ST: Battle Garegga (20.7.14 - edits, record replays list)

[BulletMagnet]

That's crazy. I've never heard of such a feature before.

I've always maintained that the "wait" option made a pretty stupid unlockable...it makes me feel less guilty about playing on lower than defaults to get at it.

Anyways, as Gakidou says the "Super Play" selection is right out on the main menu once you unlock it: select it with the 1P controller and it'll play a Wild Snail superplay, select using the 2P side and you get a Bornnam superplay instead.

[MovingTarget]

I just played through with training and unlocked the superplay, no slowdown/wait option though, checked the easy menu too. Did it in 2 or 3 continues.

One thing that confuses me about the ships...

b ship is faster....
c ship has a smaller hitbox...
and a/b/c ship is faster AND has a smaller hitbox...

I dont get why everybody doesnt just take the latter option. Or is the b ship faster still than the abc ship, and c ship's hitbox is smaller still than abc? Does it have something to do with medal collecting?

[BulletMagnet]

Does it have something to do with medal collecting?

That's pretty much it: the smaller hitbox makes dodging attacks easier, but collecting items harder. In like manner, the faster ships give you more speed but less precision for dodging tight patterns.

I just played through with training and unlocked the superplay, no slowdown/wait option though, checked the easy menu too. Did it in 2 or 3 continues.

Hmm...guess that (probably) confirms that you need a 1CC to unlock that.

While I'm thinking about it, there's one bit of minutia that's missing from the rank guide which has been bugging me...has anyone ever tested to see whether or not picking up the 1-UP increases your rank at all (I know in Batrider picking them up does, if memory serves anyways)? I don't ever recall seeing it discussed...

[MovingTarget]

Ahh, thanks again.

[charlie chong]

wheres the 1up??? in all my years of playing i dont think i've found a 1up. i dont have time to trawl through the whole guide tho cos i'm meant to be working and dont have internet at home... last time i read a strategy guide for this was in the days of the old board ..and i'm not even sure if it was a strategy guide i think it was just the tips in the old high score thread

[MovingTarget]

> STAGE THREE - FACTORY <GUIDE> <

• MAIN STAGE:
  If Stage 1 was the stage where you get used to the controls, and Stage 2 is where you bump your score up a lot, and learn Weapon usage, then Stage 3 is where you are put to the test with regards to using your Weapon to score lots of points. There are masses of Medals and points to be earned here from scenery destruction, so it is imperative that you learn your ship's strengths with regards to the Weapon and the amount of bullets you'll need to power it to destroy said scenery.
  
  You'll also find the one and only 1UP icon here, and it requires you follow a set of special circumstances to uncover it. Read on for more information.
  
  (Stage Three Replay: Golden Bat - DIVX3, 32MB)
• THE SECRET 1UP ITEM:
  
  
  
  About halfway into the stage you'll encounter the hovertank midboss. This midboss is the key to releasing the 1UP item that's hidden in a location before the boss. However, the method to uncovering the 1UP is very tricky and requires a bit of practice.
  
  (watch this method in action: DIVX - 10MB)
  
  What it involves is that you leave the midboss to roll along through the stage, under the unfinished giant bombers that appear in the middle portion of the stage, and up to the marked location where it'll stop moving. If you destroy the midboss when it reaches this marked location and stops, then the resulting explosion will create a hole in the marked location, revealing the 1UP.
  
  So how do you leave the midboss to roll to the marked location without it spraying bullets everywhere? Well, the trick is to destroy all the artillery on the sides of the hovertank - there are three targets per side, the front twin turret, the missile launcher at the back and the hover unit itself - but you MUST LEAVE THE TURRET ON THE MAIN BODY OF THE BOSS. This is because underneath the turret is a radial splash turret, which if active, makes navigating the middle portion of the stage a lot harder. If the only weapon left on the midboss is the small twin turret in the center, then that's the only weapon it can use on you, saving you the hassle of dodging a load of bullets
  
  Please also note that you must destroy all the weapons on both sides of the hovertank - the rear missile launcher and the turret at the front - and the actual side sections themselves to trigger the 1UP at it's location. If you do not destroy both sides of the hovertank completely, the 1UP will not appear.
• SCAFFOLDING AND PROPELLORS:
  
  
  
  During the midboss chase, you'll see several large green bombers undergoing construction. There will be propellors and scaffolding you can destroy on each and every bomber, as well as some small stationary hovertanks dotted around. You can destroy these normally with Shot, but it doesn't yield many points. The alternative is to destroy each target here with Weapon, which will give you 4,000pts per destroyed section.
  
  The only advice I can give here is to weaken each target with Shot, then use only the smallest required amount of Weapon bullets to destroy each target. Try to take out more than one target with your Weapon attack, and be careful, as some targets have a lower resilience to damage than others.

[charlie chong]

thanks man i always vapourize that hovercraft as quick as poss..might have a shot at this the night..
b.t.w where in scotland do you live???

[MovingTarget]

North west coast, about 80 miles west of Inverness.

[Martinov]

Hmm...guess that (probably) confirms that you need a 1CC to unlock that.

Now I am confused. I managed to unlock the wait option in the easy/English version of the extra options by credit feeding on a low difficulty.

[BulletMagnet]

...or maybe not.

Even after we hack the ROM of this thing it's still confusing the heck out of us, heh heh.

[AWJ]

I just thought I'd note that in the new Battle Garegga clone ROM that's been added to the latest version of MAME (0.117u1), each of the Garegga ships starts with a different special Option formation, and button C does nothing. So now we know where that option in the Saturn port originated.

[AWJ]

I've never managed to do any variation of the stage 2 gunblimp trick. Even if the gunblimp is completely undamaged at the point when I suicide, the explosion of my ship always destroys all eight turrets, making them drop identical low-value medals. What am I doing wrong?

[Icarus]

I've never managed to do any variation of the stage 2 gunblimp trick. Even if the gunblimp is completely undamaged at the point when I suicide, the explosion of my ship always destroys all eight turrets, making them drop identical low-value medals. What am I doing wrong?

Weaken the turrets, then crash into the nose of the gunblimp when it's still near the top of the screen. This should stop the shrapnel from doing too much damage to the turrets, as they go flying off the top of the screen almost immediately. Any later and you risk damaging the turrets too much.

[stratos]

Lol the Blimp trick has always been my curse ever


I always think about some easier strategy to beat this game without performing some of these odd tricks. Stage 2 has some of the harder tricks, imo. The first is the Blimp one and the second is the Madball multiple suicide milking.


I think this game is so beautyful thanks to these weired tricks that you can't perform in any other game, but I'm sure that shoul'd be an easier way to 1CC the game without the need to perform that kind of tricks you can only read on a japanese game magazine... or an Icarus guide If you wanted to perform any of the stage 2 trick, for example, it becomes one of the hardest stages in the game... I've been playing Garegga for months and the best I coul'd do was a 1CC to the Black Heart with 5 mills


So I quit but, when I'll finish with Layer Section and Batsugun, I'll buy the Saturn port, and I will retry this wonderful game, that's probably my favourite ever


And however I take the chance to say thank you again to Icarus, for his wonderful work, this is the best game guide ever made, especially considering the difficulty to find all the material

[Icarus]

I always think about some easier strategy to beat this game without performing some of these odd tricks. Stage 2 has some of the harder tricks, imo. The first is the Blimp one and the second is the Madball multiple suicide milking.

In my opinion there are only six very difficult scoring tricks in the game to get consistently:

- st2 gunblimp
- st2 birds
- st2 Mad Ball
- st4 Medal rails
- st5 Mad Ball2
- st7 Black Heart2 grenade milking

While you can safely ignore the gunblimp and the rails, the birds constitute a large amount of early points, and needs to be perfected in order to stand a chance of doing well later in the game. Some ships have an easier time of scoring off the birds than others. Same goes for grenade milking Black Heart2, but only three ships can score big off that attack (Gain, Chitta, Bornnam).

As for both Mad Ball techniques, you can again safely ignore them, but you do lose at least 1mil in points. Some ships again have an easier time of doing the technique than others, but all it comes down to is correct preparation with regards to stocking Weapon bullets and timing the attacks.

And however I take the chance to say thank you again to Icarus, for his wonderful work, this is the best game guide ever made, especially considering the difficulty to find all the material

Once again, you're welcome. ^_-
I still need to finish up writing parts of this guide, which I might do soon once I free up some more time to put together the necessary screenshots and so forth.

[stratos]

I have another question: is it confirmed the fact that the big power up icons do not increase the rank a lot? If so, I think the best strategy shoul'd be taking only big PU icons, like I see in many good plays from the experts...


Coul'd you confirm?

[Icarus]

I have another question: is it confirmed the fact that the big power up icons do not increase the rank a lot? If so, I think the best strategy shoul'd be taking only big PU icons, like I see in many good plays from the experts...

Coul'd you confirm?

Confirmed.

Code: Select all

|       Type      |                Change quantity                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
|                 |   Normality collection   |       2,048        |
|   Small shot    |      MAX collection      |      10,240        |
|                 |       Levelling up       |      10,240        |

As was mentioned in the previous section, collecting a small shot icon and using it to “level up” your shot power also adds +1 to the “per-frame” rank counter, along with the “one-time” affect listed above.

Code: Select all

|       Type      |                Change quantity                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
|   Large shot    |   Normality collection   |       8,192        |
|                 |      MAX collection      |      16,384        |

To give you an idea of the sorts of numbers at work here, the total amount of increased rank you’ll get by using nothing but large shot items to get yourself up to level 4 is 32,768. By contrast, the total rank increase if you use nothing but small shot items to get yourself up to level 4 is 53,248…and that’s not even taking into account the additional “per-frame” ranking also at work (which will have increased the per-frame rank increase by 240 points per second by then). In short, as mentioned earlier on, use large shot items to level up whenever possible.

[Twiddle]

While I'm thinking about it, there's one bit of minutia that's missing from the rank guide which has been bugging me...has anyone ever tested to see whether or not picking up the 1-UP increases your rank at all (I know in Batrider picking them up does, if memory serves anyways)? I don't ever recall seeing it discussed...

It doesn't increase your rank. If it does it's probably the same amount as a medal.

It wouldn't make sense for it to either since getting an extend by points does nothing against your rank directly.

[BulletMagnet]

Okay, that probably ought to be edited in there someplace (hopefully in less than 6 months ). Thanks, Twid. Gonna miss your...unique presence on Team Loser this year.

[Twiddle]

If the 1up did impact rank negatively, my no-extends mode Garegga attempts would be hilarious.

Not that it would matter much, as enemy health doesn't seem to be even a tenth as affected as the bullet patterns and frequency are with the no-extend option.

note to self: play in Extended mode without extends after clearing without extends

[Arvandor]

Is there a good "noob" ship for this game? I did surprisingly well with Miyamoto, despite AND because of his godly speed, but something tells me I'd be better off playing something else =/ I've always liked the Red Baron, but his shot is so... well... pathetic.

I know Raizing games aren't known for their ship-balance, so... what's my best option here?

[Sonic R]

Is there a good "noob" ship for this game? I did surprisingly well with Miyamoto, despite AND because of his godly speed, but something tells me I'd be better off playing something else =/ I've always liked the Red Baron, but his shot is so... well... pathetic.

I know Raizing games aren't known for their ship-balance, so... what's my best option here?

If you are play for score, then the popular choice is 'Wild Snail' and his variants. I hear that 'Golden Bat' is the best of them. I have just learn about Golden Bat and have been using him as of late.

[stratos]

Is there a good "noob" ship for this game? I did surprisingly well with Miyamoto, despite AND because of his godly speed, but something tells me I'd be better off playing something else =/ I've always liked the Red Baron, but his shot is so... well... pathetic.

I know Raizing games aren't known for their ship-balance, so... what's my best option here?

If you are play for score, then the popular choice is 'Wild Snail' and his variants. I hear that 'Golden Bat' is the best of them. I have just learn about Golden Bat and have been using him as of late.

So, if you are playing for clearing the game, what shoul'd be the best choice? I know some ships affect the rank differently from others, but I can't really choose the one that best suit survival... probably because this game isn't intended to be played this way and I suck

[Icarus]

Wild Snail (B/ABC variant)
- Best for distance. Great Shot strength, comes with piercing bullet as standard. Bomb is a little short ranged, however. (Japanese gaming mags noted that 80%-ish of all Japanese clears use the Golden Bat.)

Bornnam (B/ABC variant)
- Best for consistent scoring. Rapid fire options with great range. Lower rank increase rate compared to the Snail. Bomb is slightly slow to fire, so it's best used preemptively, rather than reactively.

Grasshopper (B/ABC variant)
- Strong Shot which comes with piercing bullets at higher strengths, so you can choose to go power or rank control. Bomb is instant firing and has decent power, also has front and rear coverage.

Silver Sword (any variant other than default)
- All-purpose ship. Nice progressive base rank increase rate. Bomb that covers the screen at full power, and can be aimed. Also has great bomb strength. Tricky to use for scoring, however.

Miyamoto (C variant)
- Fastest ship, exploding Option shots that do splash damage. Scoring is average but great for distance.

[Twiddle]

Going to write anything about Gain

[stratos]

Best for distance

What do you mean for "distance"? Do you mean "survival"? I always thought that the Golden Bat was a ship good at scoring and survival at the same time, but I also thought that the Sword was best at survival because of its slow rank increase.


Please explain


And ok, I know: I shoul'd try to figure out by myself, and I will in the future buying the Saturn port (busy with Rayforce at the moment), but I always want to know where I failed in my previous mame attempts


Men, I love this game, it is my favourite ever, but is the game in wich, paradoxally, I suck the most

[Icarus]

What do you mean for "distance"? Do you mean "survival"? I always thought that the Golden Bat was a ship good at scoring and survival at the same time, but I also thought that the Sword was best at survival because of its slow rank increase.

By distance I mean how far into the game you can get without really pushing score. Some ships are better inclined towards easier scoring, some are better for stage progression.

For instance, the Wild Snail is great for both (powerful Weapon means you need less Weapon bullets to attack targets, while a piercing Shot gives you a great advantage against bosses and densely packed areas like stage6), but because of the slightly higher rank increase rate, you'll need to have a better grip on scoring to compensate; while something like the Flying Baron can be played without really aiming for lots of points and still get far.

Going to write anything about Gain

Just for you, an update to the ships list.

Silver Sword (any variant other than default)
- All-purpose ship. Nice progressive base rank increase rate. Weapon that covers the screen at full power, and can be aimed. Main disadvantage is that the Weapon at low bullet count has really small coverage (a single bullet gives you a tiny napalm burst in front of the ship), so not great for defense. Has great Weapon strength. Tricky to use for scoring, however.

Grasshopper (B/ABC variant)
- Strong Shot which comes with piercing bullets at higher strengths, so you can choose to go power or rank control. Weapon is instant firing and has decent power, also has front and rear coverage.

Flying Baron (C variant)
- Weapon with great range and firing rate (a single Weapon bullet releases enough to down a few drones), however the Weapon is weak, meaning you need more to hit certain targets (like the st6 tank hatches). Shot has width, but is low in power.

Wild Snail (B/ABC variant)
- Best for distance. Great Shot strength, comes with piercing bullet as standard. Bomb is a little short ranged, however. (Japanese gaming mags noted that 80%-ish of all Japanese clears use the Golden Bat.)

Gain (C variant)
- Highest scoring ship via exploits, but very difficult to use since the Options count as piercing bullets (meaning less points from certain targets). Options have great power, but can only fire a single bullet each time (Space Invaders Syndrome). Weapon can be dropped multiple times, great for the st2 flamingoes. Masters exploit the rank increase from the Options for the best scoring technique in the game, Black Heart2. Very difficult to use ship, for players totally knowledgeable about the game only.

Chitta (any variant except default)
- Options are semi-homing, and take a very wide arc to hit their targets. Everything about Chitta is low power. Weapon is very slow to fire, and I think can be dropped multiple times like Gain. High scoring, but almost as hard as Gain to score competently with, perhaps harder.

Miyamoto (C variant)
- Fastest ship, exploding Option shots that do splash damage. Scoring is average but great for distance. Instant firing Weapon, weak power, but covers the screen at max power.

Bornnam (B/ABC variant)
- Best for consistent scoring. Rapid fire options with great range. Lower rank increase rate compared to the Snail. Bomb is slightly slow to fire, so it's best used preemptively, rather than reactively.

It must be noted that in an expert's hands, the Mahou ships have much higher scoring maximums than the standard Garegga ships, partly due to the fact that three of the four Mahou ships can exploit Black Heart2's grenade attack.

[stratos]

Thanks!

[henry dark]

I just wanted to chime in my thanks for this incredible guide. Finally got this game at the weekend for my Saturn and it's killing me!

[Icarus]

Updated the guide with the ships info posted a couple of posts above, with a bit of extra info regarding ship speed. Will make a more detailed section sometime in the near-future, but for now, this should suffice for new/returning players.