Dodonpachi Daioujou a Game Made in Hell

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Forget I ever said or thought this game is hard. It's ridiculous. I haven't ever been good at manics, but I thought I'd be fine playing on "Easy." Easy my A-S-S. The thing is about as hard as Dodonpachi.

Of course, I got massacred on "Normal" difficulty (aka trip to hell difficulty.) After this many years of shmupping I still can't squeeze between walls of bullets and this game is got spades.

Uhh, yeah. No hard or very hard difficulty for me. I already ran out of words to describe 'em.

Maybe I should've bought ESPgaluda or Mushihime. I'm weak.

[gavin19]

Maybe I should've bought ESPgaluda or Mushihime. I'm weak.

ESPGaluda is certainly easier than DDP DOJ but if anything I find Mushi just as difficult. I'm only able to get half way through stage 3 on either Mushi or DDP but 5-2 on Galuda.

[GaijinPunch]

Mushi and ESPGaluda are about the same in difficulty.

[Rob]

Protip: herd the bullets, they're very slow.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Slow?

Is that in English? I think you're meaning fast...

I'll try that out.

[Rob]

Yes, Psikyo, Seibu, etc. = fast. Cave, typically = super slow mo. When the common enemies aren't firing bunches of slow moving bullets, you've got patterns with much larger gaps than you think. Avoid using hypers as bombs. If you're not playing for score you might just want to skip them.

[howmuchkeefe]

It's true. If you pop in DOJ right after playing a few rounds of, say, Dragon Blaze, the bullets in DOJ appear to float lazily across the screen towards you.

Enjoy it while it lasts, I say! Because the problem pretty much disappears by the first boss if you chain well.

[Dandy J]

Mushi and ESPGaluda are about the same in difficulty.

I get further in DOJ then in Mushi. >_>

Well I guess not if you consider DOJ has two loops but still...

UFO get ESPGaluda for realz.

[neorichieb1971]

DOJ is ok for me up until a point. Then it turns ugly for me.

Mushi is tough, but it doesn't grab your privates and twist them hard.

[freddiebamboo]

Mushi and ESPGaluda are about the same in difficulty.

Like GP said, a mushi 1CC is around the same difficulty as Galuda.

Galuda allows you to play for score and get a 1CC though, mushi punishes score a bit more for survival play with it's counter destroying bombs.

Strangely, mushi's last boss (maniac) is easier than Galudas by a fair bit I'd say.

OT: DOJ is very hard and the better you get at it the harder it plays. It could be quite feasible to 1CC it by ignoring chaining and playing as B-L (I'm sure someone said this was the easiest type to do it with), but it just don't feel right blasting through it randomly, so I never tried it.

[Nemo]

Just be agressive, don't wait for all the bullets to come to you.

[Shalashaska]

Mushi and ESPGaluda are about the same in difficulty.

I get further in DOJ then in Mushi. >_>

Well I guess not if you consider DOJ has two loops but still...

UFO get ESPGaluda for realz.

I also get further in DOJ consistently compared to Mushi. *shrugs shoulders* I love DOJ but it rarely gives me any love in return.

[BulletMagnet]

Like GP said, a mushi 1CC is around the same difficulty as Galuda.

I must be weird(er) then, since I've gotten to the last boss in Galuda but can't go farther than 4 in Original or Maniac on Mushi (and forget Ultra mode).

[Dave_K.]

I remember starting a similar thread to this almost 2 years ago when I first got DOJ. I found it quite inaccessable to beginners (even on EASY). I put it aside, and started playing DDP seriously (much more accessable). I'll eventually come back to DOJ when I feel I've reached my limits on DDP.

[GaijinPunch]

Mushi final boss in Maniac is a joke compared to basically any other final boss. I've only gotten to him like 20 times and I can kill him as long as I have 3 bombs. I did it once with only two (and no deaths).

[Strider77]

I want this game if it's that ruthless.... I can be a masochist when it comes to shooters.

[Strider77]

Mushi and ESPGaluda are about the same in difficulty

good I was fearful ESPgaluda was gonna be a pushover.... I have it on the way

[EOJ]

Mushi and ESPGaluda are about the same in difficulty.

QFT. I'm finding Galuda 2 much more difficult to 1CC.

[GaijinPunch]

. I'm finding Galuda 2 much more difficult to 1CC.

Indeed, it is tough. If you play safe (ie boring) it's not so bad, but on stage 6, regardless of your play, you're almost destined to run out of gems at some point.

Overall I think it rank in the Guwange/ESPRade range in terms of difficulty.

[jpj]

hmmm, i find DOJ easier than ketsui or galuda 2

i think both ddp games lend themselves better to rote memorisation than a lot other shooters. once you've got a particular stage or boss down, you can re-do it without much thought. although be wary of hypers if you aren't playing for score (as someone already said), as they basically incrementally increase the speed of enemy bullets until you either bomb, or die. but stick with it! i haven't played for a few weeks, but i was starting to get up to the large bee at the end of the first loop.............. (the 2nd loop looks.........hilarious)

[Arznei]

So what is the best way to 1cc DOJ? I was thinking about ignoring hypers, sticking to fast killing, etc. But I don't know.

[jpj]

is it too trite to say "practice"? with hypers, my advice would be to not "stockpile" hypers, ie collect and use 3+ at the same time, as that gives a big jump in difficulty. other than that, bullet-herding, as people have said. try not to sit down at the bottom in the middle of the screen, and instead sit on one side and sweep accross and vice versa. if you just want the 1cc, then B-L has a very wide shot, and a large bomb stock; but conversely, is difficult to score high with.

[chtimi-CLA]

Don't restart, accept to be humiliated many times, and set on incremental objectives.
You will be able to 1CC rapidly with B shot if you don't die with bombs in stock and don't get too many hypers (you won't if you don't combo).

[msm]

been playing this on and off for quite some time, for survival only, still pants at it, find it difficult to avoid the hypers as they hover near the bottom of the screen for ages, tend to use them as bombs is this a bad plan? should i be trying harder to avoid them?

great fun game, doubt i will ever 1cc or chain properly, best so far is near the end of stage 4

[BulletMagnet]

find it difficult to avoid the hypers as they hover near the bottom of the screen for ages, tend to use them as bombs is this a bad plan? should i be trying harder to avoid them?

Depends on what your play style is: using hypers can get you out of a tight spot (without using a bomb) and wipe out enemies faster, as well as pump up your score to get to the extends quicker, but using them regularly makes enemy bullets permanently faster, IIRC. Just know what you're getting yourself into when you do/don't use them, each way has its own challenges.

[msm]

thanks that makes sense, playing as B-E they are pretty handy as bombs, suppose playing as B-S though it might be better to try and leave them

[Venom]

It's a difficult game, especially when going for score. The rank really bites you as you start using more hypers, at least that's my experience the past couple weeks.

To work on certain parts and see how to play well, with the PS2 version if one wanted to get better at it, all the tools are there at your disposal.

[Arvandor]

I thought I was getting decent at shooters... Then DDP: DOJ showed up and a couple things happened. First: It took me three tries just to make it to chapter 3, not caring about score. Second: I made it to chapter 3. Either this makes sense to everyone who has played the game, or I suck worse than I thought I did.

Awesome game though, but perhaps I should 1cc ESPgaluda and the first loop of DDP before really giving this game some time.

[stratos]

This is my favourite Cave game, amongst all other (and I like to think about Ibara as a Raizing game) and I can say that it is really ugly if you play it for survival: you can try to survive in the first runs, to get grasp of controls and ships reaction, but then you shoul'd start to think about chaining, the fun is there.


I personally don't abuse of the practice mode of PS2, since i think this games are designed for arcades and you are supposed to play them learning the chain patterns gradually on all the stages you can manage to get to, simultaneously and, another time, gradually.


But, if someone wants a manic game to play for survival, he shoul'd try something like Batsugun on Saturn, because it has the more importants aspects of a survival game, like deeper graphic design and misc happenings; DOJ's graphics are great, but they are "flat", and it is done on purpose so you don't distract too much from the action, since it's a very technical game.


In Batsugun you have deeper graphic design, you can "feel" the background much more, and also survivalist runs are worth.


So, sell your DOJ PS2 disc and get a Saturn with Batsugun, you won't regret.

[the allett]

I can easily finish the first loop on DOJ but i can't chain for shit!! I hate chaining in fact, not enough freedom in play! I opt for Ketsui anytime.

cheers mark