Batrider revisions: go for Korean?

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:13 pm

I know that Del went through this before, but I've forgotten (sorry Del!)

I know he mentioned Korean was the better one to go for, but I can't remember why. According to the sheeps world of arcades revision page, it's missing some features like coloured bullet options and scoring modes.

http://www.world-of-arcades.net/R8zing/ ... isions.htm

Can anyone shed any light on this for me?
Many thanks!

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bostongeorge · Post by **bostongeorge** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:34 am

Just from looking at the link you posted it seems to me that the Korean ver. is the only one with the advanced options enabled with no codes needed.

The only thing it is missing is the Bullet speed options (everyone would only use defaults I'm sure) and Bullet Color (again defaults are best) and the Score mode which could be borderline cheating since it shows your score tallies and such on the screen.

But thats just a guess, I've only played Batrider for an hour or so tops. Not cuz I don't like it ( I do ) I just haven't gotten to it yet.

Enhasa · Post by **Enhasa** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:58 am

For Korean, you get extends automatically instead of having to pick them up. You can't really benefit from the Garegga last life trick in practice, btw, so it's not that. Getting the extend during a boss affects patterns due to rank immediately and lets the boss survive longer, hence more milking.

AFAIK this is the only pertinent difference from Japan B. There is a lot of misinformation and partial knowledge for Batrider, actually that's what makes it interesting (i.e. don't listen to bostongeorge).

Although I'm not completely sure about this either since I just play Japan B anyway.

If it made a big difference, I'm sure everyone would pick Korea B.

bostongeorge wrote:The only thing it is missing is the Bullet speed options (everyone would only use defaults I'm sure) and Bullet Color (again defaults are best) and the Score mode which could be borderline cheating since it shows your score tallies and such on the screen.

When we played Batrider week at SDA, some people actually utilized the bullet color switch to see better, and I thought that was just loony.

How would seeing your score tally be borderline cheating?

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:09 am

Skykid - Either Korean B or Japan B are fine. My first credit at the Milan Meet was on a Japan B, which I had never played before and I attained my highest Normal Course score (at the time) on that credit. So there's really not enough of a difference to worry about.
I just prefer the extends appearing immediately on the Korean B. You don't have to wait for Boss battles to finish for your next extend to drop.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:32 am

So in Batrider, extends normally appear on screen to be collected (like medals), but in the Korean version, it's automatic?

moozooh · Post by **moozooh** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:44 am

In JP version they are dropped by enemies who are able to drop items (i.e., you can't get an extend during a boss fight unless the boss spawns enemies that drop stuff when killed).

Kaiser · Post by **Kaiser** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:32 am

Korean has faster rank imo, in Japan B the difficulty by stage 6 boss is ok but in Korean without MEDALLING stage 6 boss is a pain to take down, seriously

elfhentaifan · Post by **elfhentaifan** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:22 am

In the japan versions I found it annoying to always unlock secret character/stage select and Game modes with codes, + the risk with collecting extends.
This is what would make me pick up the korean version, if i'd be interested in that game.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:25 am

elfhentaifan wrote:In the japan versions I found it annoying to always unlock secret character/stage select and Game modes with codes,

youre thinking of garegga, the batrider stuff is unlocked via dipswitches not codes.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:25 pm

sven666 wrote:
elfhentaifan wrote:In the japan versions I found it annoying to always unlock secret character/stage select and Game modes with codes,
youre thinking of garegga, the batrider stuff is unlocked via dipswitches not codes.

In that case who cares, I'll just switch the dips.

But is it true Korean is harder. I can't face that, by stage 6 it's plenty hard enough.

Post by **Dave_K.** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:34 pm

I think automatic extends on the Koren version make an unfair advantage. And as Enhasa mentioned, this can lead to extended boss milking for higher scores (at a cost of higher rank). Anyway, for mame competition, people should stick to Jpn B version. For PCBs, get whichever you can and a $15 romswap will take care of the rest.

markedkiller78 · Post by **markedkiller78** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:28 pm

sven666 wrote:
elfhentaifan wrote:In the japan versions I found it annoying to always unlock secret character/stage select and Game modes with codes,
youre thinking of garegga, the batrider stuff is unlocked via dipswitches not codes.

He speaks the truth. You can also sort the intial rank thing out by flicking dip 1 then hitting 1p start to boot the game.

My Main man Charlie Chong showed me that one

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:25 pm

Did a fellow shmupper score a rare and very much desired Tawain region version of Batrider PCB with all-English text for the menu selection screen and ending stories?

And has it been rom dumped yet?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:37 pm

markedkiller78 wrote:
sven666 wrote:
elfhentaifan wrote:In the japan versions I found it annoying to always unlock secret character/stage select and Game modes with codes,
youre thinking of garegga, the batrider stuff is unlocked via dipswitches not codes.
He speaks the truth. You can also sort the intial rank thing out by flicking dip 1 then hitting 1p start to boot the game.

My Main man Charlie Chong showed me that one

What's the 'initial rank' thing?

moozooh · Post by **moozooh** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:50 pm

In Batrider, the initial rank at game start defaults to high when the board is just powered up, and the initial value slowly goes back to normal during the period of 30 minutes. This was done because the opposite of that scheme was done to Garegga, and knowledgeable players rebooted the PCB to lower the rank. The way to start at normal (default) rank is to either force the initial rank switch, or exit the game menu with start button.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:24 am

moozooh wrote:In Batrider, the initial rank at game start defaults to high when the board is just powered up, and the initial value slowly goes back to normal during the period of 30 minutes. This was done because the opposite of that scheme was done to Garegga, and knowledgeable players rebooted the PCB to lower the rank. The way to start at normal (default) rank is to either force the initial rank switch, or exit the game menu with start button.

Ah, cool. I didn't know about that - that's probably why I'm getting worked over early on.

Well this is an interesting thread now - plenty of discussion but I'm still none the wiser whether to go for Korean ver or JP ver.B.
To be honest, because I'm not in an uber category of shmup player, the Korean auto extends sound appealing (as well as English text) - as long as someone can confirm that this version isn't more difficult (with a faster and higher rank), as someone mentioned above.

Anyone?

elfhentaifan · Post by **elfhentaifan** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:27 am

Its not really harder.
And if you want to play on lowest rank just wait 23 minutes before inserting a credit.
So far to that.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:24 pm

elfhentaifan wrote:Its not really harder.
And if you want to play on lowest rank just wait 23 minutes before inserting a credit.
So far to that.

Jesus, that's wierd. I don't think I have the patience...

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 11:55 am

Skykid wrote:
elfhentaifan wrote:Its not really harder.
And if you want to play on lowest rank just wait 23 minutes before inserting a credit.
So far to that.
Jesus, that's wierd. I don't think I have the patience...

23 minutes ain't much time -- just use a stopwatch and start up a Batrider PCB gaming session when time's up...

Yes, a Korean Armed Police Batrider "Ver. B" PCB is cool to own/play with...I've got such a mint PCB kit complete with Raizing/8ing factory box along with the essential new/unused original arcade paperworks myself. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Aru-san · Post by **Aru-san** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 2:43 pm

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:
Skykid wrote:
elfhentaifan wrote:Its not really harder.
And if you want to play on lowest rank just wait 23 minutes before inserting a credit.
So far to that.
Jesus, that's wierd. I don't think I have the patience...
23 minutes ain't much time -- just use a stopwatch and start up a Batrider PCB gaming session when time's up...

Yes, a Korean Armed Police Batrider "Ver. B" PCB is cool to own/play with...I've got such a mint PCB kit complete with Raizing/8ing factory box along with the essential new/unused original arcade paperworks myself. ^_‾

PC Engine Fan X! ^_‾

Hell, I made a save state on the MAME I use that starts off at the point where the PCB had been on for 30 minutes.

Not to mention it takes you straight into the mode select menu when you load it up, so you're ready to go.

Enhasa · Post by **Enhasa** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 7:02 pm

Uh, listen to markedkiller and moozooh. Just turn on service mode in the dip switches (go ahead and also turn on stage edit, guest player, player select, and special course while you're at it). Then reset and start the game from the service menu using the start button (not button 1). You don't have to wait around at all.

The initial rank makes a difference of course, but it's not so much that it would cause you to get worked early on. If you put :batrider:00200026:20F9D1:00000000:FFFFFFFF:Watch Game Rank in cheat.dat you can actually watch the rank for yourself. That plus the score mode (start + bomb during play) are invaluable for refining your strategies.

Honestly, it's human nature to try to shift responsibility away from your own play and onto outside forces. Well, I think it's actually true in real life heh, but one of the most enlightening things you can do with Raizing is to turn on "watch game rank" in general and also try playing Garegga once "with easy rank" in the cheats. It certainly wasn't anything like the easy 1cc I expected it to be, and it helped my play immediately by getting rid of the defeatist attitude of "I'm not supposed to be able to survive this without managing rank a lot more."

Also for great lulz, turn on infinite bombs and quickly drive the rank up to max. We had some whiner complain about how he was "too lazy to wait 30 minutes" and how he kept getting wiped on stage 1 "because it was impossible at max rank."

Seeing the real max rank gives you a new perspective.

As for Korean vs Japan B, it really is like I said in my first post. The English is basically for the endings, so it doesn't affect play (and you can go to vgmuseum if you want to see the endings anyway Jyuji Wow!). You still won't be able to read the menus in either version, but one minute and you'll have them all memorized anyway.

AFAIK, the rank is same in Korean in that it works the same way, but due to immediate extends and extra milking, your rank can be effectively higher at a given point than it would be otherwise. That's quite a worthy tradeoff though since you are playing for score after all. If you want to reassure yourself though, you can watch the rank in Korean and make sure I'm not just making this part up (since I only have real experience with Japan B).

overkill55 · Post by **overkill55** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 7:34 pm

Enhasa wrote:Jyuji Wow!).

Haha, that was great! Jyuji is unstoppable!