Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate (Skonec, 2003 | DC/PS2)

[EmperorIng]

OLD THREAD
Score and Mechanics Overview
Psyvariar 2 on RestartSyndrome
Shooting Type Superplay
Buzz Type Superplay


This game is perfectly playable on all Dreamcast emulators and eminently playable on the PS2 emulator I tried (PCSX2), so if you have ever been curious there has never been a better time to try this game out!

Shooting Type

Shooting Type
RANK	PLAYER	SCORE	BUZZ LEVEL	AREA	PLATFORM	ADDITIONAL IMAGE/VIDEO
1	M.Knight	81,108,800	489	6 ALL	PCSX2	Replay
2	EmperorIng	42,379,200	475	6 ALL	PS2 - PCSX2	video
3	clp	33,155,800	425	6 ALL	DC
4	Smraedis	28,600,100	426	6 ALL
5	Kaiser	27,950,430	511	6 ALL
6	Sylph	25,046,200	470	6
7	moozooh	16,999,700	312	5 ALL
8	DBH	16,779,900	311	5
9	TVR	16,617,700	303	5
10	NRS	15,745,800	331	5 ALL
11	Kei	14 770 300	327	5 ALL
12	nemo	14,885,700	325	5 ALL
13	sffan	14,349,200	318	5 ALL
14	spadgy	13,783,700	313	5 ALL
15	maximo	13,540,700	307	5 ALL	PS2 - PCSX2	image
16	damocles	12,768,500	?	5
17	Carmen	12,752,800	249	4
18	jpj	11,835,200	?	5 ALL
19	KindGrind	9,414,200	225	4
20	gennss	5,477,000	154	3

Buzz Type

Buzz Type
RANK	PLAYER	SCORE	BUZZ LEVEL	AREA	PLATFORM	ADDITIONAL IMAGE/VIDEO
1	M.Knight	167,312,500	739	6 ALL	PCSX2	Replay
2	maximo	142,822,400	651	6 ALL	PS2 - PCSX2	Video
3	Third_strike	140,268,300	644	6 ALL
4	Sylph	66,186,200	527	6 ALL
5	OmKol	53,422,200	410	6 ALL	PS2 - PCSX2	video
6	CRI	47,287,600	415	6 ALL
7	xipe	38,524,000	391	6
8	Enhasa	34,547,600	317	5 ALL
9	Siren2011	24,603,600	234	4
10	Skyline	10,361,100	125	3
11	KindGrind	9,218,700	89	4
12	sffan	6,944,100	42	3
13	FlyingFinn	6,140,600	74	2
14	Carmen	5,118,600	57	2
15	bloodflowers	3,995,200	27	2

Post scores in this format:

Code: Select all

SHIP TYPE
Name - Score - Buzz Level  - Area - Platform - Denote emulator where applicable - [url=]link[/url]

Example:

Code: Select all

Buzz Type
EmperorIng - 50,000,000 - 350 - 5 - PS2 -PCSX2 - [url=]link[/url]

If you cleared on stage 5 without triggering the TLB, mark your Area as 5 ALL. If you defeated the TLB mark your Area as 6 ALL

Link is for video or snapshot taken of your final score. It is optional but encouraged.

[EmperorIng]

As I said in the OP, we are now at the point where computers can emulate the PS2 with a decent amount of accuracy. My computer is from 2017, and while it was a pretty good build for 2017, it's still obviously 4 years old at this point. But still! I managed to play and record this footage for the PS2 version of Psyvariar 2!

Even if it isn't as magnificent as Revision I always thought this game was so cool! I hope I can make it to Gluon one day. The level cap is actually not as strict as I originally thought, even with the 'handicapped' Shot Type. Stage 5's boss will definitely be my wall for a while especially as I foolishly try to milk it.

EmperorIng & 21,083,500 & 363 & 5 & PS2 - PCSX2 & video

[EmperorIng]

New PB! Seemingly only a minor jump up in score, but the amount of buzz levels I've gained is sizably increased after practicing new routes on stage 3. I can tell this damn stage 5 boss is going to keep me from 1cc'ing for quite some time, even if I do just try to quick-kill it. These patterns are undodgeable!

EmperorIng & 23,600,500 & 398 & 5 & PS2 - PCSX2 & video

[EmperorIng]

It's taken me a little too long (imo!!), but I finally got a new personal best. Finally get to move up in the rankings!

In what I consider to be a good sign, I achieved this PB long before I reached the stage 5 boss (unfortunately choked early into the stage as the video shows), which means that should I survive I am on a very good score pace. I would have had a good shot had I not taken a stupid death on the stage 4 boss. At that point I was so nervous from having a good run (one out of dozens of failed attempts) that I got careless.

Nevertheless I scored very well for my current routing/abilities! I think I will be able to pass 30 million if I beat stage 5. Granted, stage 5's boss is such a clusterfuck for shooting type. I really don't know what you are supposed to do to dodge its first phase's massive bullet vomit. I seem to survive it using shooting and leveling up only about 1/5th of the time. Furthermore, the fact that the world record for Shooting Type is 25 million points higher leads me to believe that the player must have been able to time out this boss, since it does a looooot of these huge spam attacks and each phase cycles through twice. What it would take to survive -and milk- all these attacks is something I haven't figured out.

In practice mode I have timed out the boss (pretty tough I must say), but the second phase is mostly more manageable than the first.

Shooting Type
EmperorIng & 25,529,200 & 370 & 5 & PS2 - PCSX2 & video

[EmperorIng]

Finally! Last night, after a series of runs in a usual practice session (limiting myself to 9 "credits"), I managed to beat the stage 5 boss and reach Gluon for the first time! I was pretty sure I wouldn't, and rewatching my footage I am sure I got lucky in a few places.

Things came together on this run despite a dumb death during stage 2 boss (the fucking bane of my runs) and a really stupid death on the stage 3 boss. Despite having very little resources from that point on I managed to bluff my way past the stage 5 boss. I admittedly played it overly safe and panic-bombed through its first phase and missed out on a lot of score, but I still managed to get on through to the other side. I didn't last too long against the tlb but it felt great to finally get there in a real run! I hope I can 1cc soon.

Shooting Type
EmperorIng & 31,188,700 & 432 & 6 & PS2 - PCSX2 & video

[third_strike]

Almost there!

[EmperorIng]

Bumping because all this time ago I forgot about maximo's score from the previous thread:

maximo - 13,540,700 - Shooting type- Lv.307 - Area 5 ALL - PS2

Got a scrub non tlb 1cc on my third credit while trying this out with keyboard on PCSX2. Not sure if OP is here anymore to update.

I got back to Gluon last night but choked right at the end. I had 28 million at the fight, 1cc'ing would have probably added at least 10 million on to that score. Maybe I will be 1cc'ing this soon...

I still want to record a PCSX2 clear but I've been frustrated by the slowness of the delay, there still is quite the difference between playing on my PS2 and playing on hardware (this time, using a brook wingman to use an actually decent hori controller for the game instead of the dualshock). Based on my score above, I know I could achieve a good score/clear with emulation but I figure right now I will go for the way that's a little 'easier.'

[EmperorIng]

IT FINALLY HAPPENED! Man I have been waiting for this moment for YEARS!

Shooting Type
EmperorIng & 40,501,000 & 469 & 6 ALL & PS2 & image



I've been steadily getting back to the swing of things and had managed to make it to Gluon multiple times this past week. At least twice in a row I no-missed until stage 5, and lost two of my three lives on stage 5 to dumb chokes... And wouldn't you know, I did the same thing today! But the difference here was I had not bombed until stage 5 boss, so I saved up at least 6 bombs for Gluon itself.

I wanted to go deeper into the milk, but (once again) TWO TIMES in a row I died and lost my credit to the same attack on the second phase. I wasn't about to risk that happening a third time so I played it safe, used bombs liberally, and milked where I could. I know I could have gotten much higher in score, and I'd love to get 50 million or more. With Gluon anything is possible (since the shooting type superplayer gets over 50 million on one boss fight alone).

Still I can't be too upset. This is a shmup bucket list clear for me, as one of the earliest bullet hells I really loved.

[EmperorIng]

I couldn't hold back!!!

I was so amped up on my accomplishment I thought to myself "can I do it again? and on emulator?"
And lo and behold, I got TWO 1cc's of the game in one day! And this one was even better!! Luckily, I recorded it, and now I can proudly post the first legit 'true all' replay of this game in over ten years! Just adding and breathing some new life into the game on youtube has been another one of my long-held goals. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7HU2v8Jqo4

Shooting Type
EmperorIng & 42,379,200 & 475 & 6 ALL & PS2 - PCSX2 & video

[copy-paster]

That is big puntos GG! Enjoy the new community record.

[EmperorIng]

finally, a spot on the list in a respectable game*. Now to wait for ggmaximo to steal the record from me when he gets interested in the game again.

*don't worry, I love you Kiki KaiKai/Sayo-chan.

[third_strike]

Well done

[EmperorIng]

Thanks a lot third_strike! It's been gratifying seeing a number of peeps congratulate me for the hard work.

I was on pb pace the other night for a big improvement but choked right at the end. I want to get at least 50 million as a good baseline score. That also means I beat the old arcadia 2004 world record

I was trying to replicate some grazing tricks the Buzz Type superplays and TAS run on youtube do with my Shooting Type but I just can't seem to pull off all the cool tricks. This maneuver might be impossible with Shooting, I tried multiple times. Maybe I need to set up savestates for each pattern and see if something can be worked out.

Mainly I was just curious how the world record gets an extra 17 million (123m) versus the 106m superplay. It has to largely come from a better gluon fight, but I know for a fact the superplayer probably loses out on a few million during the stage 5 boss as well.

[M.Knight]

Shooting Type
M.Knight - 20,626,100 - 358 - 5 ALL - PS2 - PCSX2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3IfOHhGovE

[EmperorIng]

Shooting Type
M.Knight - 20,626,100 - 358 - 5 ALL - PS2 - PCSX2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3IfOHhGovE

Wow, this was unexpected, and what a pleasant surprise to update this thread
I didn't know you were getting into the game lately! Maybe you'll go for the tlb clear too? You actually are already playing quite well.

That stage 1 death hurt, but these things happen to me during the boss fight all the time. There's actually a lot of RNG in the first two bosses, more than any of the other ones, which cause deaths. I chuckled as I saw you did not even waste time out of your life dealing with the stage 2 spider boss, bane of my existence. And the timing on stage 3 chaining the buzz levels is so tight, I almost always die there too (you made it out of that stage narrowly with your life, too lol). I can sympathize with you playing pretty cautious at that point. I think had you milked the stage 4 boss a bit you would have triggered the tlb.

That stage 5 boss though man, so incredibly hard if you try to score.

[M.Knight]

I started playing the game a bit here and there in the last few months yeah, but mostly pushed it only recently. And I definitely want to get to that Gluon fight and beat it too!
I milk boss 1 because I love the music and it's not too hard, but the others I thought I could get away with less milking or even speedkilling. I saw you struggle enough times on Boss2's nasty RNG to put it off for now, that's a good lesson for sure
Your boss 4 suggestion is spot-on because I watched the superplay run afterwards and learned about the neutrino gauge behavior during that opener sequence, and how one can get lots of level-ups on the big rings of bullets shot by that last set of blocks. I plan to use that to trigger the transformations I need and unlock the TLB.

[M.Knight]

Shooting Type
M.Knight - 29,986,000 - 358 - 6 - PS2 - PCSX2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TPLhqUEPlU

With more leveling-up I managed to get the TLB requirements! Didn't beat it but that's fine. Now it's time to learn how to properly score it

[EmperorIng]

Shooting Type
M.Knight - 29,986,000 - 358 - 6 - PS2 - PCSX2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TPLhqUEPlU

With more leveling-up I managed to get the TLB requirements! Didn't beat it but that's fine. Now it's time to learn how to properly score it

Very nicely done! If you keep this up you'll force me to jump back in and secure my top spot

I more or less figure on losing a death in stage 3 - the timing for going between all the enemies with Shooting Type is so strict that a mistake is bound to happen.

You can misdirect the first attack of the second phase of Gluon by spinning around it, which can leave you with a more open screen to get ready for that flower spiral pattern. In that case it's best to be closer to the boss so you can more easily weave between the lines.

You're almost there!

[M.Knight]

Thanks! If I pull off everything I want to pull off, there might be a chance of beating your score...but it's easier said than done I started practicing Gluon and it's quite tight, but pretty fun. Thanks as well for the phase 2 tips, they will definitely be used in my runs.

For stage 3 I really need to find a consistent way to tackle the part where two red neutrino orbs appear together which is where my current route tends to coin-flip on death or narrow escape. It's indeed super tight. There has to be better ways of handling it than whatever risky thing I am doing...at least I hope so

[M.Knight]

Ah I noticed I had a copy-paste oversight on the 29.9mil score's Buzz level when submitting. It should be 456 instead!

[M.Knight]

Shooting Type
M.Knight - 81,108,800 - 489 - 6 ALL - PS2 - PCSX2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S93FqSk6yXs

And there we go! The results of a few weeks of making strats, practicing and grinding : a nice 80+ mil score
I wanted to get it before the end of the year but didn't manage to do it, thankfully it didn't take too long to nail it now.

[EmperorIng]

Incredible achievement, that's all I can possibly say! I am really glad you made a video too It must have driven you crazy to die to the easiest attack during Graviton, lol. But as you so eloquently put it, it's not lives that matter, it's bomb stock!

I didn't realize you were working so hard on the gluon fight, I loved reading the doc that you made, especially the bit about learning to play with the boss health on the top of screen. My clear I was a little too spooked and low on resources to go all the way like you did, but man does it pay off!

[M.Knight]

Thank you and glad the TLB notes were a fun read!
Yeah the Graviton death was WTF-tier but thankfully even the score loss was neglectible. Failing or dying to the final blocks on the boss' intro is the one thing that can cost you a bunch in this stage (It's probably the most costly mistake I could do in the entire pre-Gluon part of my route), but right near the end of the fight is sorta fine.

I indeed kinda kept quiet about how far I was going to push Gluon since I was curious to see you guys' surprise at the big score at the end haha. Yeah I definitely spent some time on it. In your own clear, it totally makes sense that you played a bit conservatively since AFAIK it was the first time you were recording a TLB clear of the game and you were eventually down to your last life. With that milestone achieved and that run recorded, you are now free to try riskier strats even if they end up dying.

[EmperorIng]

I indeed kinda kept quiet about how far I was going to push Gluon since I was curious to see you guys' surprise at the big score at the end haha.

I do want to mention, even if it's a few days later, that the first time I saw that 80m score my eyes bugged out for just a split second

[M.Knight]

Hahaha, that's awesome
Hopefully in the future it'll be your turn to post a score that makes us go

[third_strike]

Shooting Type
M.Knight - 81,108,800 - 489 - 6 ALL - PS2 - PCSX2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S93FqSk6yXs

And there we go! The results of a few weeks of making strats, practicing and grinding : a nice 80+ mil score
I wanted to get it before the end of the year but didn't manage to do it, thankfully it didn't take too long to nail it now.

This was a big leap

[M.Knight]

Thank you!
Yeah the Buzz bonus on the TLB is such a big source of points, and I have no doubt your own high Buzz score benefited from such a boost too.
In my case, I first had runs go from ~30mil to ~70mil so already a big jump, but with further optimizations for 10 more mil, the jump looks even bigger for sure

[M.Knight]

Buzz Type
M.Knight - 167,312,500 - 739 - 6 ALL - PS2 - PCSX2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caekc9CDseg

Time to also get on top of the Buzz Type leaderboard now Something I was envisionning even shortly after beating the Kei top scores, but I only recently put serious effort into it. I was grinding this for maybe a month or so, and knew I could get above the current top spot. My goal was 160mil and I blew past it. Pretty cool!

[EmperorIng]

Simply astounding! You are the master of this game now man!
You probably could have gotten another 5-8 million from milking all the other bosses plus killing the stage 1 boss, but this is a really great run.

[M.Knight]

Thank you! Now the only competition ahead would be getting closer to the crazy WRs haha. I doubt I would go there but there's plenty of room for improvement indeed.
The Buzz type superplay gets to Gluon with ~75 mil points in store, so it's possible to get even more than 5/8 mil from supergraze milks and optimizations in the pre-TLB part of the game. But it's gotta be kinda nuts pulling all that off.