I thought I was getting decent at shooters, and then...

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:56 am

Rob wrote:
TWE wrote: You know, I'm tempted to let you borrow my Futari board sometime
That's a really cool thought, but I wouldn't dare. I don't even have a supergun.

Oh, I'd send you my supergun too. It's just a little box.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:57 am

Rigged with explosives, right?

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:00 am

It comes free with a box of pine-scented elitism.

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:01 am

Wait, you can't play with a stick, can you? My supergun only connects with a Sigma stick.

No, no explosives. Though I'd have to scour ebay daily to make sure you didn't auction the Futari board for some quick cash!

You know it might be worth it just to see your video review of the game on Youtube.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:09 am

TWE wrote:Wait, you can't play with a stick, can you? My supergun only connects with a Sigma stick.

Probably could, but am used to d-pads.

You know it might be worth it just to see your video review of the game on Youtube.

haha, yeah, I would review anything that anyone would let me borrow. Wouldn't feel comfortable with something too expensive though. I mean, I take great care of my games and all but we could always have the great Alaskan earthquake of '07.

themachinist · Post by **themachinist** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:27 am

A little paranoid?

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:30 am

Just a bit. Wouldn't even want to put a tiny scrape on someone's cool toys, you know? New Cave games would be killer subjects though.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:52 am

I can totally sympathize with Rob. Breaking your own stuff is one thing, because it's your stuff. I take really good care of my possessions, but if I drop a disc and it gets scratched or something, I can just shrug it off and say "woops." I'd feel awful if I scratched someone elses disc though. Let alone do something to a supergun or PCB =O

I treat my roommate's lazer discs like they deserve to be worshiped by some kind of religion -_^

themachinist · Post by **themachinist** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:59 am

True true, if only everyone thought like that. I've become more possessive about my stuff after discovering my ahem friends did not treat it with enough respect

. I'm just thinking "So... I buy games and let you play (which I didn't mind... until) and I find scratches on my discs, cases/covers with water damage and controllers are dirty/never cleaned?!?!?! OK, I'm taking all my stuff back to my place. Peace."

But then again they're not as much of gamers. Well, some of them. But yeah.. it should be common courtesy.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:57 am

Yeah, fortunately all my friends are gamers and are quite possibly more anal about their own stuff than I am, not to mention the way they treat stuff that isn't theirs.

On topic: What... the... hell? I downloaded a superplay to see how the guy handled my problem spots, only to find out the part I wanted to see the most (chapter 4 boss), the player glitches out the boss and makes him freeze up on the right side of the screen. I don't want to do that, I want to beat him up fair and square.

Suppose I'll have to figure out how to fight that boss on my own. I've made it this far without help. I'll get the bastard eventually >=)

VorpalEdge · Post by **VorpalEdge** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:13 am

You could always glitch him out yourself. From what I hear, it isn't so hard.

And, if you don't want to let your hits on the boss slop to zero while you wait... what about that boss gets you? I may be able to help, and if not me, somebody else will.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:16 am

Well, it's mainly lack of experience. The "upgraded" version of his very initial pattern is really REALLY hard for me to dodge. And there's another part where he fires a really quick stream of bullets that's easy to dodge if you're moving, but I always forget it's there since half the time I've bombed through it. I haven't fought him enough to REALLY know what exactly about him gives me trouble, so I just gotta practice more ^_^

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:34 am

Boss-wise, there's no dodging anymore. Yeah, there's tapping, but most of what makes bosses fun is looking at the patterns and figuring out how to deftly draw fire and navigate the swarm. It started popping up in DOJ, got bigger in Galuda (though most of the bosses forced you to move quite a bit), and appears to have reached a head in Futari. It seems like it's always tap left tap right tap left tap left tap left tap right tap down tap right tap left dash right tap left...

It's like I'm playing a better looking Shanghai Alice game.

I guess it's the only place to go when you have so many bullets.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:43 am

Better looking in what sense? The Shanghai Alice games have way cooler looking bullet patterns, it's just that the artwork, backgrounds, and whatnot aren't quite up to snuff with games developed by a large company.

The tap method doesn't work as well on Dodonpachi bosses. It works great on the actual stages, but the bosses will just laugh at you if you try to tap by their patterns. Since very few of the patterns (from what I've seen) actually change much depending on where you're sitting. And some of the DDP patterns that ARE aimed also have a seperate spreads that will discourage tapping (like the 4th boss's standard spray).

MJR · Post by **MJR** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:16 am

I'm happy to hear that someone else is also frustrated with Dodonpachi. The PSX version has been giving misery and hard time every now and then - Only when I decided that I don't care anymore, and started blowing bombs at every corner i actually began to survive, up to the last stage.

In DDP, you can actually herd bullets a little bit on stage 5 and 6, this is why I find them infinitely more enjoyable.

Still, I have pretty much given up my hope on cave games.. they are not for old farts such as me *goes back to play darius gaiden*

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:37 am

You should give ESPgaluda or Mushihimesama a try. Dodonpachi is kicking my ass pretty thoroughly, but I've single credit cleared Galuda, and after minimal time investment can get to the Stage 5 (last stage) midboss on a fairly decent run in Mushihime. ESPgaluda is also loads of fun. Definitely one I'll go back to later and try to improve my score on =) Once I get better at Dodonpachi anyways.

MJR · Post by **MJR** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:41 am

Oh, I got them both. Espgaluda I dont care so much about, and mushihimesama is kicking my ass pretty much the same.

In mushi, I get too often those 'wtf just hit me?!?' - moments to really enjoy that game. Otherwise its great.

*creeps off to play rainbow islands*

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:33 pm

Rob wrote: haha, yeah, I would review anything that anyone would let me borrow.

I should send you Homura. I'd be interested to hear your take on it considering it is the game that made me like Giga Wing.

PROMETHEUS · Post by **PROMETHEUS** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:26 pm

Damocles wrote:Boss-wise, there's no dodging anymore. Yeah, there's tapping, but most of what makes bosses fun is looking at the patterns and figuring out how to deftly draw fire and navigate the swarm. It started popping up in DOJ, got bigger in Galuda (though most of the bosses forced you to move quite a bit), and appears to have reached a head in Futari. It seems like it's always tap left tap right tap left tap left tap left tap right tap down tap right tap left dash right tap left...

That's called dodging isn't it ?

Or do you mean you can just do small taps in the right direction to herd bullets away and not die ? Then you're completely wrong.

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:24 pm

Arvandor wrote:I treat my roommate's lazer discs like they deserve to be worshiped by some kind of religion -_^

Unfortunately nobody else in America agrees with that. I occasionally buy a used game from Hastings because I still have a dwindling interest in non-shooter games. 3 out of the 5 times I've purchased a used game there I had to get the disc cleaned because it was too scratched to work. Almost every time I buy something used from Gamestop, it's missing the manual or isn't in the original case. I don't understand how people can fuck their stuff up that badly. My friends call me anal because I don't let them touch my more expensive games but that's how I manage to keep them in good shape.

msm · Post by **msm** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:02 pm

Arvandor wrote:You should give ESPgaluda or Mushihimesama a try. Dodonpachi is kicking my ass pretty thoroughly, but I've single credit cleared Galuda, and after minimal time investment can get to the Stage 5 (last stage) midboss on a fairly decent run in Mushihime.

interesting how different people view the difficulty levels of games, i'm completely opposite of this, have 1cc'd dodonpachi but can't even come close in galuda or mushi.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:00 pm

Yeah, I find difficulty to be something subjective. I find Treasure shmups to be extremely hard (RSG, Ikagura and Gradius V), while I am sure people have finished at least Gradius V pretty quickly.

In the other hand. I 1cc Recca in less than a week playing it (with a pretty decent score for the record), while the same people who could breeze at Gradius V would have a hard time with Recca,

I don't think I am an awesome shmup player, but I know I don't completely... but certain shmups manage to kick my ass so hard that I just can't understand. I am pretty sure that if I gave DDP the proper time I'd 1cc it (Reaching level 5 wasn't that hard to me, and I know I could beat it with some practice), but Radiant Silvergun, for example, I tried it HARD, I played it more than I played DDP, and still I can't beat the FIRST level without problems (I usually die before that), and the 2nd level is just impossible. Soukyugurentai is another one that gives me a real hard time (though I admit I didn't play that one THAT much), while I actually 1cc Batrider in normal mode (from the SAME DEVELOPERS!

)

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:17 pm

MJR wrote:The PSX version has been giving misery and hard time every now and then...

Outta curiosity, do you turn the "wait" option on? The game runs faster than it should if you don't.

Almost every time I buy something used from Gamestop, it's missing the manual or isn't in the original case.

The good thing about Gamestop is that if you're willing to inspect a little you can sometimes get ahold of stuff in better condition - before even going up to the counter you can check inside the case to see if the manual's still there, and when you check out you can ask to look at the surface of the disc and see what condition it's in (once the guy actually went through several copies of the same game and let me pick the best one). It's not ideal, but in some cases it's better than buying online, where some sellers use the word "mint" to mean "still plays, sometimes."

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:10 pm

Acid King wrote:
Rob wrote: haha, yeah, I would review anything that anyone would let me borrow.
I should send you Homura. I'd be interested to hear your take on it considering it is the game that made me like Giga Wing.

If this offer is still good after the STGT 07 I'll gladly give it a play. This is one of the only semi-recent console releases I haven't tried out yet.

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:12 pm

Rob wrote: If this offer is still good after the STGT 07 I'll gladly give it a play. This is one of the only semi-recent console releases I haven't tried out yet.

Prediction: you won't like it.

I think it's a good game, and I had fun with it. Not something I'd play for months, but good for a few weeks.

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:13 pm

Rob wrote: If this offer is still good after the STGT 07 I'll gladly give it a play. This is one of the only semi-recent console releases I haven't tried out yet.

Sure is. It's not like it's going anywhere.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 12:49 am

Difficulty truly is subjective. I wonder what it is that makes some people innately better at some shooters and not others? Mushihime-sama's Maniac mode has been the fastest progress I've ever made in a shooter. I can just see all the holes and fly straight through like there weren't any bullets on the screen. Yet I suck horribly at Dodonpachi. I was somewhere inbetween with ESPgaluda... Not bad, but it took some work to clear. I took to Ikaruga really well too once I got used to having two seperate mindsets and switching between the two with every color switch.

Dodonpachi continues to bitch slap me every time I power on my Saturn though. I wonder if putting it in tate would help at all? ^_^ I was going to hook up my roommate's Saturn to the tate TV, but I couldn't find the AV cable for it. Then someone flipped our tate TV back sideways (bastard!) I'm thinking of just flipping the TV in my room though, since I never really play non-shooters on it. The downside is if I want to play RSG or Souky or something =( *sigh*

Post by **Icarus** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 12:57 am

Arvandor wrote:I wonder what it is that makes some people innately better at some shooters and not others?

Confidence.

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:01 am

energy drinks

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:13 am

Icarus wrote:
Arvandor wrote:I wonder what it is that makes some people innately better at some shooters and not others?
Confidence.

Hmmm... There might be something to that. Now the question, is why do I feel more confident playing Mushi than Dodonpachi? If I can somehow trick myself into thinking Dodonpachi DOESN'T kick my ass, perhaps I'll start doing better =D