Well the instructions couldn't have summed up things in a better way !
S.O.Q 025 is the strongest, and the best for scoring but the most difficult to use.
S.O.Q 010 is the weakest, and the fastest by far. In fact it's so fast i'd say it is even harder to use than S.O.Q 025 if one isn't used already used to fast ships. Basically it's a ship with Miyamoto-like speed but without the strenght that comes with it. For scoring it is better than S.O.Q 004 but worse than S.O.Q 010.
S.O.Q 004 is the middle ship, and the worse for scoring, but since it is a frontal type A style ship, it can take down threats quickly and effeciently before they can become threatening. Since this game relies on pure interception, in the military sense of the term, one does want to take out enemies before they even reach the screen, or the plane we're in, and S.O.Q 004 is indeed the most effective for that.
For example, if I'm not playing for score, is it ever really worthwhile to use the other ships?
So yeah i'd say stick with S.O.Q 004, unless you want a really slow ship, in that case take the S.O.Q 025 because S.O.Q 004 is still quite fast.
Are most rank control tricks mostly for playing for score
No, they are essential for survival. Power-ups should be avoided at all costs, otherwise prepare to face severe consequences.
since certain ways of scoring increase rank
Yes but since the game is rigged with a bug those ways of scoring are worthless. The game was indeed conceived as a Garegga +++ where you would basically had to no-miss, and survive near infinite rank without breaking the power-up chain, but with the bug it turned out to be the other way around. That articles explains it pretty well :
http://shmuplations.com/raizing/
What are the approximate strengths of the different webs and vulcans?
Well they depend on the ship so let's examinate them one by one !
For S.O.Q 004, which can lock 6 ennemies at most we have :
- Ei-Dou : This lock is shaped like a half-moon which makes it easier to target enemies on the side, it sends homing lasers which take a bit more time to reach their target than the napalm shots, but they're still strong enough to destroy a lot of ennemies. In their course that can sometimes destroy enemies situated above or below your ship. I don't see a lot of S.O.Q 004 players use it too much but it can be really usefull.
- Pinpoint : Basically the stongest lock of the entire game in practice. It is shaped like a frontal cone and sends sorts of napalm shots that carry massive firepower. They also leave a small impact that is strong enough to destroy popcorn ennemies that happen to be within it.
Vulcan : This one is frontal and gets a tiny bit of extra firepower on the sides at high levels (that tiny bit of side-firepower is super usefull though).
For S.O.Q 010, which can lock 7 ennemies at most we have :
- All-Range : Basically the weakest lock of the entire game. It makes your ship fire small line of lasers towards the ennemies. It is shaped like a sphere which makes it practical for reaching ennemies coming from the sides or from behind. Besides the fact that it's way to weak, the problem is that it takes forever to shoot those lasers (you can still fire the main gun in the meantime though).
- Bou-Ryu : Probably the second best lock of the game. It works exactly the same way that Ei-Dou but can fire one more laser and most importantly it doesn't reduce your ship’s speed. See using all the locks of the game will reduce your speed in a Cave-like focus mode, except this one. Of course reducing speed makes it easier to dodge tight patterns, but if one is choosing S.O.Q 025 it is assumed that one wants speed all the way, so it nice to have this feature that allows massive bullet herding while still being able to intercept enemies efficiently.
Side-note : Experimenting this lock with this character is really what made me understand how to use Ei-Dou efficiently with Kaoru, if I hadn't done it wouldn't have realised how crucial Ei-Dou is.
Vulcan : This one is evaded (except on default level) and gets incredibly weak homing missiles at high levels.
For S.O.Q 025, which can lock 8 enemies at most we have :
- Mu-Sou : Basically take Ei-Dou/Bou-Ryu's shots, Pinpoint's cone shape, and you have Mu-Sou.
- Random : The direction taken by the lock is not random at all, in fact it goes in the exact opposite direction that your ship is going, exactly the same way that Golden and Gremlin's options in Great Mahou Daisakusen. It shaped like a cone, same as Mu-Sou and pinpoint. Strongest lock of the game in theory.
Vulcan : Frontal but gets inverted frontal shots on the sides at high levels : instead of following your direction like DonPachi’s Chopper they go towards the other way.
The game is not really played a lot (especially considering the popularity of the studio), it is not simple and there is hardly any info out there except Icarus's guide so if you have any more questions feel free to ask
But that wasn't the case. It was still much more difficult than what I had experienced when playing on AC difficulty in the past on my US Model 2 Saturn.
