Which of these 3 should I get?

Milkgoat · Post by **Milkgoat** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:04 pm

Ibara
DDP DOJ
ESPgaluda

Price is no problem to me. I'm going to get them all eventually, but which should I get first?

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:56 pm

Depends. If you want a sense of accomplishment, Galuda, all the way. If you like getting raped in the ass by your games, either Ibara or DOJ. DOJ's the better port though

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:01 am

As with anything else, it depends on tastes, so it's hard to get anything resembling a definitive answer in a thread like this...I'll at least try to give a little info on each game, if nothing else.

Galuda got a port by Arika, and they did a very good job with it, including a good deal of extras and options. In terms of gameplay, it's one of Cave's more accessible titles, making use of slowing down and cancelling bullets, though it's still liked by many score attackers too.

DOJ was ported by the same company and got a similar treatment. Gameplay is similar to that of its predecessor, DoDonPachi, but more challenging, both in terms of scoring and survival. Chaining's still the thing, but now there are "hyper" items which must be used strategically, as well as a rank system.

Ibara was ported by Taito, and didn't turn out as well as the previous two in terms of the trimmings, though it does have an arrange mode which plays something like the arcade's "Black Label" edition. Gameplay is most similar to Raizing's Battle Garegga, involving medaling and rank control - I personally find it even more challenging.

In a nutshell, that's what I could think of offhand to mention.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:30 am

DOJ and Espgaluda are definitely the two better games (certainly on a technical level as indicated by BM) if not just better games outright.

ESPgaluda is the more accessible of the three, but I'd argue that overall DOJ is the best. It is certainly the hardest, and if you go this route, I can guarantee you'll be spending a lot of time swearing at the game or what-not, but the truth is that DOJ is the game that everyone thinks the first Dodonpachi is. It really has the depth and intensity that you could only come to expect from the very finest shmup.

Having played all 3 extensively I can say DOJ is without question the best of the three. Others may argue, but they are WRONG! You should get DOJ without hesitation. Get the others when you have extra cash!

RGC · Post by **RGC** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:19 am

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:27 am

BulletMagnet wrote: Ibara was ported by Cave,

Fixed.

And for the topic starter, get Galuda first. You'll have a lot of fun. After that get DDP DOJ and Ibara.

-Bridget- · Post by **-Bridget-** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:28 am

They're right, DOJ will have you swearing at the screen alot and hurling things.

Particularly when something kills you in the middle of a really good combo...... ARGH.

cigsthecat · Post by **cigsthecat** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:10 am

1. Ibara
2. Armed Police Batrider
3. Gunbird 2

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:12 am

If we're talking ports here I'd say forget about Ibara!

Gameplay seems ok, but I personally can't look past the terrible graphics in the port here.
Love the look on the screens I see of the arcade version, but PS2 version just looks awful!

DOJ is an absolute MUST, but if you're getting all anyway Espgaluda might be the better "start".

nynetails · Post by **nynetails** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:36 am

This is a tough one.

I say Galuda first, even though I like it the least of the three. It has a nice bullet speed mechanic and is not terribly demanding on default settings. The arrange mode is nothing to sneeze at either. And as many have mentioned, the PS2 port is dead on.

Next would come DOJ. The game is difficult, yes, but I have witnessed this one title turn more people into devout shmup players than any other. Not to say that it is for the masses, but rather that this game just seems to have "it." IMO, this is Cave's definitive shmup, and if one wants to show an initiate to the genre what Cave is about, DOJ is the game to be employed for the task.

I would advise you to get Ibara last even as I admit that it is my favorite in this trio. I'm sure that you know it bears more than a passing resemblance to Garegga. I don't want to get into gameplay conventions here, but suffice it to say that it is decidedly different from the other two games (it is most certainly the least "Cave-ish"). Whether or not that is a good thing I will leave to you to decide. Yes, it does have persistent rank. It is also not a perfect port. But if you don't play/have the arcade version, this is moot, as the PS2 release is more than playable in its own right. If you get the PCB, so much the better.

(Just to note, I play both PCB and PS2 Ibara. PS2 is just fine for days when I can't make it to the arcade. And it has arrange mode, which has had to suffice since Black Label was removed... That was not a good day.)

My two cents.

Motorherp · Post by **Motorherp** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:41 am

If you're after Ibara and you find it for a good price, snap it up at soon as you can. Dont wait to get the other games first. Ibara is becoming pretty damn hard to find and the prices are climbing.

nynetails · Post by **nynetails** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:51 am

^^^

The man speaks the truth. Although none of these are terribly common... I do see DOJ the most often these days. It probably had the highest print run.

Then again, there is this one store that I frequent that always has multiple copies of Ibara. But that is the only place where I ever see it.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:42 pm

doj, it has death label. everytime i play it i have to lick the disk, because i swear they smeared crack on it.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:06 pm

TWE wrote:
BulletMagnet wrote: Ibara was ported by Cave,
Fixed.

Shoot, I remember reading that too. Shoulda just said "published" and been done with it.

the allett · Post by **the allett** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:24 pm

IBARA!!!

stuntman · Post by **stuntman** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:52 pm

I've had much more fun with Espgaluda and DOJ. Bullet visibilty isn't so clear in Ibara, which can lead to frustration.

the allett · Post by **the allett** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:48 am

stuntman wrote:I've had much more fun with Espgaluda and DOJ. Bullet visibilty isn't so clear in Ibara, which can lead to frustration.

Get some glasses and all will become clear

stuntman · Post by **stuntman** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:57 pm

the allett wrote:Get some glasses and all will become clear

Maybe the PCB is fine, but I'm not the first to complain about the blurriness (filtering) of the PS2 port. This makes it that bit more difficult to spot some bullets in time, especially when they're a similar colour to the background.

BTW, just noticed your sig. Maybe they all look great through beer goggles

the allett · Post by **the allett** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:06 pm

stuntman wrote:
the allett wrote:Get some glasses and all will become clear
Maybe the PCB is fine, but I'm not the first to complain about the blurriness (filtering) of the PS2 port. This makes it that bit more difficult to spot some bullets in time, especially when they're a similar colour to the background.

BTW, just noticed your sig. Maybe they all look great through beer goggles

To be honest i didn't mind the ps2 port, but when i got the pcb i did notice a massive difference in visability!!

So its time to sell up and get a cab/supergun and ibara mate

glitch · Post by **glitch** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:29 pm

since you apparently don't have them yet, you're probably not a complete shmup god yet. ESPgaluda is amazing in and of itself, great system, lovely artstyle etc, but besides that it also makes for great practice to improve your skill. skill that DDPDOJ pretty much seems to assume right from the start. so first ESP, then DDPDOJ would be the more sensible order to play them in, regardless of which is the better game (they're both stunning anyway, and you're eventually buying both anyway).

i dig Ibara's arrange mode, but as an overall package it doesn't hold up to ESP and DDPDOJ no. though in case you were talking about buying PCBs, Ibara Black Label is quite something.

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:39 pm

If you're planning to get them all eventually, grab Ibara first, before its price sky-rockets. You can pop over to Play-Asia and nab ESPgaluda and DOJ easily enough, but Ibara is already becoming hard to find new.

Post by **Icarus** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:44 pm

cigsthecat wrote:1. Battle Garegga
2. Armed Police Batrider
3. Ibara

Fix'd.

MA7 · Post by **MA7** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:24 pm

Galuda - great port, best to start here. Easiest of the three
Ibara - nice design and lovely 'Bom-Bah!' sound effect

and yeah it's likely to go up in price, but that doesn't make up for a bit of a shoddy port.
DOJ - another great port, but pretty much everyone agrees it's so damned hard.

What do you want? Accessibility? Challenge? Nice sound effects?

Ibara's probably my favourite of the three; just something about the game as a whole that tickles me. But overall I'd recommend Galuda the most

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:40 pm

DDPDOJ, then Galuda, then Ibara

Galuda's the most fun and balanced of the three, but you're funding the moe trend

Ships plz

stuntman · Post by **stuntman** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 11:55 pm

the allett wrote:To be honest i didn't mind the ps2 port, but when i got the pcb i did notice a massive difference in visability!!

So its time to sell up and get a cab/supergun and ibara mate

I never sell anything, and I already have a cab, but I filled it with a PC, Dreamcast, Saturn and PS2. I'll have to make do with that for now, for the sake of my ever-decreasing bank balance

Back to the topic, I suggest getting Galuda first, as a warm-up to DOJ. To me, neither are easy, but Galuda give me a greater feeling of making progress, up to a point!

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 5:49 pm

I still have to get Galuda. I have DOJ, Mushi, and Homura, but my determination to buy all of the imports I could sort of fizzled out. I think it'll be my next purchase though, since I've bought enough RPG's to last me longer then I wish to think about.

I've played DOJ and can heartily recommend it unless you hate getting your balls stomped on...metaphorically.

Never played Ibara since I could never find it for under $70. I'll probably buy it last simply because me and Raizing-esque gameplay don't get along. And it's apparently a really shitty port.