I'm starting to warm too Dodonpachi Saidaioujou

[Trevor spencer]

It's taken me a couple of weeks of play but I'm really starting to get into this now.

At first I didn't like the fast bullets , the screen seemed distracting with all the bold colours and there wasn't many options to bullet cancel but as I've started to learn the patterns and fast speed it's quite fun and I'm glad I stuck with it.

What do you lot think of this game ? Not your usual Cave experience.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I've got my Xbox 360 with DDP-SDOJ hooked to a Jamma-izer scart to jamma conversion pcb with an official microsoft advance scart cable & it looks awesome runnning on a candy cab setup indeed.

Quite a hard DDP game to play considering that it's the swan song DDP title in the overall DDP franchise (including the recent Exa-Arcadia SDOJ release as well).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[To Far Away Times]

Too hard to be fun for me. This game could have used a few more weeks in the oven.

[davyK]

It's a very tough game but Novice mode is a good way of getting some enjoyment out of it if you get frustrated because it isn't as much of a walkover as Futari's or Mushi's Novice modes are for example. DFK novice is quite easy too but it feels like a stepping stone between the Mushi game and SDOJ's novice mode. I like the challenge mode too which isn't bad for mixing up with the training mode.

I have my 360 with an RGB SCART cable hooked up to a 21" 4:3 Panasonic rotated. Nice.

One gripe I have is that menus screw up unless you have wide screen mode activated. But it's no big deal really. Unless there's a setting for that?

[bcass]

I recently read an interview with Cave staff about Saidaioujou, and even Yagawa thinks it's too hard:

—Compared with the other games in the Dodonpachi series, how do you feel about Saidaioujou?

Yagawa: It’s way too hard.

http://shmuplations.com/sdoj-book/

[cave hermit]

I really enjoyed it, anime aesthetic aside. After getting used to minimal latency gameplay with a PVM setup though, I couldn't really get used to playing with the innate lag of the 360 port though. I ended up selling it for quite a bit, I regret it a little.

[el_rika]

It has a very distinctive sryle. It's gorgeous.

I used to play it religiously back then.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I think aesthetically it's both incredibly tight, well-designed, and gorgeous. The interface, the music, the enemy designs, the strong use of blues and teals in its colour scheme are all great. I think the gameplay's also pretty fun too, though the issues with input lag in the console port are unfortunate, and the game's larger than usual hitbox (for CAVE games) isn't necessarily to its benefit.

However, SDOJ is also incredibly cringey and unappealing. The whole "pick your fuckgirl and make her wear less clothing to get harder while she calls you Master all day" nonsense is simply gross, far more than DOJ or DFK's robot girl aesthetics could ever claim to be, and the lack of option to disable voices and operator/doll visuals in the original arcade version also surely can't be to everyone's taste (you can do so in the console port though).

Games like Crimzon Clover and Rolling Gunner have proven that you can have a solid, enjoyable game without needing visibly identifiable pilots. If they'd ditched the element dolls the game would have been far better off for it.

[Bassa-Bassa]

^ That was largely proven by dozens of games before Crimzon Clover and Rolling Gunner. The question is if these two have sold well enough compared to Deathsmiles.

with an official microsoft advance scart cable & it looks awesome runnning on a candy cab setup indeed.

I have my 360 with an RGB SCART cable hooked up to a 21" 4:3 Panasonic rotated.

This game in particular would look better with a VGA cable and an old (rotated) PC monitor, though?

[davyK]

I have my 360 with an RGB SCART cable hooked up to a 21" 4:3 Panasonic rotated.

This game in particular would look better with a VGA cable and an old (rotated) PC monitor, though?

Probably as it has that high sheen look to it. It looks great on a new TV with HDMI too of course. My primary 360 is setup in a family room on a large modern TV with HDMI but I have a dedicated 360 for shmups connected to the CRT in my den for close up gaming. The hand drawn games look great on it. Deathsmiles on my larger non-rotated CRT is stunning looking. I'm looking at getting a flat screen into the den when I free up some space.

Of course playing SDOJ in TATE on a 4:3 screen dispenses with all that embarrassing side furniture.

[XoPachi]

I immediately loved it from a game design angle and I think graphically its stunning. Cave does my favorite prerendered visuals and these are the best I've seen from them.

The machine design philosophy is a bit more organic? Theres more curves, smooth portions, and diagonals to enemy craft as opposed to the straights and layered greeble of older games. It's less detail than their older pixel art that I prefer. But its not an artistic reduction. Enemy craft just look far more optimized and striking. All the classic bosses are still recognizeable and the original designs are very distinct. I love the IGS Scion in stage 3. That might be my favorite warship in a Cave title yet. The game overall looks hyper futuristic. Its neat.
And the touch ups on the 3 protagonist ships are lovely. The Biaxe being my favorite. The hardlight propellers are SO cool.

The sound design is really nice too. It doesnt beat out certain older arcade games but theres a crispier detail to explosions I really like in this game. DFK was good enough but SDOJ sounds more functional for the player. Deeper thuds of grounded units reverberating off the ground. And it always sounded like theres a larger range of effects in general for good auditory feedback. Though player fire sounds pitifully weak.

I thought the gameplay in general is addicting. Its a good feeling game. Unbalanced in its scoring mechanics but its fun when you understand it. Personally this is the hardest DDP for me. I was getting decent at it but stage 5 is brutal.

I don't like the waifu anime. I to this day have not even dared to watch the intro. I use every option available and unlockable to get them out of my face and shut them up as much as possible. I really really hate this trend.

The music is a banger but I do wish these sorts of games could do less of anime dance party music and something a bit more fitting to it's style thats still amazing to listen to like Crimzon Clover or Devil Engine did.

And I miss my bomb laser and powerups still.
I understand why the latter is gone. But I love the satisfaction of seeing my ship get stronger.

That was a lot sorry

[davyK]

I like the fact you can cancel a hyper and get a bomb (based I'm guessing on how much hyper is left). Just adds a another option to consider when getting crowded into a corner.

[Jack Burton]

^ That was largely proven by dozens of games before Crimzon Clover and Rolling Gunner. The question is if these two have sold well enough compared to Deathsmiles.

with an official microsoft advance scart cable & it looks awesome runnning on a candy cab setup indeed.

I have my 360 with an RGB SCART cable hooked up to a 21" 4:3 Panasonic rotated.

This game in particular would look better with a VGA cable and an old (rotated) PC monitor, though?

I agree. I'm running it from my japanese 360 via vga to my Blast City. So beautiful...

[Buffi]

SDOJ is probably my favorite DDP game.
I definitely prefer having a single hard loop than two loops.
Last stage is real rough, but you can at least just bomb through the hard parts if you want to.
Difficulty level feels pretty perfect imo.
Took me a good amount of work to clear it, and felt very rewarding.

exA label mode is pretty neat too, but there it feels pretty wrong to do low rank survival play. That mode really seems like it's most fun to just go all out on scoring, but things get real hard then.

[Bassa-Bassa]

^ That was largely proven by dozens of games before Crimzon Clover and Rolling Gunner. The question is if these two have sold well enough compared to Deathsmiles.

with an official microsoft advance scart cable & it looks awesome runnning on a candy cab setup indeed.

I have my 360 with an RGB SCART cable hooked up to a 21" 4:3 Panasonic rotated.

This game in particular would look better with a VGA cable and an old (rotated) PC monitor, though?

I agree. I'm running it from my japanese 360 via vga to my Blast City. So beautiful...

Yup. For some reason the PC CRT/360 VGA output combo is never talked about and is by far the best video you can get for a lot of games. It's easily the cheapest as well (though I don't know how much a good 360 VGA cable is these days).

[el_rika]

SDOJ is probably my favorite DDP game.
I definitely prefer having a single hard loop than two loops.

This ^ so true!

Daifukkatsu BL and Sdoj are my favourite, in part because of this.

[XoPachi]

Not sure how to describe it, but I adore the sheen to everything in this game. DFK had it too among other Cave titles of the time, but this one had the most of it. I swear everything just looks so insanely ultra futuristic and pristine. I wonder how they do it. No other prerendered game I've played looks as crisp and smooth as this one to me. There's a roughness to a lot of others even if they still look good.

[finisherr]

SDOJ is easily one of my favorite shooting games. So good. However, I agree with the element doll idea introduced with DOJ is totally unnecessary.

[Trevor spencer]

Well I'm still chipping away at this , can get to the stage 4 boss now but damn this game is brutal and I havnt even dug into stage 5 yet.

Also I know most people hate this but I really like the operator constantly talking to you. Havnt got a clue what she's saying though.

[davyK]

Might enjoy this. Interview with WR holder. Includes an opinion on the 360 port. (spoiler - he still uses it sometimes).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ttq5SqVq1g

[Trevor spencer]

Yeah I watched that live , really enjoyed it.

That guy is on another level skill wise. Insane

[Rastan78]

Saw that as well. It's crazy that he said he plays 2 or 3 hours a night weeknights and all day on the weekends if he's feeling up for it. Pretty much his whole life outside of work must be SDOJ. Most days I'm lucky to have time for one full run of a shmup.

Also thought it was interesting how he said it's important to watch players play live. That way you kind of see the whole process and learn the pitfalls of tough areas and what can go wrong. Superplays and WR runs only show part of the story. If you ever watch Kamui stream Garrega, she fucks up and starts over just as any other player does.

[Trevor spencer]

Oh thank godness its just not me that resets all the time.

[Rastan78]

I like how Kayar stays flexible and says he mixes it up between more casual full runs and trying to actually push for a new record depending on his mood or energy level.

A lot of players will tell you only do training mode and save states until you know everything before even messing with full runs. Others will say complete every single credit.

Between casual full runs to practice on consistency, labbing new stuff out in training mode, studying replays or doing focused PB attempts they all have their place depending on where you're at.

Really I think having that dedication to stick with something even after it gets tedious and you're already like 90 percent there is the hard part. A player like Kayar must have a crazy level of commitment and determination.

[Jonpachi]

Really I think having that dedication to stick with something even after it gets tedious and you're already like 90 percent there is the hard part. A player like Kayar must have a crazy level of commitment and determination.

This for sure. I can't count how many games I've gotten to the point where I can consistently get really deep, maybe even last level or last boss, but I start to burn out and decide to take a break only to come back some time later and realize I have a lot of relearning to do. It's rare to find that magical game that you just can't put down until it's fully beaten.

[drboom]

If you ever watch Kamui stream Garrega, she fucks up and starts over just as any other player does.

Where does she stream? I used to watch her play in Ustream (something like that) I think - hoping she’s moved to a new platform like Twitch!

[CStarFlare]

Kamui streams at https://www.youtube.com/user/20347450/fe but also has a twitch at twitch.tv/t3_kamui

[drboom]

Awesome! Thanks!!

[Matsunaga]

I can’t get into it. I’ve owned it since release, and have tried.. It’s ok, but to me it’s definitely no better than 4th in the series. It’s way down on my Cave games list.

[digitron]

I've got my Xbox 360 with DDP-SDOJ hooked to a Jamma-izer scart to jamma conversion pcb with an official microsoft advance scart cable & it looks awesome runnning on a candy cab setup indeed.

Quite a hard DDP game to play considering that it's the swan song DDP title in the overall DDP franchise (including the recent Exa-Arcadia SDOJ release as well).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I need to get my hands on a Jammaizer!

Also 360 edition FTW - Turn off the annoying voices!