anyone here own pink sweets?
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jpj
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anyone here own pink sweets?
i'd be interested to hear any feedback on this, and how you'd rate it.
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oxtsu
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DEL
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!
jpj - It depends on your taste. Be in no doubt that its a Raizing game, not Cave. Its cutesy & colourful.
All I will say is that I will try to buy the board once it comes down in price.
I will not hesitate to buy it.
But that's just me.
I'm not telling you to buy it.
All I will say is that I will try to buy the board once it comes down in price.
I will not hesitate to buy it.
But that's just me.
I'm not telling you to buy it.
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EOJ
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I'll buy it when it hits $300-$400 for a kit, which should be by spring next year hopefully. I wasn't all that impressed when I played it in Japan, but then again I didn't really know what I was doing in the game. I have a feeling that if I understand the system better, much like Ibara, I'll grow to love it.
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EOJ
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icycalm
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Hi jpj, I've been playing PinkSweets on a daily basis for about a month now, and I can unreservedly recommend it. It's a Raizing game through and through, and you'll hardly notice any Cave influence apart from the T&A, so if you like Raizing you'll love this. I am actually working on a review right now, but since you are thinking of dropping a small fortune on it I'll give you the main points right now.
--The game uses two buttons, one for shot, the other to change formation of the options (called Rose Hips). Press both buttons at the same time to change speed (there are four or five speed settings, but every player seems to pick a speed setting and stick with it throughout the game: I play on the second setting, which is sometimes a bit too slow to dodge some patterns, so I am thinking of switching to 3. I've seen some good players play at the highest speed setting, but I cannot for the life of me understand how they do it, because the ships move incredibly fast -- almost as if the game's on fast forward).
--Because pressing both buttons at the same time to change speed can be a bit awkward during the intense battles of the latter stages, some arcades have installed a third button, which does just that.
--Whenever you are NOT using the shot, a shield builds up in front of your ship. This shield can absorb some types of bullets, and grows even faster as a result. When the gauge is at full strength you press the shot to unleash a special weapon. At first it can be frustrating that you are not sure which bullets you can absorb and which not, and everyone will go through a dozen deaths cursing like a drunken sailor because of this. But you eventually figure out which ones you can absorb and which not, and all is well.
--The special weapon differs greatly between the 4 selectable ships, and has a different shape, but they all have one common characteristic: they act as a barrier which cancels incoming bullets (they also, of course, destroy anything they touch and deal major damage to bosses). This is very useful, and you will have to learn how to use it to the maximum if you are to progress through the game's very hard latter stages.
--The 4 ships are about as varied as they come. Forget about samey Cave characters; in this game the strategies change completely depending on the ship, and if you at some point decide to change your character you will have to spend a considerable time re-learning how to make your way past the various challenges.
--There is a very wide variation in stages, enemies, bullet patterns, and
even bullet types. The bosses and mid-bosses fire a huge variety of stuff at you -- anything but kitchen sinks. Music is awesome throughout, and I specifically go to Club Sega after 11pm, when the arcade is half-empty, so I can listen to the music as I play (though Hey arcade just next door has the third button installed and better controls overall). The tracks are a selection of videogamey disco tunes that quickly grow on you, and unlike anything I've heard of in a shooter before. The music is yet another one of the game's strong points, though it's not something I'd listen to in my car. (I'd still buy the OST if it was released, just because.)
--There is much less debris than in Ibara, and the bullets are much easier to see. In fact, I'd say that this is the most easily recognizable Cave influence you will find in the game, and it's certainly a good one (though I have nothing against debris in general).
--I will not go into detail on the 4 characters here because I only play with Shasta. When I write the review I'll make sure to study all the other characters. But trust me, there is a whole lot of replaybility here because of the characters.
--Now about scoring: you basically pick up the roses left behind by destroyed enemies. I have tried and tried to see if there's any gimmick, but I have not found any. Even watching good players go through the game, all I can see is them trying to pick up as many roses as possible (there are several different kinds worth different amount of points).And they get roughly the same score as I do in the same stages, though of course I am still struggling against the 4th boss whereas they go on to beat the game. If rose-collecting is all there is --which i think is the case-- then I am as happy as I can be, because I'm getting sick of needlessly complex systems, as those employed in Radirgy and Exelica.
--One last thing: you can play through the whole game using the special weapon almost continuously, or you can use the basic shot the whole time and only utilise the weapon to get out of some tough spots. I've seen players do well by using either strategy. Myself, I prefer the second one so far. This is another cool feature of the game.
Overall, it's the most original shooter to come from Cave since Espgaluda. Ibara was simply a homage, and a homage by definition cannot be better than the original. But PinkSweets is this brand new thing, and playing it you will become convinced that Raizing is alive and well and kicking, and picking up where they left off with Dimahoo (forget about Brave Blade). I'll give it 5 out of 5, 10 out 10, 1000 out of 1000 any day, and when the price comes down to 600 I'll be buying it.
--The game uses two buttons, one for shot, the other to change formation of the options (called Rose Hips). Press both buttons at the same time to change speed (there are four or five speed settings, but every player seems to pick a speed setting and stick with it throughout the game: I play on the second setting, which is sometimes a bit too slow to dodge some patterns, so I am thinking of switching to 3. I've seen some good players play at the highest speed setting, but I cannot for the life of me understand how they do it, because the ships move incredibly fast -- almost as if the game's on fast forward).
--Because pressing both buttons at the same time to change speed can be a bit awkward during the intense battles of the latter stages, some arcades have installed a third button, which does just that.
--Whenever you are NOT using the shot, a shield builds up in front of your ship. This shield can absorb some types of bullets, and grows even faster as a result. When the gauge is at full strength you press the shot to unleash a special weapon. At first it can be frustrating that you are not sure which bullets you can absorb and which not, and everyone will go through a dozen deaths cursing like a drunken sailor because of this. But you eventually figure out which ones you can absorb and which not, and all is well.
--The special weapon differs greatly between the 4 selectable ships, and has a different shape, but they all have one common characteristic: they act as a barrier which cancels incoming bullets (they also, of course, destroy anything they touch and deal major damage to bosses). This is very useful, and you will have to learn how to use it to the maximum if you are to progress through the game's very hard latter stages.
--The 4 ships are about as varied as they come. Forget about samey Cave characters; in this game the strategies change completely depending on the ship, and if you at some point decide to change your character you will have to spend a considerable time re-learning how to make your way past the various challenges.
--There is a very wide variation in stages, enemies, bullet patterns, and
even bullet types. The bosses and mid-bosses fire a huge variety of stuff at you -- anything but kitchen sinks. Music is awesome throughout, and I specifically go to Club Sega after 11pm, when the arcade is half-empty, so I can listen to the music as I play (though Hey arcade just next door has the third button installed and better controls overall). The tracks are a selection of videogamey disco tunes that quickly grow on you, and unlike anything I've heard of in a shooter before. The music is yet another one of the game's strong points, though it's not something I'd listen to in my car. (I'd still buy the OST if it was released, just because.)
--There is much less debris than in Ibara, and the bullets are much easier to see. In fact, I'd say that this is the most easily recognizable Cave influence you will find in the game, and it's certainly a good one (though I have nothing against debris in general).
--I will not go into detail on the 4 characters here because I only play with Shasta. When I write the review I'll make sure to study all the other characters. But trust me, there is a whole lot of replaybility here because of the characters.
--Now about scoring: you basically pick up the roses left behind by destroyed enemies. I have tried and tried to see if there's any gimmick, but I have not found any. Even watching good players go through the game, all I can see is them trying to pick up as many roses as possible (there are several different kinds worth different amount of points).And they get roughly the same score as I do in the same stages, though of course I am still struggling against the 4th boss whereas they go on to beat the game. If rose-collecting is all there is --which i think is the case-- then I am as happy as I can be, because I'm getting sick of needlessly complex systems, as those employed in Radirgy and Exelica.
--One last thing: you can play through the whole game using the special weapon almost continuously, or you can use the basic shot the whole time and only utilise the weapon to get out of some tough spots. I've seen players do well by using either strategy. Myself, I prefer the second one so far. This is another cool feature of the game.
Overall, it's the most original shooter to come from Cave since Espgaluda. Ibara was simply a homage, and a homage by definition cannot be better than the original. But PinkSweets is this brand new thing, and playing it you will become convinced that Raizing is alive and well and kicking, and picking up where they left off with Dimahoo (forget about Brave Blade). I'll give it 5 out of 5, 10 out 10, 1000 out of 1000 any day, and when the price comes down to 600 I'll be buying it.
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Atomic
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NTSC-J
- Posts: 2457
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Sno Balls or so nasty.
I think Pink Sweets is pretty weak after trying it on and off for the past few months. I like the varied ship types as icycalm describes, but the constant holding fire to bomb play mechanic isn't any fun to me. It's pretty ugly too and I was disappointed by the boring boss designs, I was expecting Cave to go crazy but they let me down. I like the toy train boss a bit, I guess. Some of the bullet patterns look cool, I especially like the rainbow overlapping waves from the last boss.
So now you get one rave review and one mildly scathing review to base your purchase on.
I think Pink Sweets is pretty weak after trying it on and off for the past few months. I like the varied ship types as icycalm describes, but the constant holding fire to bomb play mechanic isn't any fun to me. It's pretty ugly too and I was disappointed by the boring boss designs, I was expecting Cave to go crazy but they let me down. I like the toy train boss a bit, I guess. Some of the bullet patterns look cool, I especially like the rainbow overlapping waves from the last boss.
So now you get one rave review and one mildly scathing review to base your purchase on.
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Raidenfighter Kirkov
- Posts: 198
- Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 4:06 pm
- Location: Vienna / Austria
I will buy it in a couple of months or years. The price has to drop down to 200 to 300 us dollar.
Maybe i buy just a second board and a sledgehammer for the making of the promotion video: "Stop the Cave Hype"
Greetings
RFK
PS: Typical Raizing ? Hello, never have seen such idiotic looking robot charakters in any raizing game. Look at the incredible Intro of Dimahoo and then watch any of the pink sweet videos...oh and turn off the sound of the pink sweet pcb or your ears will start bleeding.
Maybe i buy just a second board and a sledgehammer for the making of the promotion video: "Stop the Cave Hype"
Greetings
RFK
PS: Typical Raizing ? Hello, never have seen such idiotic looking robot charakters in any raizing game. Look at the incredible Intro of Dimahoo and then watch any of the pink sweet videos...oh and turn off the sound of the pink sweet pcb or your ears will start bleeding.
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Frederik
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