MovingTarget wrote:If only sex was possible with video games, Dodonpachi would get it.
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
It will, as long as your system is modded or you use the Breaker Pro swap disk. AFAIK, no other swap disk currently works.Nei First wrote:I don't know if a jap PSX game would work on a PS2.
Only if you use the two-player mode a lot. I rarely do, I'd rather take turns in shmups.Dylan1CC wrote:As others said, the fact you have to use the same ship in 2P mode in the PSX rev is at least one major notch against that version.
Yeah but the thing is, I'm fortunate enough to have quite a few friends who enjoy shooters a lot too. So if they're visiting and see me playing one, they usually want to join in. Plus the friend I mentioned above is a great side gunner, he even got decent fast at grazing bullets with the hitbox when I showed him how.Ghegs wrote:Only if you use the two-player mode a lot. I rarely do, I'd rather take turns in shmups.Dylan1CC wrote:As others said, the fact you have to use the same ship in 2P mode in the PSX rev is at least one major notch against that version.
It's more fun if you want to play a bit more seriously, yes. Playing with two players is just fooling around and credit-feeding like mad most of the time, at least in my experience.Dylan1CC wrote: And taking turns is more fun than co-op? To each his own. It may be much, much harder to get a good score in co-op obviously, but if it's gonna be 2P it's more fun IMHO.
i have the saturn port and the MVS, and except loading times i don't see any differences, what did you notice?Neon wrote: Metal slug on the other hand, there are about a thousand differences between PSX, Saturn, and arcade apiece I could list.
the only thing i don't agree with him is about the superior saturn controller outweighing slowdown, since it should be played with an arcade stick anyway (but i know some people here prefer the pad).PaCrappa wrote: The great DoDonPachi debate.
Back when I was first getting myself online and communicating with people through message boards(about one year ago), I saw a thread at shmups.com entitled something like, "Is the DoDonPachi on the PS1 as good as the Saturn version?". I thought I knew something about this and piped up to say something similar to, "It's doubtful because the only 2D game on the PS1 that is better than its Saturn counterpart is Castlevania Symphony of the Night". Sure enough some conscientious shmups lurker saw that one and raked me over the coals. He told me to do some research and that I'd obviously never played the PS1 version. That piqued my curiosity and I decided that I'd get this PS1 version no matter what I had to do. It took a couple months and even then it came to me accidentally. I was involved in a trade with a guy from gametz.com and I thought for sure he meant to send me a Saturn version which would have been great for the shop, still in its earliest formative stages. When my box arrived it had a shiny fresh copy of the Playstation version in it. I was overjoyed. I popped it in immediately and noticed a few glaring items of business that seemed to make all the difference. I quickly put the SS version on the chopping block and never really looked at it again. So is the PS1 jammy really better than its Sega Saturn counterpart? That is not so simple to answer, and certainly not as simple as I attempted to make it the day I received my PS1 copy. The differences between the two and possible superiority of one over the other is what this essay will discuss. Read on.
Just the Facts
The fact of the matter is you'll get a highly playable and enjoyable shooting experience no matter which system you choose. It's a great game and the flaws that either version may possess are slight when compared to the fun you'll have. Another fact is that the Saturn version has three modes of play while the PS1 has only one. The Playstation conversion features only the arcade mode while the Saturn adds Saturn mode and Score Attack mode to the mix. When I first found my way back to the SS version I was overjoyed at the Saturn Mode which I had forgotten completely. Unfortunately the joy faded after I realized that Saturn mode only offers a new first level and no continue options. The joy faded further after playing it a few more times and realizing that the new level sucks ass and is too easy. Why is THAT the new music? Where's the bullets? Could it be any easier? Uglier? The Score Attack mode offers the player a chance to get his best score in only three ships. Redundant and just like the Saturn mode, nothing to write home (or TFP2) about. The Playstation version offers a couple of slick options including a Twinkle Star Sprites(DC) style "slow down switch" enabling the gamer to turn the "wait" on or off. Default is off and I have no idea if the arcade original had any slowdown issues as I've only played the MAME32 version and it jerks like a seizure. Also the player can use the L1 button to slow down the entire game at will. To me both of these options are also basically useless but they do seem thoughtful at the very least. The last difference that stands as fact is display. The Playstation version offers a taller narrower field of view in standard horizontal TV mode that seems to cover all of what would be seen on vertical mode. The Saturn looks like it's cut a bit off the top in standard mode. This is offset a bit in the Saturn version by taking the bomb status bar from the bottom of the screen (where it resides in the PS1 and arcade versions) and moving it to the side to rest in the unused black border. Also in tate mode with the Playstation version the player must select which fighter to play at the options screen. Two players can play but they must both use the same ship. Shot and laser power are still selectable though.
Advantage: It's really feels like a tie in this department. In the modes of play and the display department, neither has the clear advantage.
Playing the Game.
The game works pretty well on both platforms. What the Saturn lacks in framerate stability it makes up for in controller. But then I've always preferred the Saturn's round d-pad and flat controller body to the Playstation controller's "not for 2D" feel. Let's backup for a second and talk about the framerate issue. Someone lacking anything interesting to do could probably poke around a message board or two and quote me more than once saying that the Playstation version has no slowdown. Let me be the first to tell you all that I was wrong. It will slow down in certain overly busy spots. Levels five and six spring to mind instantly. However its competition, the Saturn version, slows down out of the gate on level one and often for no detectable reason.
Advantage: Tie. The Saturn's slowdown is traded off for it's superior (IMHO) controller.
Graphic Depictions of Violence
I've always thought DoDonPachi was nice and pretty(except for that homely first level in the "Saturn Mode"). I enjoy the colors of enemies, backgrounds and bullets. The ship and boss designs aren't the most flashy or stylish but they certainly get the job done and don't leave me complaining. The true standout in the graphical department is the level of detail in the explosions. In the arcade and PS1 versions these explosions appear to be almost photo-real napalm explosions captured from Apocalypse Now or some such Vietnam war flick. They are meant to be true things of spritely beauty but in the Saturn version they've been murdered. Gone are the smoothly billowing puffs of orange flame and black smoke. Left in their place are nasty gangs of square formations that do little more than convey a notion of an intended explosion. Call me a silly nitpicker but after playing the PS1 version it is apparent that someone considered the creation of those explosions to be an artful labor of love. Not having that fit and finish there in the Saturn version is a huge letdown even if it is all eye candy. On further graphical note, the PS1 version seems to have sharper graphics in a general sense in lots of places. The huge red ship at the end of level three is sticking out in my mind as I write this. It seems a bit fuzzy and muddy in the Saturn version and it is of course all sharp and pretty with the PS1 version. I guess I'll harp on that no further. My point was made before I even started on "the huge red ship" bit. Below you'll find two screenshots. To your left is a Saturn screen with a nastily pixellated explosion and on the right is a Playstation screen illustrating the smoothness of detail previously mentioned.
Saturn port has a lot of missing frames, especially in the explosion of the tank's cannon, marco's breath on level 3, and basically throughout the game. It doesn't have any difficulty beyond the standard arcade one (except easier ones, those are useless though). It shows a weird hitbox type thing on the stage 1 boss. Also in some places there is a line of some kind on the screen, like at the stage 2 midboss or at a specific location on the 'ridge' part of stage 4. Saturn also has flower pots in the house windows, so you need to alter your strategy there a bit. Lastly the sound has been downsampled somewhat, and there are some sound effects missing, i.e. the rush of stage 1's waterfall, the announcer saying 'mission complete,' a few others.i have the saturn port and the MVS, and except loading times i don't see any differences, what did you notice?
The PS2 Saturn controller looks like the Saturn pad but is it as good? I have the USB Saturn controller and it's nice, but prefer using the Saturn pad with the PC 3in1 adapter.Neon wrote: Back to DDP, the Saturn controller has been released for PS2, so that's not really an issue. Should really use a good Sanwa stick instead though, you'll never go back.
Ah, that's a good idea. I should try a skill match sometime with my best friend Stu who is as big of a shooter fan as I am.Ghegs wrote:It's more fun if you want to play a bit more seriously, yes....we usually take turns on to see who's actually better at it.Dylan1CC wrote: And taking turns is more fun than co-op? To each his own. It may be much, much harder to get a good score in co-op obviously, but if it's gonna be 2P it's more fun IMHO.
Why don't you back off a little! Ok?Naiera wrote:Aside from being pissy, you're also being very unreasonable. Seriously, get a grip.
LUNardei wrote:Uh uh, i've heard that the PSX version doesn't have slowdowns...
And this is not a clue of how good the conversion is! In Cave games slowdowns are part of the game! So you guys are playing just another game...
Imho only PCB and the direct PCB emulation is the way to play DDP.
as someone in the market for a Strikers 1945 II pcb, have you considered that this doesn´t have any kind of reset button? The funny thing, though, is I found myself having much more fun with Dodonpachi after being stripped of a "return to menu" option. Restarting over and over again drains all fun from a game for me, even if the current run won´t get me anywhere score-wise, it´s better in the long run to just go on playing, because the more often I restart, the less tolerance I have for my own mistakes.I bought the game on PSX recently, going to buy it again on Saturn as well. The Saturn version is better to practice on I think, since it's easier to start over, and the loadtimes. Such a crying shame it got uglified, though.
Melf wrote:I have the Saturn version and it's enough for me. I don't need the most perfect port, especially when it costs as much as it does on PSX.
As for the pioxels. I kind of like that in the explosions. Makes it feel more arcadey.
SHMUP sale page.Randorama wrote:ban CMoon for being a closet Jerry Falwell cockmonster/Ann Coulter fan, Nijska a bronie (ack! The horror!), and Ed Oscuro being unable to post 100-word arguments without writing 3-pages posts.
Eugenics: you know it's right!