Why is Mushihimesama so popular?

[Recap]

I'm not saying that Taito is incapable of doing good ports (Shiki 2, for one, turned out quite well), but after GWG I'd rather wait for impressions, just to be sure.

It's about time to credit the right people once and for all here, isn't it? Taito did NOT develope Shiki 2 nor Yoku Shin. They just published them. The only Taito-made shooting games for the current generation are the ones in the Psikyo Shooting Collection. And even them must have been done by an external company, most likely. Taito is just a major publisher these days.

[Recap]

The port is being done by Cave, not Taito.

That's not known, actually.

[Herr Schatten]

Although I disagree with Herr Schatten's comment about Original and Maniac Modes being of a similar skill level - Maniac Mode is harder to ALL, but definitely easier than DDP DOJ.

Yeah, you're most certainly right. But well, I only played Mush very briefly compared to the experience you have with the game. On my few tries (on which I didn't get beyond stage three in either mode) I got the impression that they are not THAT far apart, difficulty wise, but that's only my impression after all.

Difficulty levels set aside, I think you will agree with me that Original and Maniac are NOT just different difficulty settings of the same game, but indeed different game modes. I mean, Original is obviously not just a dumbed-down version of Maniac with fewer bullets, but a largely independent game mode which feels and plays totally differently, due to very different attacks.

And Original is certainly nowhere near being an easy mode.

[BulletMagnet]

Taito did NOT develope Shiki 2 nor Yoku Shin. They just published them.

So the praise should go to Alfa System (aren't they technically part of Taito?) and the "boos" should go directly to Takumi? Hmm...

The only Taito-made shooting games for the current generation are the ones in the Psikyo Shooting Collection. And even them must have been done by an external company, most likely.

Err...Psikyo, maybe? Or "X-Nauts," or whatever they are now...

[Recap]

So the praise should go to Alfa System

Right. I'm not sure if I'd use the word "praise", in this case.

(aren't they technically part of Taito?)

Nope.

and the "boos" should go directly to Takumi? Hmm...

Right.

The only Taito-made shooting games for the current generation are the ones in the Psikyo Shooting Collection. And even them must have been done by an external company, most likely.

Err...Psikyo, maybe? Or "X-Nauts," or whatever they are now...

Nope. X-Nauts wouldn't need an external company to publish the games they do.

[BulletMagnet]

Right. I'm not sure if I'd use the word "praise", in this case.

Well, whether or not you like the game, the port (for all the systems, afaik) was good.

Nope. X-Nauts wouldn't need an external company to publish the games they do.

Now I'm a tad confused...you say that the stuff on the Psikyo collections is "Taito-made," but isn't Psikyo the original developer of all of those? Or did I misinterpret what you meant there?

EDIT: Did you mean that Taito handled the ports directly in those cases?

[Metal Gear Okt]

The port is being done by Cave, not Taito.

That's not known, actually.

There's a post on click-stick to that effect from a couple weeks ago. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[freddiebamboo]

Difficulty levels set aside, I think you will agree with me that Original and Maniac are NOT just different difficulty settings of the same game, but indeed different game modes. I mean, Original is obviously not just a dumbed-down version of Maniac with fewer bullets, but a largely independent game mode which feels and plays totally differently, due to very different attacks.

And Original is certainly nowhere near being an easy mode.

What are the differences?

[Herr Schatten]

What are the differences?

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 that's not clear enough:

Original: Few, but very fast bullets, not many pattern-based attacks, enemies tend to fire directly at you (Truxton/Tatsujin-style)

Maniac: Many bullets (forming pretty patterns), but rather slow ones (typical Cave style)

Ultra: The whole screen is full of bullets. You can hardly see the background graphics.

[captain ahar]

let me splain... no there is too much... let me sum up.

[BulletMagnet]

Original: Few, but very fast bullets, not many pattern-based attacks, enemies tend to fire directly at you (Truxton/Tatsujin-style)

Is the hitbox the same in all modes? Most game in the "Truxton style" tend to have less forgiving hit detection, I wonder how one with Cave-style hitboxes would play...

[Nemo]

The port is being done by Cave, not Taito.

I think Cave did the port of DDP for Saturn too (though Atlus was the publisher). It wasn't that good, so even if Cave does the port it doesn't guarantee it will be Arika quality.

[BulletMagnet]

I don't think the Saturn DDP was that bad...in yoko it's not that great, admittedly, but recently I got the means to play the bugger in tate via an RGB connection, and it's a lot closer to the arcade game than I thought it could get after playing in yoko. Not perfect, of course, but definitely worth the 35 bucks I paid for it.

If Cave did the Saturn port of the original DonPachi, though...even tate's not enough to help that one too much.

[Nemo]

Have you played the PS version? I played the Saturn version first (didn't think it was too bad), then I played the PS version and was like damn, now this Dodonpachi.

[Valgar]

It was never confirmed that CAVE was doing the port.

[Herr Schatten]

Original: Few, but very fast bullets, not many pattern-based attacks, enemies tend to fire directly at you (Truxton/Tatsujin-style)

Is the hitbox the same in all modes? Most game in the "Truxton style" tend to have less forgiving hit detection, I wonder how one with Cave-style hitboxes would play...

I didn't notice any difference in hitbox size between the modes. I could be wrong, though.

One thing noteworthy concerning the hitbox is that you can actually make it visible. If you hold down the firebutton instead of tapping it, a shining little circle will appear in the middle of the Reko sprite (similar to Shiki2 when you go near a bullet, but even clearer): That's your hitbox. I think this adds considerably to the accessibilty of the game.

Now, here's another difference to the usual Cave formula: In the likes of the 'Pachis, you trigger the laser when holding down the fire button. Unfortunately, your ship slows down a lot then, which can make dodging difficult. In Mush, when you hold down the fire button, you seem to move at normal speed. But when you let go of the button, you become extra fast. So most of the time you will play with the button held down and a visible hitbox and only let go of it when you have to get away quickly or when you want your weapon to spread wider. Of course the more concentrated fire you get when you hold down the button is nowhere near as powerful as the lasers are in the 'Pachis, the game wouldn't be balanced otherwise.

[Rob]

So is Ultra mode unplayably hard?

[Herr Schatten]

So is Ultra mode unplayably hard?

I guess that depends on your skill level, so I wouldn't use the word "unplayable". I can't imagine anyone playing good enough to go through it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's impossible. (I'm only human, thus my imagination is limited. )

[black mariah]

So is Ultra mode unplayably hard?

Combine a Mars Matrix bullet count with Progear-style style patterns, then make it faster. It's fucking crazy. If you check around there have been a few videos posted on the board here.

[BulletMagnet]

One thing noteworthy concerning the hitbox is that you can actually make it visible. If you hold down the firebutton instead of tapping it, a shining little circle will appear in the middle of the Reko sprite

Hmm, someone's been playing Zun's stuff!

[Metal Gear Okt]

here's a little question. PA has this for $60 as a pre-order. Is this a discount price? I mean, i know haggling over $5 in this hobby is silly, but i'm awfully tempted to pre-order this.

[Naiera]

Discount price? What are you talking about? $60 is the standard price for these games.

On a related note; Lik Sang are ripping people off with games like this. They sell the asian version for $5 more than PA takes for the japanese version! Easy to see how they fund their "free" shipping "deal".

[Metal Gear Okt]

Discount price? What are you talking about? $60 is the standard price for these games.

On a related note; Lik Sang are ripping people off with games like this. They sell the asian version for $5 more than PA takes for the japanese version! Easy to see how they fund their "free" shipping "deal".

Well, i'm comparing it with the other big shmups (ESPGaluda, GwG, etc) which all seem to go for $10 or so more. I was wondering if PA gave you a break for pre-ordering.

[Naiera]

GWG is the same price! ESPGaluda has been out for almost a year. Prices tend to go up on Cave games.

[Metal Gear Okt]

GWG is the same price! ESPGaluda has been out for almost a year. Prices tend to go up on Cave games.

Ok, settle down. I was was just asking whether there'd be any financial penalty to waiting a week to see what you guys think of the port. That's all.

I'm grateful that a friend hooked me up with a copy of DOJ cheap too, i wasn't about to spend $80 for it.

[BulletMagnet]

I doubt the price would be all that much greater after a week or so.

[Kiken]

So is Ultra mode unplayably hard?

SCC videos of Ultra were available for D/L roughly 4 months after the game's arcade release.

In fact, Arcadia did a spread a couple of months back on how to play through each stage effectively on Ultra.

[undamned]

let me splain... no there is too much... let me sum up.

You killed my father.
-ud

[Kiken]

let me splain... no there is too much... let me sum up.

You killed my father.
-ud

Prepare to die.

[BulletMagnet]

let me splain... no there is too much... let me sum up.

"You know, I've been in the revenge business so long, I'm not sure what to do from here."

"Have you considered piracy?"

It all just works way too well.