my ability to fabricate...

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 6:44 pm

I just got Psyvariar 2 and I'm pretty shocked. It looks great, I wasn't expecting to look this good and have such a play mechanic. It's like crack. I keep playing it and sucking. But I can't stop trying to "get" it. I've seen vids of folks just "buzzing" the whole thing it seems like they can almost stay invincible.

I need some help or advice. Is there a mechanic to the controls that I'm not grasping? Do the color of the bullets effect anything or is it just the color of your level bar at the top that I need to be concerned with? I don't see how folks make their levels increase so rapidly in those vids.

Or is it that I'm just watching someone who is freakishly good at the game and i shouldn't expect that kind of preformance when starting off?

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:11 pm

Point Blank Buzz:
This is a major gameplay change over Psyvariar Revision - now you get a massive Neutrino boost if you Buzz an attack at point blank. The Neutrino gauge doesnt even have to be near maxed - it can be done nearly anywhere. The first good place to do it is stage 0 boss, you see the red orbs it fires? On green or blue Neutrino you can roll in the boss' face at point blank and level up multiple times as the shots all hit you at once. The rule of point blank is that if done right you get a shield as soon as the shots contact your field so you are in no risk or death.

This part I'm not sure I follow... it sounds like you can eat bullets? I'm guessing only when your shield is up?

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:17 pm

It sounds to me that if you're willing to take the risk of sitting right in front of an enemy, when it shoots you your gauge goes up a lot faster, granting you near-immediate invincibility. I'm no expert on the game, though, someone else should probably follow up...

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 9:25 pm

Essentially, you're invulnerable for a moment when you level up. So you want to time it so that you level up just when you're near a high density salvo of enemy fire, then use your moment of invulnerability to pass through the bullets, thus gaining another level and another brief shield. Once you start learning the enemy attack patterns, you can create a levelling chain where you're almost constantly invulnerable. Of course, that's easier said than done

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 9:35 pm

Bullet color matters. IIRC, blue (and then green?) raises the meter the quickest. And during the boss bullets barely increases the meter so it's basically all scraping.

Post by **nZero** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:15 am

Neutrino gauge bar color matters as well. When it's blue, buzzing even a few bullets is worth a level or two, when it's red, a swarm will barely move the bar. That's why levelling up during boss fights is so difficult, why you want to leave the blue orbs on screen while eliminating the rust-colored orbs, and why it's useful to cap the stage 0 boss a couple of times before buzzing the hell out of his patterns.

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 1:45 am

Damn, damn, damn. I regret selling my Dreamcast copy. I miss buzzing alot.

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 3:29 am

This is one of those games you almost have to have tate for. The later boss patterns are damned hard to navigate/scrape through unless you are tated - not enough pixels show up.

This is what stops me from really enjoying the game (that and a good joystick - I hate the tekken stick).

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:15 pm

I've got the concept now, usually a couple of times a stage i can ride a string of bullets. Its so much fun when you do it that I die alot b/c I'm constantly tempting fate..... It's addictive though. I imagine having the roll button in the PS2 version would make it much easier.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:25 pm

I haven`t played Psy2, but I had Psyvariar Medium Unit/Revision some time ago, and one thing I really hated about it is a missing hitbox display - the ship changes its appearence to very confusing shapes, which makes it even harder to get used to. But I also had to play it on a incredibly small and cheap TV, even in TATE everything was ridiculously small and blurry, so I agree with Landshark here - this game requires a big and good display.

From what I have seen, Psyvariar 2 seems to be miles ahead of Psy1 in every respect (kinda like that quality boost from Shikigami 1 to 2).

rib · Post by **rib** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:37 pm

even when tated its hard like hell to navigate trough later boss patterns.
never enjoyed buzzing in this game its really something you love or hate.
im the latter.

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 11:14 pm

Strider77 wrote:I've got the concept now, usually a couple of times a stage i can ride a string of bullets. Its so much fun when you do it that I die alot b/c I'm constantly tempting fate..... It's addictive though. I imagine having the roll button in the PS2 version would make it much easier.

I've got the PS2 versions of all the Psyvariar games. Since I've never had to manually roll, I've just got into the habit of rolling near constantly (especially in Psy2 where there's no noticeable speed drop). Is there any advantage to not rolling in places?

FrederikJurk wrote:I haven`t played Psy2, but I had Psyvariar Medium Unit/Revision some time ago, and one thing I really hated about it is a missing hitbox display - the ship changes its appearence to very confusing shapes, which makes it even harder to get used to.

The silhouette of Psy2's robots doesn't change much, unlike the crazy shapes of Medium Unit. The PS2 version has the buzzbox highlighted by default, and I'm pretty sure there's an option to show the hitbox too. In fact, Psy2 has a surprising number of options for customising the HUD.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:01 am

Daigohji wrote:Is there any advantage to not rolling in places?

If you watched the superplay DVD that came with your PS2 version, you'll see the player does it from time to time, like when you need a quick way to raise your neutrino gauge to a certain level or a small amount, e.g. get your gauge to 95% just before the next huge bullet spray begins so that you can be invincible when the first bullet comes out. You won't do much damage to the boss either if you hit it with the diagonally moving shots, so the boss stays alive longer for milking etc.

In fact, one of the PS2 missions is to do this.

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:47 am

I'm surprised I haven't heard more talk on this game. It's really different and addictive. I'm not good at it yet but the games makes want to be good at it so bad. I maybe wouldn't have fealt the same way if I hadn't seen the vids for it. They make it look so easy.... are those vids something I shouldn't expect to reach unless I devote a small portion of my life to this game??

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:33 am

One of these days I need to bring this one back out and give it another shot. Most of my problems with it when I intially got it were due to the Creamcast pad, and maybe having an Agetec stick can take care of that...

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:03 am

i actually have an easier time with the DC pad than the arcade stick..

it's a poor musician that blames his instrument....

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:21 am

J-Manic wrote:Damn, damn, damn. I regret selling my Dreamcast copy. I miss buzzing alot.

The PS2 version has the "roll" function mapped to the L/R triggers. Finally, no more cheap deaths by running into a bullet because you were merely trying to keep yourself rolling.

Note: To hell with any "BUT THAT'S CHEATING, THE ARCADE VERSION DIDN'T HAVE A ROLL BUTTON!" remarks. This game is fucking hard, and a roll button is much welcome to the Psyvariar-impaired. :/

Bingo · Post by **Bingo** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:50 am

Hell yeah, I want a roll button now! Never knew the PS2 had that option, blech.

I completely agree with the "this game makes me want to be good at it" sentiment, that's how it is for me. On the DC/Arcade though, keeping your eyes on the neutrino gauge while wiggling the stick to keep rolling poses, in combination, a pretty high initial obstacle. It's just really fucking hard to get the hang of it. A roll button would be a blessing just to take some of that initial overload off the player. Not to mention the strain on the fingers/hands and hardware: Psy 2 is spheric trance music accompanied by the frenzied clicking of microswitches and the occasional repetitive motion injury. But it's damn addictive.

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:07 pm

Strider77 wrote:I'm surprised I haven't heard more talk on this game.

I think it's because there's a fair number of people on this board that think the game is godawful. I've seen a lot of people comment about how much they hate this game.

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:16 pm

Really? Whats the major reason it's hated on?

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:26 pm

Some have "misunderstood" it because you pretty much need to play it for score to get any real enjoyment out of it...if you just pick the shooting type and blast everything, you'll be finished with the thing in a half hour (though it won't let you into the final stage). You need to play in a somewhat unorthodox manner, by limiting your shooting and focusing on buzzing, which puts some "traditionalists" (for lack of a better word) off.

As with any other shmup, it's not for everyone. Though I'm not sure I'd agree that it's almost universally hated here.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:41 pm

And is Success Corp. & Skonec planning a 3rd sequel of "Psyvariar 3" for the Japanese arcades?

Or is it just going to be Psyvariar Medium Unit, Psyvariar Revision & Psyvariar 2; The Will to Fabricate shmup titles as the only Psyvariar games to be released?

Could the "Buzz" gameplay mechanics be improved upon after the release of "Psyvariar 2: TWTF" shmup title?

The Psyvariar storyline seems not to make sense after the first two PsyMu & Psy-R shmup titles...Psy-2 seems to take place in the far future after the events that take place in the PsyMu & Psy-R games.

Anyone care to write a complete Psyvariar storyline chronology for us to digest? (Success Corp. & Skonec forgot to write what happens to the Psyvariar 2 pilots during the "aftermath" as with the first two Psyvariar games...what the hell happened then?)

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:58 pm

I finally started getting to the C versions of the stages tonight. Once I got to 1-C it was pretty easy to hit the level requirements up to stage 4, thanks to the vastly increased number of bullets per stage. Didn't beat my personal best on that run though -_-'

With all this renewed interest in the game, is there any chance that the high score thread will start being maintained again?

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:59 pm

The second game has little to do with the first game, it seems.

oxtsu · Post by **oxtsu** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:39 am

Twiddle wrote:The second game has little to do with the first game, it seems.

As far as who was in charge? Psy 2 had a lot of staff from Skonec for sub-program and graphics. The overall production and main program was handled by the creative force behind Medium + Revision, ORE808 aka Takashi Egawano (Success). Most of the soundtrack and sound effects were done by WASi303 (same as M+R).

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 1:47 am

oxtsu wrote:
Twiddle wrote:The second game has little to do with the first game, it seems.
As far as who was in charge? Psy 2 had a lot of staff from Skonec for sub-program and graphics. The overall production and main program was handled by the creative force behind Medium + Revision, ORE808 aka Takashi Egawano (Success). Most of the soundtrack and sound effects were done by WASi303 (same as M+R).

Story-wise, I mean.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:05 pm

What I really give the psyvariar games credit for is acknowledging in their gameplay the huge discrepancy in player skill. That is, anyone with even very slight skill (such as myself) is probably capable of beating it with a little practice, but that the game does encourage improvement to enter new areas and earn more points.

Unfortunately, I am not inlove with the rest of the gameplay, but this single aspect has always inspired me, and when I played ESPgaluda, I actually thought--'hey, this is like psyvariar' (because it allowed you to use your slowdown for survival OR points, and ranked up or down accordingly.

This is an innovation I'd like to see used elsewhere -- not absolutely spanking the novice, but also rising to the challenge of the highly skilled player. Rank alone rarely seems to accomplish this...

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:59 am

CMoon wrote:This is an innovation I'd like to see used elsewhere -- not absolutely spanking the novice, but also rising to the challenge of the highly skilled player. Rank alone rarely seems to accomplish this...

THE has tier-based rank that is affected solely by score.

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:42 am

Can someone tell me the differences visually between the two versions? I admit I'm a bit of a graphics whore. I was very pleased with the DC's visuals, are the PS2's identical, different, or worse?

Kaiser · Post by **Kaiser** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:51 am

I think that question was answered many times and answer is worse

shmups.system11.org

my ability to fabricate...

my ability to fabricate...

Re: my will to fabricate...

Will "Psyvariar 3" be out soon?