GD: Strikers 1945 II (Late Pass)

[seiatsu]

Always meant to play Strikers but always unintentionally put it off for other stg's. Now that I've started playing it, I see why it's typically held in high regard. I know a lot of you play / played this one, yet I don't see much gameplay related discussion about it. Based on that, I'm trying to drum some up to get me up to speed (and just get the info out there in general).

I've got the very basics as that is pretty standard stuff (fire, bomb, charge shot, collect medals when they flash to maximize their value, etc.) but do have a few questions as well:

1) Charge shot meter: I know you need to have some meter to do a charge shot...however, is there any difference by charging it to a higher level or do the levels indicate uses available? Additionally, how much meter does each charge shot use up. I know shooting stuff builds meter but is there any method to the rate it builds based on the particular enemy, etc?...overall, just deeper discussion about the particulars of the charge shot/meter.

2) The fighters vary in size...but is the hitbox for each the same size? or..is the whole plane the nit area?

3) Is bombing discouraged here? The results screen is a bit vague so I'm not really sure if there is a bomb bonus or not (seems like there is no bonus for not bombing)....in some cases, it seems there is some incentive to bomb if you have stock as the bombs in this games are very nicely designed =)

4) Any other commonly known tips or secrets that one should know?

I also have a random question specific to the psx version (i think). (When using tate) On the pregame screen, there is some japanese text that says something about L1+Start...anyone know what it says?

[lgb]

1. Strength. Strikers 1945 Plus DID have stock however; different ships have different amounts they can carry at once.

2. I do believe the hitbox is the same. I doubt the hitbox is the whole ship.

3. No bonuses or penalties for bombing as far as I know. Unless you are some sort of gaming god, bombs are almost necessary sometimes.

4. Ask the Strikers nuts.

[IlMrm]

Each bomb collected after you've reached full bomb stock(9) is worth 10,000 points each.

There are two different midboss in stage seven. However I don't think there's a way to trigger a particular one.

L1 + start takes you to a quicker plane select screen?

[Kaiser]

Each bomb collected after you've reached full bomb stock(9) is worth 10,000 points each.

There are two different midboss in stage seven. However I don't think there's a way to trigger a particular one.

L1 + start takes you to a quicker plane select screen?

There is particular way to trigger a midboss in stage seven, it depends on which side of the screen you are, left or right, the one from Strikers 1945 I gives more points in milking imo

[seiatsu]

ok..didn't know about the anything over nine bombs bonus. good to know. Is there a cap?


Hope someone comes with more info about the meter...that intrigues me.

[BER]

Hey seiatsu,

Additionally, how much meter does each charge shot use up.

It depends on the level displayed on your charge shot meter. If it's at LV.1, your plane would use just the green section of your meter. The rest of the meter would be unused. For example, suppose the green section is totally filled and the yellow section is almost totally filled. If you use a charge shot, then you would have a totally filled green section and a yellow section that's a little bit filled. Exactly how much gets used, I don't know.

If your charge shot meter is at LV.2, your plane will use the green and yellow sections, and whatever is left would be unused. And if it's at LV.3, your plane will use the entire meter.

Note that you can't use just a LV.1 charge shot if your meter is already at higher levels. For example, if your meter is at LV.2, you have to use the LV.2 charge shot. So if you would rather, say, use two LV.1 charge shots in quick succession, don't fill the meter to LV.2.

I know shooting stuff builds meter but is there any method to the rate it builds based on the particular enemy

I don't think the type of enemy has any effect on how fast your charge shot meter builds. Your meter fills the fastest in the green section and slowest in the red section.

Is bombing discouraged here?

That depends on your goal. If you just want to beat the game, then I encourage you to use your bombs. If you want a high score, then it's discouraged. From all the high scoring replays I've seen, the bomb has been used only for protection, not for any scoring tricks.

By the way, as long is your bomb stock is at 9 and you collect a bomb icon, you'll always get the 10,000-point bonus. Your bomb stock is capped at 9, but the number of times you can get this bonus is uncapped.

[shoe-sama]

1) Different ships have different charge rates. Hayate in Strikers 1945 II charges particularly fast. It's not as fast as P-47 charge, but at least it's not shit lol (arguably the best charge shot, the other contender would be pancake)
Also shooting large enemies only builds up meter if you're under lvl 1 in III (not sure about II)

2) hitbox is plane center

3) lol i got to 1-8 in 30 minutes by spamming bombs in II

4) Strikers II and III = spam charge shot
never ever save up the charge shot, especially since it charges slower at higher levels

[stuminator]

I also have a random question specific to the psx version (i think). (When using tate) On the pregame screen, there is some japanese text that says something about L1+Start...anyone know what it says?

It says "quick select".

4) Strikers II and III = spam charge shot
never ever save up the charge shot, especially since it charges slower at higher levels

Agreed, 2 level1s are usually more powerful than a level2, plus the charge meter refills a lot faster when its low. The fockewulf is the only ship imo where it's sometimes more useful to save up for a level2.

[shoe-sama]

fockewulf has a charge shot!?

anyways hayate also happens to have the best bomb in addition to the best charge shot (with pancake following behind)
its meter also allows for double lvl1 or double lvl 2
triple lvl 1 if you charge another lvl 1 while 2 of them are active

[seiatsu]

Thanks for the insight all.

Any kind of hidden bonuses, etc? Something like the pyramids in raiden or the bees in ddp come to mind. Anything like this in strikers? Any other not so obvious (or obvious for that matter) things one should know? If yes, what is the typical way to trigger these types of things in this game?

Kaiser mentioned different midbosses for stage 7. Is this only stage 7 or can this be done in various areas of the game?

Also...i assume increasing your rank also offers more chance to maximize score (while making survival a bit more difficult). Is this correct?


(in regards to the L1+Start thing...that's what I thought but also thought there must be more as it's not really any quicker than picking it on the following screen =). almost seems pointless unless I'm missing something )

[it290]

You asked for obvious, so I'm presuming you know about the gold bonuses (pick it up when it's flashing = 2000pts.).

In general I would say playing for survival is the best strategy. You will get a few more points from extra enemies if you keep the rank up, but the difference is fairly minimal and overall you'll probably attain a higher score if you can just survive longer. You can also do a bit of milking from destructable boss parts and extra planes that arrive during boss battles, which can sometimes be beneficial (especially when said parts are shooting fast bullets), but you don't want to keep them alive too long because they'll get angry. If that happens you're almost guaranteed to end up using a bomb.

As for hidden bonuses, Strikers 1945 had the Gunbird train which could net some nice points on the Germany stage, but I'm not aware of anything comparable in S1945II.

[Aru-san]

As for bombing...uh...you're playing a game where you're ENCOURAGED to bomb. Why else would they give you a message to BOMB more when you lose all your lives without even pressing the bomber?

Also, the late shoe-sama (damn, I always keep on typing SHOW everytime) is right. Bombing does get you far. It helped me get to 1-7, something which I thought was near-impossible to do when I DIDN'T bomb.