Yuzo Koshiro is making new MD shmup.

[Steven]

Is that close enough to 3000 for me to say I was basically right? Not that it really matters, but...

[Sumez]

This is a Mega Drive game, so normally there's no way it would support 90FPS, but if Bitwave is indeed doing the emulation or whatever, they made the Toaplan games' emulator somehow support infinite refresh rates, so theoretically it could be done here too. We'll find out in six days, of course. Hopefully they didn't wreck the audio on this and then never fully fix it like they did for the Toaplan games.

??

What do you want +60 FPS for? Do you want to run the game at 150% speed?

[Steven]

Lower input lag and better compatibility with monitors that have refresh rates that are not even multiples of 60. The Bitwave Toaplan games don't run faster at 90FPS than they do at 60.

[Sumez]

They can do input handling at 500hz if they want to and have the CPU power to do so. It doesn't need to follow the actual display frame rate, so it has nothing to do with input lag.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The Steam port of Earthion will be available at 7:00am PST to purchase today, 7-31-2025 -- get ready for it.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Faith]

The Steam port of Earthion will be available at 7:00am PST to purchase today, 7-31-2025 -- get ready for it.

Ready for new contribution to Dick Stock thread :p

Will be very disappointed if not >.<!~

Trailer says "strap in" :p

[SuperDeadite]

Gonna hold out for the MD version myself.

[Steven]

let's delete this post, actually

[FunktionJCB]

The game is out on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3597580/Earthion/

And the soundtrack is out on bandcamp:

https://bravewave.bandcamp.com/album/ea ... soundtrack

[Steven]

Okay, I give up with the MD Mini controller. M30 2.4g for real MD/Genesis is what I am using now. The control mapping within the emulator doesn't save, so I can't actually use the controls that I want. God damn you Bitwave.

Well, enough of this frustration. I decided that talking about the ROM is probably not a good idea since this is a new game and all of that, but all that matters is that it doesn't work on a real MD. Since this doesn't work on a real MD and I can't use any of my MD controllers, I'm out until Bitwave fixes controller mapping in the emulator. The ROM itself displays Xbox controller buttons in its configuration menu, which is weird. Maybe I'll try a PS5 controller to see if that changes it, but I seriously doubt it would.

You know what? Fuck it. Refunded. Someone please let me know when they fix this or the Japanese MD cartridge is available to buy, as the Japanese MD cartridge is the only version that I actually care about.

[Skykid]

Okay, I give up with the MD Mini controller. M30 2.4g for real MD/Genesis is what I am using now. The control mapping within the emulator doesn't save, so I can't actually use the controls that I want. God damn you Bitwave.

Well, enough of this frustration. I decided that talking about the ROM is probably not a good idea since this is a new game and all of that, but all that matters is that it doesn't work on a real MD. Since this doesn't work on a real MD and I can't use any of my MD controllers, I'm out until Bitwave fixes controller mapping in the emulator. The ROM itself displays Xbox controller buttons in its configuration menu, which is weird. Maybe I'll try a PS5 controller to see if that changes it, but I seriously doubt it would.

You know what? Fuck it. Refunded. Someone please let me know when they fix this or the Japanese MD cartridge is available to buy, as the Japanese MD cartridge is the only version that I actually care about.

Wait. How can you have a ROM of this already? The MD version isn't out until next year. Or can it be extracted from the Steam DL?

The Steam version is fine except for a few startup issues they should have ironed out. The default screen filter is ridiculous for first timers think it's meant to be that way, you can't see shit. It also seemingly defaulted to hard within the option screen without me realising, and choosing normal when you actually start the game seems to have no effect. The controls were also drifting all over the place with a bluetooth controller, and I had to switch from steam input to raw input to stop it, and then in raw input the bluetooth controller kept disconnecting and stopping the game. Currently I'm on screen filter pixel, controller raw input (using select button menu), difficulty: normal (from within options screen) and using wired USB and all seems ok!

Nice game so far!

[xEbb1993x]

I'll just wait until the game hits consoles in September. And I'll download it on Christmas.

[Firehawke]

There's almost certainly a ROM inside of the Steam packaging, but it's definitely going to be in a compressed and/or encrypted form along with other UI/emulator data-- you can't just grab the .bin file and feed it to an emulator any more than you can feed the encrypted ZIP that Mega Man Legacy Collection uses to store content. I'm pretty sure tools will be available for yanking the ROM data out of the package within a month, though.

[jd213]

Okay, I give up with the MD Mini controller. M30 2.4g for real MD/Genesis is what I am using now. The control mapping within the emulator doesn't save, so I can't actually use the controls that I want. God damn you Bitwave.

Yeah, I dunno why but the MD Mini controller just doesn't work with some PC games, including some fan games.

[FunktionJCB]

I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Also, in case anyone missed it, if you press the menu button on the controller it takes you to various settings, which also has an extras section, where the leaderboards are, plus a playable early prototype of the game, and three 2024 demos (I assume for various events/conventions).

[Steven]

Okay, I give up with the MD Mini controller. M30 2.4g for real MD/Genesis is what I am using now. The control mapping within the emulator doesn't save, so I can't actually use the controls that I want. God damn you Bitwave.

Yeah, I dunno why but the MD Mini controller just doesn't work with some PC games, including some fan games.

95% sure it uses D-input instead of X-input, which is why.

[Wooph]

I've completed a first run of the game with the help of the password system that allows you to carry over upgrades to the next playthrough. The game's design seems pretty solid, but it has serious visibility problems due to the very detailed backgrounds. They could probably tone down the contrast of background elements to separate them more cleanly from the action.

[Wanesska]

Hey guys, I wanted to chime in on my thoughts on Earthion and get a feeling on what you guys are thinking.

I know it's early... But im very conflicted. So I'll list what I consider the good and the bad, in my opinion.

The Good: The visuals are absolutely wonderful, the music is super good as expected from Koshiro.

The Bad: The overlay UI is awful, I use DInput so defaulting to Steam Input EVERY SINGLE TIME I OPEN is super annoying, bullet visibility is trash (probably just a me thing), I hate the shields because to me it just feels like they included shields so they wouldn't have to edit or clean up bullet patterns, I REALLY dislike the Upgrade Pod thingy (honestly upgrades in general in Shmups have to be done REALLY well for them to sit right with me), I find the weapons to be underwhelming...

I dunno, this is just from about 4 hours or so with it. I REALLY wanna like it... I mean it's got my favorite things in it: a female protagonist, fucking SPACE SHIPS, Yuzo Koshiro music, and 2d pixel graphics... And while I do prefer vertical to horizontal, some of my favorites are Yoko (R-Type Delta, Gate of Thunder, Thunderforce 4 and 5), so it's not a huge deal to me...

Something just feels off. Like the parts are really great, but altogether it's not coming through right. I can't really find another way to say it... When I'm playing it, it just doesn't feel right.

Anyways, what do you guys think? Enjoying it so far? Let me know!

[BEAMLORD]

Visibility is certainly a bit of a problem. I've been playing on normal, and the screen is busy as hell.

Also, I feel kind of unsure of how to play it, or of how the devs intended it to be played. Are you meant to just tank hits? You can extend your shield bar 5 or 6 times, and it auto re-fills very quickly on taking hits. Your shot powers down when taking hits too, but can very quickly be built back up as there are often a ton of green power-up gems floating on screen at any given time. Enemies and bullets fill the screen and come at you fast, laser-type shots particularly fly at you at lightspeed. Cannon/turret type hazards often have no wind-up, and go off in your face. Can't help but think you are just supposed to tank the hits and manage your shield.

Early days, though, and still having fun. Soundtrack is, of course, superb. The kind of ST most modern STGs aim for but can only dream of replicating.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The day that the MD/Genesis boxed set of Earthion is released, it'll be well worth the wait for it -- showcasing what the aging MD/Genesis hardware can do nowadays in the hands of a talented and capable game developer team. Suppose if Earthion was released during the waning years of the MD's lifespan, it certainly would've sold like hotcakes indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[LDigital]

I have the decrypted rom working on my Everdrive Pro right now. I will play it later.

I paid for the steam release and I have the Switch version on preorder. I will still get the official 16Bit release when it comes out

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I have the decrypted rom working on my Everdrive Pro right now. I will play it later.

I paid for the steam release and I have the Switch version on preorder. I will still get the official 16Bit release when it comes out

For LDigital,

----------
Yes, we'd like to hear your initial impressions of Earthion running on real MD/Genesis hardware.

And does it play much better with a dedicated Sega MD/Genesis based arcade stick setup?

It's well-known that the Japanese MD Arcade Stick uses microswitches with the joystick itself (whereas with the USA region Sega Genesis Arcade Power Stick setup, it uses rubber contact filaments to register joystick inputs at best akin to like that found on a typical Genesis 3-button endowed gamepad setup -- it still works like a charm nevertheless).

It's possible & doable to run/play Earthion on a candy cab setup with a MD/Genesis console (aside from the upcoming Earthion Exa arcade-only release) + Euro Scart cable with C-Sync fed into a JammaIZER "Scart to Jamma" setup and you're good to go in that respective department. Easy as pie.
----------

Downloading the Steam port of Earthion is a mere 26.8mb sized d/l and is priced at $19.99 usd (which is quite reasonable in this day of age). Earthion runs flawlessly on a Steam Deck setup, especially the 1st-gen LCD-based one, with a scanline filter already applied from the get-go. Earthion has the 3-button control scheme layout, so using the classic Sega MD/Genesis stylized gamepad would equally fit "like a well-honed & broken-in baseball glove" as expected.

I'm not sure what the default resolution that the Steam version of Earthion is running at and no Proton auto-booter is necessary to get it up & running as usual (which is a positive plus in my book).

As it is, Earthion is quite an ambitious modern-day MD/Genesis stg title on "bulked up on steroids" and it shows through it's super detailed foreground & background scenery galore. Wow, color me impressed as Ancient has delivered an "impressive homerun knockout outta the stadium" indeed!

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Stevens]

Visibility is certainly a bit of a problem. I've been playing on normal, and the screen is busy as hell.

Also, I feel kind of unsure of how to play it, or of how the devs intended it to be played. Are you meant to just tank hits? You can extend your shield bar 5 or 6 times, and it auto re-fills very quickly on taking hits. Your shot powers down when taking hits too, but can very quickly be built back up as there are often a ton of green power-up gems floating on screen at any given time. Enemies and bullets fill the screen and come at you fast, laser-type shots particularly fly at you at lightspeed. Cannon/turret type hazards often have no wind-up, and go off in your face. Can't help but think you are just supposed to tank the hits and manage your shield.

Early days, though, and still having fun. Soundtrack is, of course, superb. The kind of ST most modern STGs aim for but can only dream of replicating.

I've completed a first run of the game with the help of the password system that allows you to carry over upgrades to the next playthrough. The game's design seems pretty solid, but it has serious visibility problems due to the very detailed backgrounds. They could probably tone down the contrast of background elements to separate them more cleanly from the action.

I'll echo the visibility issue. I got around it on stage 2 by turning the gamma up to like 100 or 120.

[BEAMLORD]

I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Also, in case anyone missed it, if you press the menu button on the controller it takes you to various settings, which also has an extras section, where the leaderboards are, plus a playable early prototype of the game, and three 2024 demos (I assume for various events/conventions).

Hah, didn't realise there were leaderboards. Most welcome. Was quite a thrill to see my name in the top 100 (on eazy modo ). No surprise to see iconoclast and Jaimers in Normal mode's top 10 already, with iconoclast sitting pretty in top spot. No idea how scoring works yet, btw.

[spmbx]

I must say it really is pretty positive they postponed the megadrive release, if they want to they could adjust the visibility issue still before the carts get produced.

[Stevens]

I must say it really is pretty positive they postponed the megadrive release, if they want to they could adjust the visibility issue still before the carts get produced.

I'm not buying the cart, but I would be pleased with this if I was considering it.

Was I the only one who spent ten minutes under video options before playing their first credit?

[CIT]

Been spending some time with this, and basically I agree with most of the sentiments shared here. Unfortunately, Earthion suffers from the same problems many shooters with health bars have. The game really pushes the MD to its limits, hurling as much shit as possible at the player and it looks very impressive. However, this immense onslaught also makes the game very hectic and messy, which is then balanced out with a recharging health bar. In some sections, it's simply a matter of tanking through and accepting that you will take some damage (with the added annoyance of a power-down on getting hit. So basically, it's a bit of a euroshmup. I prefer something cleaner and with the risk of a one-hit kill.
Furthermore, I don't think the weapons in the game are all that cool. I actually get by best with the standard spray shot and laser. Tbh, I don't understand how some weapons (like that crosshair thingy) are even supposed to be used.
I'm still enjoying Earthion, but in terms of gameplay, it doesn't beat 16-bit classics like Thunderforce IV, Gate of Thunder, or R-Type III in my opinion.
Audiovisually it's a real treat though, and I love the variety of enemies and stages. Crazy that only two people made this.

[StoneofTriumph]

Hah, didn't realise there were leaderboards. Most welcome. Was quite a thrill to see my name in the top 100 (on eazy modo ). No surprise to see iconoclast and Jaimers in Normal mode's top 10 already, with iconoclast sitting pretty in top spot. No idea how scoring works yet, btw.

There's nothing fancy when it comes to scoring- It's like many other Genesis/Mega Drive shmups in that it consists entirely of shoot thing = get point.

However, there are more things that can be shot than one might initially expect. Even smaller enemies can throw off debris when destroyed, and this debris is in and of itself destructible. And these debris pieces give way more points than you might initially expect- when it comes to some of the smaller enemies they may be worth as much or more points than destroying the enemy itself, so there are substantial rewards for pilots who clean up after themselves. Those green powerups also add to score.

The end of game score bonus doesn't depend on anything out of the ordinary- Lives remaining, difficulty, damages taken, powerups picked up, whether you used a password, that kind of thing, but you've seen that screen already.

[Shatterhand]

I am really sad they didn't respect regional prices for the Steam release. The game is very overpriced all over LATAM (and quite frankly, neary everywhere except USA, UK and the Euro region). Here in Brazil the game costs R$ 110, when with regional pricing it was supposed to be R$ 60. It's a very steep price for a shmup. I'd be okay with R$ 60, but R$ 110 is like 85% more expensive.

Now.... I am really curious of how this board will deal with a Japanese game having patterns you are supposed to tank with your energy bar. How ironic.

[Firehawke]

My opinion so far, having only done one run through, is that it's probably not quite GOTY material but it's definitely high up the list. Unlike most Euroshmups, it doesn't feel like taking damage is forced for the most part and your weapons never feel pathetically weak.

If I were grading it off the one run, I'd probably give it a B+ or A- as of right now. How I feel after 10, 50, or 100 runs is where I really make my lasting grade of the game. Will it still be fun, fresh, and interesting at the level of Gradius Gaiden, Einhander, or even R-Type FInal 2?

We'll see.