Soukyugurentai -- unbalanced?

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:46 am

I was playing Soukygurentai today, and enjoying it as usual-- however, there are a few things about the game that bug me and I was wondering if anyone else thought they were a problem.

The first item is that the vulcan cannon is not really worth using except to shoot down missiles because it is so weak and also duplicates the capabilities of the web (being able to hit enemies on the same level as the ship). Even the blue ship's main weapon with missiles cause next to no damage. Next, even among the webs there aren't many that cause a decent amount of damage. Now, a common complaint seems to be that games such as Iridion 2 or Tyrian include a lot of useless weapons-- why isn't that what has been done here? Did Raizing go feature-crazy at the expense of gameplay?

stratos · Post by **stratos** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:22 am

To the best of my knowledge, the usage of the vulcan cannon is dangerous due to the rank increment: if you overuse it the game become unbeatable. Many player who one-credited Soukyugurentai did not shot at all...

I don't know why game designers throw all those futile weapon in games; from my point of view, it woul'd be not acceptable by players that a game doesn't feature a various array of weapons, but is difficult to balance a game well einough to make it playable with all of them...

In Souky it woul'd be disappointing if you didn't have any other weapon than the lock-on attacks... but the vulcan seems yet to be usless, or at least dangerous...

However, if you have a variuos array of weapon you coul'd choose the ones that best suit your style of play: the fact that there is a best weapon doesn't mean that is the best for all players... however I challenge you at beating Raiden using only the laser gun

tassian · Post by **tassian** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:37 am

I don't see why the cannon is useless -- lousig states that he uses it to shoot missiles (which is a good idea). Apart from that, the game mechanics (rank etc.) don't make the canon an ideal weapon. That said I don't think that it's obsolete or anything. It has its purpose but for 1CCing purposes you should definitely use the canon as little as possible.

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:02 pm

You can use the vulcan as much as you like, but you shouldn't power it up, that's what will increase the rank.

Also, if you're weapon isn't powered up more item carriers will appear, this in turn means a greater probability of getting a bomb - and those you'll definitely need!

tassian · Post by **tassian** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:40 pm

Indeed. To clarify: what I meant was this: collecting power-ups for the canon results in an increased rank which is bad (obviously). So basically, the canon stays underpowered and is pretty much useless against most enemies.

I have a question regarding bombs: isn't it true that not using bombs is good for the score? Or should I bomb whenever I think it's necessary?

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:00 pm

in the saturn and st-v versions collecting bombs at maximum stock gives you increasing amounts of points (and raises rank faster than powering up the main shot as well, but doesn't seem to reduce the occurance of supply ships)

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:29 pm

tassian wrote:Indeed. To clarify: what I meant was this: collecting power-ups for the canon results in an increased rank which is bad (obviously). So basically, the canon stays underpowered and is pretty much useless against most enemies.

I have a question regarding bombs: isn't it true that not using bombs is good for the score? Or should I bomb whenever I think it's necessary?

But even if you power the vulcan up, it's still fairly ineffective against enemies besides the first ones that appear which barrel roll, and some of the turrets later in the game. Isn't it a flaw that the game ranks up and becomes much much harder when the player collects powerups for such a weak weapon?

Sort of shifting the topic a bit-- how do you guys handle those blue subs on st5? I can't usually manage to get them before they shoot, so I end up just going to the opposite side of the screen after the pods launch.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:44 pm

Soukyugurentai -- perfect

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:45 pm

I think the real unbalanced part is how the scoring mechanic depends entirely on you staying on max bombs for as long as possible.

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:12 pm

The cone shaped lock on weapon that shoots fire is the most powerful lock on in terms of damage, if I remember correctly.

chempop · Post by **chempop** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:47 am

I think you are right about that being the most powerful weapon. I always play the best with it, although the blue ships circular lock-on shot can be handy in tight spots.

I didn't know about Souky's rank system for the longest time so its damn near impossible for me to adjust to using lock-on shot only. I still find it more fun to use both weapons, if it takes me an extra continue to beat, oh well.

Still one of my faves.