. This time I broke off to the corner and, sensing an incoming motherfuck, escaped to the left.

Mid-height grenade volleys do solid damage to Boney, and a second might've finished him off here. I suppose I was wary of those awful runs where he just won't die as I get brickwalled in the corner, so I went to the wall and used a max-height drop - Tsukikage moves faster only during jump acceleration - which just about enabled a pants-shitting escape. I know for a fact, an ill-timed Angry Bolt can kill you outright as you pass underneath him, but I also knew he was done for if I could land another mid-height volley.

I think the Bolt RNG is set somewhere during the Ninja Pit. Got a nice practice save at its exit with 100% guaranteed bad times. Previously it was at the "diving board," right before the game does its odd graphical glitch (something that's gotten me accused of SPLICIN before - noobs, it happens on PCB too ), and I'd get different patterns every time. Might be useful info for those looking to practice with variable RNG.

Between this revisits findings and my usual Mid Rank play, I'm hoping I can put a fork in Boney finally. At this point, I consider Max Rank for prestige/variety only. Otherwise it's basically charity on my part, and I don't do charity to games I respect.

My periodic search for Saigo fanart turned up some nice stuff I'd not seen before! Don't know the artist, sorry, but you are great! (click for full res)



1] I like the perspective! A real air of topsy-turvy panic. Almost got killed by Hanzo, this run. Max Rank, no Shield, a trailing Monk and bad Shadow positioning saw hilarity ensue. While I like how it looks like I Matrix-dodged a bullet to the head from the right side, I didn't do shit. Rifles can't hit you while you're in corners, that's just me twitching to correct my disgraceful formation.

YE I WOULD RUN AWAY 2 RIFLE-KUN

Spoiler

Then I almost get shot out of the air, always a thrill. Tiny hitbox is your friend, though just like a friend, it's not to be unduly leant upon! None of this happens in a well-executed fight, but why sweat the early game mirite. Also, killed a Rifle with the Katana while bumbling to the corner, always a nerdly rush.

2] Another good use of perspective, and a formidable depiction of high-altitude bombardment. I prefer Ghost to be drawn a bit more ghastly, though. Still better than the well-drawn but very off-model PCE manual, where he's just some Mongol dude. He's actually based on the traditional Ochimusha, the battle scars and scraggly hair being constants. Saigo's take, beyond an awesome name - Ghost of Fugitive Warrior - has the formidably morbid detail of a shortsword in the guts. Fucking hell. That Seppuku business is some sick shit, kids!

3] RAAARG. Oni is not a great boss, though he at least has the decency to die quickly, but I love the classic ninja manga aesthetic of treetop warfare.

[Marc]

I love the game, but it's too much for me to wrap my head around. I'm already panicking on level 3, and the rare occasion I make it to 4... yeah.

[BIL]

In truth, Saigo does a fair bit of the thinking for you. Generally speaking, the trick is to delegate: focus on the big enemies, and let your weapons' massive hitboxes take care of the zako. While it'd be wrong to call them "noise" - they are just as lovingly designed as the heavies - they're distraction hazards first, collateral second, there to convey the awesome body-shredding power later seen in Metal Slug.

Spoiler

I'm barely conscious of those Wolves or Ninjas, in what is probably Saigo's deadliest stretch of ground. It's not that they aren't a threat, I've died to them many times before. I just know that my x3 POW Kusarigama is wreaking such ungodly havoc with every shot, they're well accounted-for.

So my brain is freed up to track the obstructing Monk, his rear-guarding pal, and the Ryuichi I've just spoofed via terrain launcher. I know that once these three mobilise, they'll crush me like the Red Sea. So my job is to get us outta there ASAP, with the Kusarigama snuffing incoming fire. The brave kamikaze wolf that crashes into a Shadow? The formation wasn't conscious on my part, only the attack. If it'd hit me instead, it'd have been autoguarded.

I remember Round 3-1's bullet-sliced grassland well. Dat DEIMOS! Kusarigama is ideal there. Standing strike will annihilate rifles and their shot, guaranteed. Busts straight through the bullet and kills the sender. Don't crouch! There's no need, and it'll also preclude a POW swing (there will always be a POW drop near the checkpoint). Those not only wipe out Rifles in front, but behind too, as well as any airborne Browns, in one wicked sweep. Bunnyhop it for massive forward momentum - you're advancing at full throttle, and they're dying in droves. As with 6-1's Ninja/Wolf air support, I'm not really conscious of individual zako while crossing the haunted waste - my main concern is not landing smack in Ghost range for balls-to-brain bisection.

3-2 is a step trickier, and where Saigo really stops playing around. Again though, the delegation principle holds. I prefer the Katana here - nowhere as powerful as the Kusarigama, but its nice "umbrella" hitbox fends off the raining Wolves and Browns, and buffets away Monks and their staffs. Yet again, it's the latter I'm focused on - the zako don't require specific targeting or spoofing, just a resetting blast now and then.

It's here that I think Saigo would've worked just as well as a mecha sidescroller, an arcade-ferocious Valken or Ranza. I'm the pilot, the weapons are the gunners, my job is to ensure we don't get blown out of the water while they shred incoming bogies. Once you develop this kind of faith in your weapons, it's much easier to focus on the advance.

God I love this game. Alone On The Hellish Battlefield - and yet not! TOTSUGEKIII

Round 4-1 is a different animal compared to Rounds 3 & 6's open battlefields. With its zako compartmentalised away, and the terrain uniformly flat, it's The Purple & Ryuichi Show. You have to master the former's attack timing and range, or you'll be set up for Ryuichi all day. Note that ceiling Purples will completely ignore you, unless you get on their turf, and also that while Ryuichi can follow you up and down, he's completely open while doing so.

It's all very orderly, in spite of the randomness. Don't think of Saigo's melees as roiling chaos, but random assemblages of set parts. Stuff will appear in different places, and at different times, but by iron law, it'll always respond the same way.

Spoiler

^^^
1] Ryuichi Hop - you can get incredibly close and still beat his draw, jump acceleration is king. Never feel compelled to retreat!
2] Purple windup - note their significant delay. Note also their monstrous reach!
3] Ryuichi is useless while transitioning between ceiling/floor.
4] Ryuichi Drop - trigger his X-axis while falling and get pointblank, he'll miss you by a mile.

EDIT: Ba-zing-a-ling-ling, that was smooth. Bizarrely enough, got a very similar Boney fight to my Max run, just without the opening stationary diagonal attack. Went for two mid-high volleys, didn't quite finish him off but just about made another pants-shitting rightward escape. Hmm. Mid Rank Boney's HP is low enough that you can stomp him pretty aggressively, though those bolts are always scary.

Was watching TV while doing this and bungled my st5 safe route, was flying completely blind all the way to the Shield ledge. Not to be taken seriously.

Trivia: always noticed but only just now confirmed, there's a crazy amount of input lag on the HS entry screen, on PCB, MAME and ACA alike. It seems like five frames at least. In-game commands are tight as can be, judging by MAME frame advance. Weird, thank god it's just there! Reminds me of Sunset Riders' bizarro 5f-delayed crouch input, despite everything else being next-frame.

[Volteccer_Jack]

Finished Gunvolt 2. It's significantly better than the first game, but still has some glaring issues.

Playing as Gunvolt is mostly unchanged, although you're given better guns at a faster pace and there are now two new free Skills that don't cost anything or mess up your score so they can be used in a variety of ways which adds some much needed spice to Gunvolt's playstyle. Also switching guns no longer makes you lose all your tags, and this fact alone makes all the alternate guns much more useful. But it's still the same core tag->flashfield combat, which is still boring and fiddly. Gunvolt's scoring system is still an absolute mess that is really dumb, but now there's an option to make it so you don't lose your combo on getting hit. This is nice if you just want to listen to the j-pop that plays when you have a big combo, I guess? Supposedly it gives a score penalty but I effortlessly S-ranked missions in that mode so lol.

Stages and bosses are substantially better this time around, stages have more interesting themes/gimmicks, the cyberspace stage's wrap-around effect is particularly nice. Enemy placement is better although there's still some sections that are pretty sparse, and the first game's bad habit of locking you in a room and just dumping a dozen enemies at you has actually gotten worse is the sequel. Bosses still suffer from the same bizarre design philosophy as the first game: if you have Prevasion enabled they are without exception pitifully easy, and if you have Prevasion turned off they are frustrating memorizers that expect you to have clairvoyance about how to avoid their attacks. That said they do at least give you a little warning now, and they are generally pretty fun when you get the hang of them.

Where the game gets good is when you play as Copen (or Acura? The voiced dialogue is definitely referring to him as "Acura-kun"). He's crazy mobile with multiple airdashes which rebound off walls and colliding with any wall or enemy will refill one bar of his dash meter. His command reload works similar to Gunvolt's but he can also perform it in the air, which doubles as a fast-fall and the landing impact can damage nearby enemies. Copen is ridiculously mobile and can easily traverse any terrain and outmaneuver any enemy, the main threat will be your own recklessness as his speed makes it easy to throw yourself into a bad spot. Flashbacks to Rocket Knight Adventure, and Copen lives up to that flattering comparison. As Copen can only lock-on to one enemy at a time, his scoring is very different from Gunvolt's. Where GV scores by killing multiple enemies at once, Copen is based around killing as many enemies as possible consecutively without landing on the ground. This turns stages into sort of platforming puzzles, trying to get enough rebounds to keep up your dash stock as you go from one enemy to the next while also avoiding hazards. It is still a bit of a mess as scoring mechanics go, but it's fun and interesting for a little while at least. Copen also gets 8 different special weapons from the various bosses, with Megaman-style boss weaknesses and all. Most function differently depending on whether you have a lock-on as well.

To be honest, it really feels like this was meant to be a Copen solo game, with Gunvolt added as a playable character later in development. Copen feels like he had more time in the oven, even his sprite is just straight-up better looking than Gunvolt's. That and the fact that Copen actually got a solo game not long after this one lol. Definitely gonna have to check it out, with some mechanical tweaks and some better boss designs, Inti could have a real classic.

I love the game, but it's too much for me to wrap my head around. I'm already panicking on level 3, and the rare occasion I make it to 4... yeah.

I'm just now getting comfortable with stage 3, myself. And hey, if I can do it...it doesn't mean anything because I'm better than everyone else

I feel like I have stage 3 down to a science now. In theory anyway, the actual down-in-the-dirt execution is still tense/stressful and may always be. First half of the stage Kusarigama, it's a strong anti-rifle tool for reasons BIL laid out, spin-attacks clear out the leaping zakos. Top priority is avoiding bullets but right below that is positioning properly to jump cleanly over Ghost, he will probably die if I have both clones but I really don't care, in fact ideally he will live to prevent respawn.

As soon as I see the marshland, switch to Sword, avoiding monk staff throws is the toppest of top priorities. Sometimes it's best to stop slashing for a moment here, as hitting their staff will cause it to return immediately, which I don't want--I want the throw to last as long as possible so the monk is out of the fight for longer. Going for any powerups here is a suicide mission, if it's not directly on the path I would have taken anyway then I ignore it. My whole strat for the boss is "have POW grenade and don't get shot by the riflemen."

For 4-1, I've had best success with Kusarigama, as it can deflect the enemy kusarigamas. Ryuchi is formidable, my "preferred" scenario is to leap cleanly over and past his slash arc and then finish him off as I'm landing. It's tricky tho, the last part of the swing that hits behind his head is nasty. Failing that, forcing him to chase you between floor and ceiling is effective, although very dangerous in the vicinity of Purples.

4-2...I dunno yet lol. It's mostly easy except for one part where you have to cross a good-sized stretch of ceiling; if a Ryuichi shows up at the wrong time you're pretty well stuck, since the jump button drops you onto spikes and you can't outmaneuver Ryuchi without jumps. Best solution I can see at the moment is to try to ensure before committing that you can cross safely.

Stage 4 boss is my wall for now, seems to be 'aimed' similar to stage 2 boss, but I haven't worked out a good reliable avoidance strat. Grenade seems like overwhelmingly the best weapon for this boss unless I'm missing something.

Brief glimpse of stage 5, not terribly tough so far? Really reminding me how wonky mid-air control is tho lol.

[Vanguard]

Stage 3's marshland definitely feels like the point where the game gets serious. Never did find a good solution to those monks. Interesting that you'd favor the kusarigama in 4-1. No projectiles and lots of samurai mean bombs and shuriken are the only options for me. Stage 5 isn't hard exactly but it's pretty annoying if you don't have a path memorized. A slow, observant approach is a sure win but it isn't fun. It's got nothing on the end of 7, of course.