I'd misremembered DB being on Vol.3, shows how long it's been! Seems Rally-X is this week's Namco release.
Haha, goddamn. Browsing ReplayBurners' extensive library of Genpei runs... so the three-way juncture in third stage (first Over Mode) - turns out it's a difficulty select. Aaaand it's the exact opposite of Darius's usual lower=harder. So I got an Easy 1CC.
Although tbh, I know most of the Mid/Hard stages already, from when I was screwing about with random paths. So that's nice.
Still, got quite a bit more revengeoning to do! Now that's value.
EDIT: Oh lmao. Offered an easy exit from st5/BOULDERMANIA (feat. GAROUMAKU) early on, went
NAW, IMMA GO 2 THA TOP, and ended up back on my usual route. I guess the split just determines your first few stages. Which makes sense, with the last stage being set, and at least one being mandatory in the lategame.
Still, nice bit of early-game variety. I wonder if those weenie exits lead anywhere interesting - seems as long as you hit the Bonus Round, you'll end up fighting BIWAHOSHI in the bamboo grove, no matter which early gate you took. Perhaps greater terrors loom behind those craven, easlier escapes
Boof! One blow - take head off clean!
Arf arf arf Bitches leave
The way score (or "virtue") works in Genpei is interesting. Besides the conventional whacking of stuff, you can also offer alms at traveller's shrines. True to life, I decided to be a stingy muhfucka and blow all my Zeni on sweet painkilling booze.
(the stash behind that three-headed assclown is particularly welcome) You can also buy sword repairs, but my route never called for it. Incorporating at least one Bonus Round (by going for those aforementioned, further-flung stage exits) should fix you right up, provided you get Benny and Yoshi's lategame versions down.
I wonder if it's possible to lose virtue, setting up a Low Score run. Falling in a pit will actually send Kagekiyo back to Hell, where you can either pay granny a whopping 70zeni for guaranteed escape, minus your accumulated HP candles... or play Russian roulette with Enma-daou. Might escape FO FREE, might eat shit.
TBH though, F all that noise, I'd rather just not fall in. Unless there's something neat down there? Damn, I see why this board kept 'em coming back.
Sumez wrote:How does the PCE version of Genpei stack up? I acquired it eons ago, but never played it much. I wasn't sure what to really think of it.
Put some time on it last night - it's an impressive HuCard, overall. Mechanics are largely 1:1, and pardon the lower res and slightly less luxuriant parallax, it really captures the AC's aesthetic. ala Splatterhouse and IREM's Saigo no Nindou, it's the kind of port many would've hailed "arcade perfect" at the time, and while that's obviously not literal truth, you can still imagine it being a godsend for console-bound players.
A little disappointingly, from modern perspective, the AC quirk I'd hoped they might address - finicky platforming - is untouched. Conversely, Big Mode's duels do seem to have been rejigged; they're stricter, but also easier. In AC, Skelebro just kinda yeets himself onscreen; in my current 1CC, he actually ended up
behind me, something I'd never seen before. It doesn't matter, though; toss out some pokes, any pokes, and he's done. (of course, stepping on his scattered bones will damage you
remember to destroy his ribcage for bonus HP!
)
On PCE, he sticks to a rigid pattern of jumping head-height thrusts, much likelier to counter random pokes... but crouch pokes will do him just as well. Yoshitsune and Benkei's first forms (daggers / iron ball) fare similarly. They're best rushed down, in the AC version. You'll wreck your katana on their armour, but not before dealing mortal damage, and both drop large sword repairs, besides. On PCE, their armour is tough enough to foil this approach - but crouching pokes now deal them
enormous damage, unheard of on AC. So again, play along and it's a cinch. Big Mode is kind of a joke, but that said, I prefer the AC's looser combat; gives more of a berserker aesthetic. Plus, the later Yoshi/Benny duels already have a nice element of precision, like you're performing a traditional marionette show.
This was where they fucked me up the first time around, kids!
Koroshite yaruuu!
The only PCE issue that actually bothers me is Big Mode's slightly smaller viewable playfield. On AC, you can see nuisance enemies creeping up on Kagekiyo - it's a snap to forge ahead, batting them away on reflex. On PCE, your six is blind, necessitating regular stop-and-turns to spot tails. Walking backwards (turn, then hold ATK) can somewhat help... but this mostly flips the blind spot to your front. These sequences are short, and simple, so the added vigilance is far from the burden it'd be in other games - still, I'm glad to be without it on AC. I'd still like to pick this card up sometime, to go with Kan no Ni. Strong rendition of a JP arcade icon.
Speaking of, went looking for fanart of Namco's badass Minamoto no Yoshitsune design - stumbled across PC doujin fighter
Genpei Touran.
At a glance, I'd have thought it was a pro release - lots of love apparent! Besides the historic Kagekiyo, Yoshitsune, Benkei and Yoritomo, it's fun spotting all the minor enemies reimagined in fully-fledged 1v1 form, in BGs, cameoed via supers, etc. Skelebro even calls in his yari boys, haha.
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"Crumbs," I thought,
"with the recent censoring of Big Boss Dick in R-Type Final 2, how am I gonna finish my Saigo no Nindou CERTAIN VICTORY Nomiss Guide? Half my stage 7 landmarks are dicks and muffs!" Stewing on this, I enjoyed a few casual credits as I tidied up my movie backlog. While the conundrum of muffs and dicks is TBD, I was pleasantly surprised to see my Boney-sama pattern
(as of January this year) continue to perform - not only at my usual Rank50 play, but
also in this morning's accidental Rank100 one.
(a series of unfortunate events saw me blunder onto excess POWs, jacking up big enemy+boss HP).
> Rank50 (a bit rusty; NB the needlessly risky early bunnyhop, and my being off-mark at the finish)
> Rank100 (see immediately below)
I really wasn't expecting to survive the latter example, it being so long since I'd attempted Rank100 - so I fatalistically indulged in not just an opening bunnyhop, but a returning one, too. I survive some pretty hellacious bolt RNG, which makes me wonder if, with good timing at the drop-in, this might be safely repeatable. Back in Jan, I was going with the more conservative, but potentially nerve-wracking approach of diagonally-upshotting him at the outset. With lucky RNG, you can actually kill him outright, here. More likely, though, you'll be forced away by bolts, at which point the idea is to execute the pattern, taking his remaining HP (which will hopefully have receded to Rank50 levels).
Rank50 doesn't need to cram in extra damage; just the basic pattern will suffice. That's a run-under to the left, followed by a head-height barrage (aimed to kill), a max-height jump all the way to the wall (aimed to misdirect bolts, dragging them upward), a runback under Boney to the right (bunnyhopped upshot optional if RNG allows), then finally, a couple of head-height barrages for the kill, hanging the Options for maximal damage. These were both captured in the field after approaching a year away, so I'm quite happy with 'em. Boney can be a real prick! And TBH, currently going for a Rygar 1LC with its perfunctory sendoff, I'm okay with that. Not that Rygar isn't a legendary scrolling action journey entirely as-is.