Ibara vs. Ibara BL - worth it?

drboom · Post by **drboom** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:36 pm

Ibara kits are selling for 250-300 while BL sells for over a grand. I'm wondering if the BL kit is really worth it? I'm a decent shmup player, but not the best by far.
While it seems that alot of the features from the first game have been changed (rank system, weapons select etc.) , is the original still fun or was it "broken" to begin with?

Radiant · Post by **Radiant** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:00 pm

Ibara is Raizing Style
Ibara BL is Cave Style

Plasmo · Post by **Plasmo** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:07 pm

Ibara is about 10 times better than Ibara BL. Still BL isnt a bad game.

stratos · Post by **stratos** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:20 pm

I'm a decent shmup player, but not the best by far

I think Ibara it's more complex and probably amusing than it's BL counterpart, but it's far more difficult and also its design is so different that a comparison is really hard to do. It's like to compare Battle Garegga with Dodonpachi: IMHO it doesn't simply make sense.

Simply, Cave took the sprites, background and enemies location of Ibara and created a brand new game with a brand new, more modern, system. I don't like it, I like the Yagawa style far more, but it's also matter of personal taste.

So, assuming that you weren't aware of these differences, I hope this informations can be of some help for you.

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:22 pm

From what I've heard, they're pretty much different games entirely. Try some Raizing games and see what you think.

freddiebamboo · Post by **freddiebamboo** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:27 pm

I'd imagine BL is only for the ultra hardcore collectors out there, it's an awful lot of money.

Ibara is a fine game (very hard though) and certainly way better value than the BL PCB.

yojo! · Post by **yojo!** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:43 pm

Isn't Arrange mode on the PS2 version pretty much the same as Ibara BL ?

drboom · Post by **drboom** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:44 pm

I had no idea that they were that different. I'm a big fan of the Raizing/8ing style, so this sounds like it would be up my alley.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:53 pm

yojo! wrote:Isn't Arrange mode on the PS2 version pretty much the same as Ibara BL ?

Similar, but there are several notable differences.

Gwyrgyn Blood · Post by **Gwyrgyn Blood** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 5:03 pm

yojo! wrote:Isn't Arrange mode on the PS2 version pretty much the same as Ibara BL ?

They are pretty different really. BL has the XTC system which is the main focus of score, as opposed to Arrange which doesn't have XTC and where bombing bullets is the main way to get points. BL you have 'search' shot and 'normal' shot only, you get formations and special formations in Arrange mode. You can also vacuum medals in in BL.

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:54 pm

Personally, I really prefer Ibara BL to Ibara. I think IBL is one of the best shmups in recent years.

Ibara is still fun too. I think the more recent Yagawa shmups (Pink Sweets and MMP) are better though.

Battlesmurf · Post by **Battlesmurf** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:12 pm

Personally, I really prefer Ibara BL to Ibara. I think IBL is one of the best shmups in recent years

seconded. Ibara is not a bad deal , though- but way different (iMHO some less sensible design decisions that just ended up not being very fun). BL is holding it's own in my cabs- ketsui just recently got the boot (temporarily)- so I'm kinda preferring BL to Ketsui at the moment

/ sacrilage

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:15 pm

Battlesmurf wrote: so I'm kinda preferring BL to Ketsui at the moment

/ sacrilage

I really prefer IBL to Ketsui as well. It's just a lot more fun IMO.

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:32 pm

yeah, but you only bought ketsui once

if you buy it again, you might have a change of heart

to answer the original post, ibara wasn't a broken game, but it was the first game cave released with yagawa as the main man. it apparently bombed (no pun intended) sales wise, and ibara BL was a way of recycling a lot of the work put into ibara, and release a more "cave-ish" game. my personal opinion on this is that each subsequent yagawa/caizing game has drifted further from the raizing style. so in this respect, i think ibara is the "purest" of the caizing games.

i've seen a lot on BL, and if i had the cash, i'd own both. but when excellentcom are selling used ibara boards for $190, i couldn't recommend it enough

eretsua · Post by **eretsua** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 11:10 pm

see my post on page 4 of ibara black label location test thread for a reasonably elaborate write up on black label.

drboom · Post by **drboom** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:56 pm

Looks like I'll be ponying up for Ibara then. BL wil have to wait (until after I get a Ketsui pcb that is).
Anyone have one for sale here?

And has anyone delt with coinopexpress.com before? Or is there a better online site for pcb's?
They seem to have decent prices, but so far, I haven't seen anyone mention them. I'm guessing that the overseas sites have better prices, but I'm hesitant to translate and hope for the best when making an order.

thewestexit · Post by **thewestexit** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 2:37 am

slightly OT maybe, but where can I find some gameplay vids of IBL? There's nothing on Youtube... come to think of it the orginal Ibara vids up there leave a bit to be desired as well...

Shalashaska · Post by **Shalashaska** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 2:41 am

SuperPlay has a stage 1 video.

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:56 am

thewestexit wrote:slightly OT maybe, but where can I find some gameplay vids of IBL? There's nothing on Youtube... come to think of it the orginal Ibara vids up there leave a bit to be desired as well...

Actually, the Insanity DVD preview 5 is footage of Black Label.

roker · Post by **roker** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:36 am

Gwyrgyn Blood wrote: You can also vacuum medals in in BL.

by far my favorite feature of the BL

My opinion:

Ibara is the ultimate game for masochists

I may not be the best player, but Ibara is downright unfair and I don't get that same feeling with Ibara as I do with other shmups

if you can afford it, buy the BL version as it's more "forgiving"

Gwyrgyn Blood · Post by **Gwyrgyn Blood** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 5:05 am

roker wrote: by far my favorite feature of the BL

Hah, I was almost thinking about picking the game up just for this and reduced load times from the PS2 port... but I decided I'm not really that big of a fan of buzzing bullets. I enjoy Arrange mode because I like the bullet canceling system, but the XTC system doesn't really sound that hot to me.

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 5:10 am

Gwyrgyn Blood wrote:[I'm not really that big of a fan of buzzing bullets. I enjoy Arrange mode because I like the bullet canceling system, but the XTC system doesn't really sound that hot to me.

I am not a fan of games like Psyvariar or even Shiki II, both of which involve bullet buzzing. But I love IBL. It does not feel like bullet buzzing when you play, and remember you have to be holding the A button when bullets get within the XTC sphere around your ship in order to increase the XTC counter. It's really a counter that rewards you for playing at max rank (where you'll be surrounded by bullets anyway) rather than for buzzing bullets.