Why is Mushihimesama so popular?

[Nemo]

It seems like there is a lot more hype and anticipation surrounding the PS2 release of this game than any shooter in a long while, and a lot more than Galuda and Pachis received. Most people on this site seem to have it POed already, the game is on the best seller list at P-Asia, they also went as far as have a constant link to Mushi's product page on their website calling it "the shoot 'em up of the year", and many people have shelled out $50+ for its soundtrack even before the port is released. Does it have to do with the game being Cave's finest to date, the fact that more people import for the PS2 now, or maybe it's that it's been a long while since we got a new, excellent manic shmup for a console? I'd say it's a bit of all of the above, but more so option #3 seeing as that nothing has come close to "shooting love" Galuda brought me since its release last year.

[DarkWolf7]

Don't forget Reko/sex appeal.

[TVG]

It seems like there is a lot more hype and anticipation surrounding the PS2 release of this game than any shooter in a long while, and a lot more than Galuda and Pachis received. Most people on this site seem to have it POed already, the game is on the best seller list at P-Asia, they also went as far as have a constant link to Mushi's product page on their website calling it "the shoot 'em up of the year", and many people have shelled out $50+ for its soundtrack even before the port is released. Does it have to do with the game being Cave's finest to date, the fact that more people import for the PS2 now, or maybe it's that it's been a long while since we got a new, excellent manic shmup for a console? I'd say it's a bit of all of the above, but more so option #3 seeing as that nothing has come close to "shooting love" Galuda brought me since its release last year.

it was also one of the most popular arcade games according to arcadia for a while, so it must be somewhat good.
add the fact that cave ports were hella unlikely at a point (however, i was saying that mushi will get a port from the start)
im sure the 3 different modes will appeal to most people, as opposed to, say, DOJ, or galuda, a game a lot of people bitched about because it was too easy.

as for me, the game looks nice and the patterns are very interesting, the only thing that worries me is that im kinda not getting the system...seems uselessely complex with multiple counters and stuff, maybe someone could make it a bit clearer?
that and the autofire things REALLY worries me, i hope its playable on a pad, i wouldnt want to buy a stick just for that (i can play fine on the ps1 pad, and i never make a mistake because of it)

[Cthulhu]

I've played it a lot. It's in-freaking-credibly good. The popularity of this one is well deserved. Cave is known for good stuff, and this time they just got everything "right." Plus the PS2 version will have an arrange mode, meaning it has even more to offer than the arcade game. Good news? Oh yeah.

[Rob]

Look at the people discussing the figurine. That answers everything.

[BER]

that and the autofire things REALLY worries me, i hope its playable on a pad, i wouldnt want to buy a stick just for that (i can play fine on the ps1 pad, and i never make a mistake because of it)

Just a tangential remark: Arcadia Magazine will now keep track of scores that are obtained without the use of auto-fire hacks. (See the May 11th entry of http://nmt.cside.com/minna/minna.htm.) So I guess players without these auto-fire hacks can have more valid scores to compare against soon.

Besides, a few Japanese arcades that use auto-fire hacks have one A button with a firing frequency of 10 or 12 Hz and two C buttons with whatever frequencies. I don't think any mass-produced joystick has these features.

[raiden]

I´d also like a bit more info about the gameplay system... by now, I´ve read twice that it´s similar to Dodonpachi and 10 times that it´s the best thing since sliced bread.
If it´s just the same as DDP, I don´t need it just for the graphics, and I don´t find the patterns as appealing as, say, those from Ketsui.

[TVG]

that and the autofire things REALLY worries me, i hope its playable on a pad, i wouldnt want to buy a stick just for that (i can play fine on the ps1 pad, and i never make a mistake because of it)

Just a tangential remark: Arcadia Magazine will now keep track of scores that are obtained without the use of auto-fire hacks. (See the May 11th entry of http://nmt.cside.com/minna/minna.htm.) So I guess players without these auto-fire hacks can have more valid scores to compare against soon.

Besides, a few Japanese arcades that use auto-fire hacks have one A button with a firing frequency of 10 or 12 Hz and two C buttons with whatever frequencies. I don't think any mass-produced joystick has these features.

what i mean is that you have to press a button while tapping another really fast at the same time, im just not seeing myself doing this...unless they have the brillant idea to give me the abillity to map a command to the shoulder buttons, sorry, forgot to add that i wasnt talking about the hacks in my post.

seriously, if i cant map autofire to a shoulder button, i dont think i will play this game...i dont like playing on sticks when sitting on the couch at home.

what i heard from the system is that its like DDP but much more lenient, the combo meter decreases instead of reseting when you miss. but then i heard about banking a child on the counter...thats a bit confusing.

as nice as the bulletmorph from ketsui is, i think i like mushi ones more, i did play alot with both in that YSG2000 simulation, altough i only played ketsui for real and not mushi.

the patterns in mushi do seem wicked, but actually they have a lot of holes, they're kinda simmilar to psikyo stuff in that you often position in the middle of "lines of bullets".
DOJ just throws so much random shit at you its sick, you need to dodge every single bullet, you cant think in terms of "stream" most of the time, thats why its even harder than it looks at first, at least if you're playing for score.

i dont know if i made sense here.

[raiden]

what i mean is that you have to press a button while tapping another really fast at the same time

what´s the aim of this procedure, gameplay-wise?

what i heard from the system is that its like DDP but much more lenient, the combo meter decreases instead of reseting when you miss. but then i heard about banking a child on the counter...thats a bit confusing.

the first part sounds like Bee Storm, where it means you don´t have to care for the chain at all anymore. Before playing Bee Storm, I had always wished for that leniency, but since playing it, I´m not convinced it´s better anymore. I don´t want to dismiss Mushihime before playing it, but this fails to excite me in any way.

the patterns in mushi do seem wicked, but actually they have a lot of holes, they're kinda simmilar to psikyo stuff in that you often position in the middle of "lines of bullets".

I know, like probably most here I´ve seen the videos, but I find that concept rather boring. Galuda went in a similar direction by putting bullets in bent lines to increase bullet count without increasing difficulty too much, but in Galuda´s system that makes sense, because you score by letting enemies shoot more. In a DDP style game, that´s just showing off, but patterns of straight lines aren´t even visually appealing.

DOJ just throws so much random shit at you its sick, you need to dodge every single bullet, you cant think in terms of "stream" most of the time, thats why its even harder than it looks at first, at least if you're playing for score.
i dont know if i made sense here.

Perfect sense, but I´m not more excited about Mushihime than before.

[TVG]

what´s the aim of this procedure, gameplay-wise?

a boost of rate of fire, and thus, firepower of the main weapon, top players pick the spread, point blank ennemies and till them fast with that trick, and you can increase the rate of fire even more with autofire hacks.

well, this game, judging from the videos, does seem to reward for the more bullets fired by ennemies, just as in galuda. apparently, judging from the vids again, after every mid sized and big ennemy is destroyed, bullets transform into gems which are sucked in by the player, just as in galuda, the difference seems to be that ALL bullets turn into gems rather than just those of the particular ennemy as in galuda. this seems a key thing for scoring, not to mention the gems give points at the end of the stage.

im not trying to geet anyone more exited as they are, as im a bit sceptical myself, im just trying to know what the system and overall style is.

[Nemo]

Look at the people discussing the figurine. That answers everything.

So pedophiles are making Mushi popular?

[Rob]

Or people who care about Happy Meal-esque premiums. Make of that what you will.

Good thing raiden's asking the questions. This game does seem boring. I mean I still haven't even pre-ordered it.

[Nemo]

You're just bitter.

[TVG]

Or people who care about Happy Meal-esque premiums. Make of that what you will.

Good thing raiden's asking the questions. This game does seem boring. I mean I still haven't even pre-ordered it.

what's funny, and i dont mean to be offensive, is that im 99% sure you'd enjoy some cave games to death if you gave them a chance, this isnt a suggestion, just an observation done by reading most of your lately posts.
i dont care if you like cave games or not, but considering the criters on which you rate games, im certain you would :p

edit: before everyone flames my ass, this goes to rob alone, not anyone else.

[BUHA]

it seems like everybody wants Cave's nuts

[WarpZone]

I'm interested in understanding more about the scoring system and the mentality to approach the patterns with as well.

Based on a couple videos I saw, one thing I can say it looks like Cave got right is putting some various gameplay elements into a more meaningful context than normal. ie: the hitbox isn't just an 'arbitrary' piece of metal at the center of a craft but literally Reko herself (it seems the bug she's riding may be slightly below the plane of fire). The style of the bullet patterns also aren't there just because "that's how Cave shooters work", but seem to actually relate to the bug motif- fast, poisonous "spit" fire, slower patterns that look like coiling worms, etc.

Granted, what I'm describing sounds rather trivial, though I usually see such subtleties go overlooked in the genre.

[snap monkey]

Mushimesama is so popular... because it makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcom X.

OH MY GOD I LOVE CHAPPELLE'S SHOW!!!

[visuatrox]

Well I think it is popular basically for the following reasons:

- The game is good
- The music is brilliant
- There is much more advertisement and press coverage about this game than there was about previous cave games.
- Reko, cute girls sell games, especially nopan

[GaijinPunch]

I played it, I liked it, I'm buying it.

[cigsthecat]

Well I'm buying it because I enjoy the month of competition and rampant score posting that comes with a new Cave release. I'm sure I'll get bored with it after that as usual.

Ibara is one that I think/hope I'll enjoy more.

[japtor]

it seems like everybody wants Cave's nuts

i read that as 'everybody wants cave sluts' at first. the topic is more entertaining with that in mind.

[Herr Schatten]

I'm never too excited about new Cave games in general and I only liked the artwork of Mushihime Sama in the first place.

But then I got around playing it at the London shmupmeet and that made me decide to not only preorder the game, but also a modded PS2 to play it on.

For me, it's the three game modes that win me over. (Note that I don't call them 'difficulty settings', because that's not what they are. Original and Maniac are pretty much on the same difficulty level.) You basically get three different games, with the same enemy placement, but with very different bullets fired at you. Original has very fast Toaplan-esque bullets, while Maniac is more or less what you'd expect from Cave.

If Mushi only had Maniac mode I would write it off as being 'more of the same', but with the inclusion of Original I see trying Cave something different at last, which is something I wished for for a long time now.

Apart from that, Mushi has a certain quality that is hard to describe. It has a certain 'flow'. It feels like 'cruising', you immediately feel at home and don't really feel the need to adapt to the game or to put work in it to make it enjoyable. You can have fun right from the start, even if you suck at the game. I guess scoremasters like Rando couldn't care less about that, but it's certainly a deciding factor for a majority of less skilled players. (No rolling eyes please, some of us play those games just for fun.)

Oh yes, and the facts that it's definitely Cave's most accessible game (due to the forgiving chaining mechanism) and that the music and the artwork are stunningly beautiful have probably boosted the game's popularity, too. (I do enjoy great art and music when they are included, but they are no deciding factor for me. Why else would I be playing Trizeal all the time.)

Now I'm looking very forward to Laydock's thoughts on the matter.

[raiden]

For me, it's the three game modes that win me over. (Note that I don't call them 'difficulty settings', because that's not what they are. Original and Maniac are pretty much on the same difficulty level.) You basically get three different games, with the same enemy placement, but with very different bullets fired at you. Original has very fast Toaplan-esque bullets, while Maniac is more or less what you'd expect from Cave.

now THAT´s what I call a reason.

[umi]

kinda obvious... cave + port = decision made.

[Rob]

what's funny, and i dont mean to be offensive, is that im 99% sure you'd enjoy some cave games to death if you gave them a chance, this isnt a suggestion, just an observation done by reading most of your lately posts.
i dont care if you like cave games or not, but considering the criters on which you rate games, im certain you would :p

edit: before everyone flames my ass, this goes to rob alone, not anyone else.

I give every game a chance. It's a weakness and why I ended up buying a second game from Triangle Service.

[theevilfunkster]

It had better be good, all the hype surrounding it is making me buy an import PS2

[raiden]

I give every game a chance. It's a weakness and why I ended up buying a second game from Triangle Service.

does that imply you don´t like Trizeal? Because then I´m surprised.

[chtimi-CLA]

kinda obvious... cave + port = decision made.

same. i also expect much from mushi even for a cave game:
-the music is great
-the design is great, the insect theme is original
-i like the patterns, they look like a mix of guwange and ketsui.
-i will play mostly maniac, but ultra could be fun too
-the score system doesn't seem too strict (autofire trick notwithstanding)

if the port isn't fucked up, this will be much, much better than galuda, and more accessible than doj. the figurine shit is slightly annoying, but i'll just get the standard edition, more power to cave if they sell more copies this way.

[ST Dragon]

It's probably popular because the leading character Princess Reko looks very cute.

http://click-stick.com/game/mushihime/image2.htm

http://www.cave.co.jp/amvisual/mushihime/index.html











By the way, is Mushihimesama pure vertical 2D or is it 2.5D?

[TVG]

if only the ingame artwork was like this...i made an avatar out of this image, it's really nice, but for example, that first image you posted looks horrid...oh well.

By the way, is Mushihimesama pure vertical 2D or is it 2.5D?

http://www.geocities.jp/muultra/mu4.lzh

2D with probably pre-rendered stuff.