M2 Toaplan collection

[samspot]

I’ve been getting everything physical but I’m tempted to buy to help encourage English releases. TBH I wasn’t sure I really wanted this one. But I am greatly enjoying Hizhosame. Got to the last checkpoint last night on one credit. Almost there!

[MJR]

I've actually somewhat started to enjoy Batsugun more recently thanks to the Bitwave PC version, ironically one of the only games they didn't completely ruin. Turns out that not having a super laggy version of the game makes it better and more fun to play! That said, I still definitely consider it to be on the weaker side for Toaplan. I've also started to really enjoy Hellfire 1P as well and everyone hates that game for some reason even though it's good, so who knows.

Hates? What? I always thought that Hellfire was one of the most loved Toaplan coinops. It may be slight bias on my side since I've been loving it on megadrive and arcade since day one, and I remember the megadrive version getting top reviews from the press back in the day. Anyway, it is one of the best for me.

[ryu]

I only played one credit of Hellfire and thought the game was kinda trash.

Will give it more time and a better chance when I get to it in a few months.

[Steven]

See what I mean? I am under the impression that Hellfire is considered one of the worst Toaplan STGs, probably along with Daisenpuu and Zero Wing.

My pick for worst is actually a semi-cheating answer: Kyuukyoku Tiger II.

[Sumez]

I often see Hellfire name-dropped among people's favorite megadrive shooters. The arcade version seems much less loved.
I think it's mostly a question of it not really managing to stand out among the truly great Toaplan games

[BIL]

Always loved Hellfire, it and Twin Cobra were my go-tos on Genesis. (of course, Gen "Twin Cobra" is the MD Kyuukyoku Tiger through and through; 1P with checkpoints). I don't know if I'd twigged they were by the same people, but I instinctively filed 'em in the same drawer. The Hard Stuff.

Loved seeing the AC one finally get a definitive home translation. I've kinda retired the MD one now, though I'll always treasure it. I like its wider attack options, but visibility is as vital as input latency to me, and its vertical panning rankles slightly after lots of AC time.

Also, while I prefer KT's more aggressive MD OST, Hellfire's PCB sound has a stately aspect, lost in the MD's nevertheless admirable effort. The crystalline, strum-friendly chords on "Inside Drive" makes me picture Uemura onstage at woodstock. Then that melodica lead over galloping bass makes me think of Blue Monday and Your Silent Face at the same time.

[Bassa-Bassa]

I think it's mostly a question of it having competent visuals for a MD game, but remarkably dull for an arcade game. Quite surely if it had got R-Type II-like graphics (to name a contemporary one), it'd be one of the most loved and respected horizontals today.

[Arino]

https://www.reddit.com/r/shmups/comment ... /#lightbox

https://toucharcade.com/2024/06/11/m2-s ... rius-hd-2/

[ryu]

Do the bosses in arcade mode of Kyuukyoku Tiger have more health than they do in arcade challenge mode?

[Steven]

I believe KyuuTai boss HP is based on rank, which is based partially on how powered up you are. The effect of rank on bosses is really easy to see with the stage 7 boss, which shoots way more if you are powered up. Unsure about how bomb stock affects rank, or if it does at all.

[ryu]

It's just that point-blanking bosses seems to work much more reliably in arcade challenge mode than in real runs for some reason. I'd expect the rank in arcade challenge to be the same however. Strange.

[Arino]

It's just that point-blanking bosses seems to work much more reliably in arcade challenge mode than in real runs for some reason. I'd expect the rank in arcade challenge to be the same however. Strange.

Is arcade challenge like get the highest score for each stage?

[ryu]

It's just that point-blanking bosses seems to work much more reliably in arcade challenge mode than in real runs for some reason. I'd expect the rank in arcade challenge to be the same however. Strange.

Is arcade challenge like get the highest score for each stage?

It's the practice mode

[Arino]

lol what a name for the practice mode

[cfx]

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[Arino]

The game M2 is making for Compile Heart has been delayed a full year from Summer 2024 to Summer 2025. So M2 must be working on something, whether it's another Toaplan Arcade Garage, or Aleste Branch, or something else unannounced.

I knew that game likely wasn't coming this summer with no release date or further info from the initial announcement, but I was surprised it's delayed a full year.
https://www.gematsu.com/2024/07/todoker ... 5-in-japan

Then nothing again until Christmas where they will tell us: "Thank you for waiting, we finally finished the port of Night Striker!!!"

[hamfighterx]

The game M2 is making for Compile Heart has been delayed a full year from Summer 2024 to Summer 2025. So M2 must be working on something, whether it's another Toaplan Arcade Garage, or Aleste Branch, or something else unannounced.

As recently as last month, Horii has said Aleste Branch is "now nearly complete" (source). From a Toaplan perspective, it also seems inconceivable that they aren't working on Out Zone (probably to pair with Fixeight) and Tatsujin Oh (probably for a Tatsujin+Oh pack) - since they showed those games at TGS last year, with ShotTriggers logos on their demo displays and everything (https://twitter.com/M2_game/status/1705084124200067218). And knowing M2, very likely they're working on other unannounced commissioned work.

The patient wait continues. We're about to hit the one year anniversary of the last Toaplan Arcade Garage release (Zero Fire was July 20, 2023).

[Jonpachi]

The Embracer Group scandal could be part of this too, as they own Tatsujin, and thus the rights to Toaplan's catalogue.

[cfx]

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[TransatlanticFoe]

Evercade has a Toaplan release towards the end of year, so I doubt the IP is in limbo.

[cfx]

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[hamfighterx]

Embracer acquired the Toaplan IP back in August 2022 (and a separate transaction at or around the same time for Tatsujin the developer): source. Since then, we have already seen one M2 Toaplan release nearly a year later (Zero Fire), and M2 showed more Toaplan games at TGS 2023 in September. - which they surely wouldn't have done had they lost the rights to the games. After the Embracer acquistion, Toaplan games have also shown up in the (non-Embracer) Taito Egret II Mini Vol. 1 expansion card in December 2022 (Slap Fight), Vol. 2 in December 2023 (Wardner), and the above mentioned Evercade Toaplan releases. All of that points to no IP-related issues.

This wouldn't be the first time M2 has taken more than a year to release a new Toaplan game. Just going back to the previous Toaplan release, it took them ~15 months between volume 2 (Hishou Same! Same! Same!, released in late April 2022) and volume 3 (Zero Fire, in late July 2023). And that was with no other ShotTriggers game released in between, whereas this time we did get Daioujou in December 2023. M2 are actually still more or less aligned with their previous ShotTriggers release frequency, even if it is a little more unusual for them to go this long without having any official announcement of their next game.

The Embracer Group scandal could be part of this too, as they own Tatsujin, and thus the rights to Toaplan's catalogue.

Typically the way this would work is that M2 would have already had the original license contract in place with the IP owner (Tatsujin, at the time), and in the event either party is acquired, the contract (and all of the rights and obligations in it) would be assigned to the new owner. The common exception would be that sometimes the party that is not being acquired may need to provide consent for to the other side to assign the contract, with a possible right to terminate the contract if they don't consent - but in this case, M2 would seemingly have little to no incentive to do that.

Doesn't that depend on when the deal was made? Maybe Evercade licensed the games years ago.

M2 also licensed (the majority of) the Toaplan catalog years ago, they announced that in December 2019.

[cfx]

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[hamfighterx]

While this is purely speculation, one possible reason M2 might be dragging their heels on an announcement (and which might also impact release date timing): if the next release is coming to Nintendo’s new system, M2 may want until that system is revealed to talk about their game releasing on it.

[Bassa-Bassa]

Or maybe they just never met expectations and the Bitwave and City Connection releases killed any feel of hurry they could still hold. And hopefully it's only that.

[pablumatic]

My (bad) theory is that M2 is waiting on Tatsujin's Truxton Extreme to get a release date before they announce the next likely Truxton-centric ShotTriggers. Not wanting to step on anybody's toes or flood the market with too much Truxton.

[beer gas canister]

While this is purely speculation, one possible reason M2 might be dragging their heels on an announcement (and which might also impact release date timing): if the next release is coming to Nintendo’s new system, M2 may want until that system is revealed to talk about their game releasing on it.

I think this very possible, given M2's comments regarding the limitations of 8th gen consoles. They're already performing miracles to get PGM games running like they do. M2 may have a Switch 2 dev kit in house by now, so it's plausible that they're working within the basic specs at least.

[Jonpachi]

They gave us Rayz in between that gap too, which may as well have been called Taito Arcade Garage 2 (Darius being vol 1) if they were keeping the same naming conventions.

[Sumez]

Come on, you don't need a super computer to emulate Out Zone and Tatsujin

[cfx]

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