I have some great shmups on my pc, but lately my job is requiring more and more travel and all I have to entertain myself on these trips is my DS. What I really crave is a good bullet hell shmup with a danger-rewarding scoring system. Bangai-o, Geometry Wars Galaxies, space invaders extreme 2, and Knights in the Nightmare are great games, but they have all failed to sate that craving.
I'm becoming fixated on Ketsui Death Label, even though the ebay scalpers are charging more and more ridiculous prices for it, and I fear that soon I'll have a moment of weakness.
Could somebody please list all the reasons this game sucks to talk me out of this purchase? I hated YGS2000, please say this is just that game with better sprites.
Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
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Mischief Maker
- Posts: 4803
- Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 3:44 am
Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.
An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.
Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.
Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
Well, it *is* bullet hell, that's one thing. Another thing you might have to note that it's a boss-rush game only. It's really good for what it is, though I'm not exactly sure how many people would agree with me there.
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
I wish it actually sucked so I could help you out more. I got it at release when the price was fine, but I guess the only negative I can think of right now is the price.
Unless you have a DS lite. Personally I couldn't play it very well on that, because of the tiny d-pad. That might be something else to consider.
Unless you have a DS lite. Personally I couldn't play it very well on that, because of the tiny d-pad. That might be something else to consider.
"I think Ikaruga is pretty tough. It is like a modern version of Galaga that some Japanese company made."
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DJ Incompetent
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Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
Yeeesh, if you got that much cash for a boss rush game, go after all the PSP stuff. Emulator or not.
@shmups | superplaymixes Reworked Game Soundtracks | livestreamin'
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Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
True enough... PSP is pretty loaded with shooters and if you're traveling a lot it's a solid choice. The excellent Konami collections (Gradius, Salamander/Xexex, Parodius, Twinbee), Strikers 1945 Plus, Darius Burst, several shooters in the Capcom Classics collections, Sengoku Cannon (OK, maybe that one's somewhat mediocre), and a bunch of legit PSX downloadable games (Gaia Seed, R-Type Delta, R-Types, Einhander, G-Darius, Raiden Project). And if you want to go outside the "legit" market, there's even more.DJ Incompetent wrote:Yeeesh, if you got that much cash for a boss rush game, go after all the PSP stuff. Emulator or not.
But yeah, as for Ketsui DS... I'm NOT a fan of boss rush games in general, but I don't have much bad to say about it. Absolutely my favorite boss rush ever. Really high quality stuff that I can confidently say improved my shooter skills and is a fantastic game to pick up and play if you only have a few minutes... or a couple hours
Glad I bought it at launch, but if I had to pay $100-ish dollars? Hmm... I'd probably cave eventually and not regret it (and yeah I caught that unintentional pun as I was writing it myself).
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
It's not Ketsui.
It doesn't have the scoring system that the real Ketsui does.
It's in 4:3.
The controls are awful regardless of what DS you use.
The scoring system requires you to continually lock-on to enemies by mashing A, which isn't fun.
It's overpriced.
It's not Ketsui.
It doesn't have the scoring system that the real Ketsui does.
It's in 4:3.
The controls are awful regardless of what DS you use.
The scoring system requires you to continually lock-on to enemies by mashing A, which isn't fun.
It's overpriced.
It's not Ketsui.
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Mischief Maker
- Posts: 4803
- Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 3:44 am
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
Well that's kind of the point. I don't.DJ Incompetent wrote:Yeeesh, if you got that much cash for a boss rush game...
But like all addicts, I am prone to making stupid, expensive decisions and this is one I don't want to make.
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.
An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.
Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.
Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
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Warp_Rattler
- Posts: 383
- Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 5:48 am
- Location: OR, US
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
While the "it's good, for a boss rush" is a cute offhand way to easily dismiss the game without addressing any of its merits, I think that doesn't really give a good impression of the amount of gameplay available. You've got your regular game modes (some of which will unlock with time or acheivements), but then you've also got the great Doom and Extra modes, which to me are skill tests easily in line with some of Cave's proper releases.
I think of the game, even on the "so easy your mom could 1cc it" difficulties, as being more in line with some of the old Caravan shooters, where limited gameplay allows one to focus on the score attack--and as can be seen from the hi-score thread (probably a bit buried right now) and from the occasional YouTube video, some people can milk out pretty impressive scores. Whenever I pick it up, its usually to challenge my old scores on one of the game modes, or to see if I can't survive just a bit longer in Doom or Extra.
So the boss rush label isn't technically incorrect, but I think just dismissing it as such really fails to give a feeling for just the amount of gameplay there is in the title. Of course, a lot of people seem to be perpetually surprised or angry that the game isn't arcade Ketsui, which really surprises me as it's like getting up in the morning and going to the kitchen and getting ridiculously pissed off at the bowl of apples on the table because you wanted them to be bananas instead. It doesn't take an MIT grad to realize this is NOT a 1-for-1 translation of the original release, merely a portable take based on it (I always thought the different title--Ketsui Death Label--might indicate they're not the same, but I guest not everyone gets that part). It's not a game for everyone and tends to get viewed a lot more favorably by people who enjoy handheld gaming, but I think a lot of the downright hate is more due to peoples' expectations being unfulfilled rather than the game actually failing at what it's trying to be.
A lot of people complain about the controls, but I think that just comes down to whether or not you're used to the DS setup. I've played the game both on my old fat DS and current DS Lite, and while I generally enjoyed the controls of the original I can't really say the difference is night and day or something that's going to break your experience. I play quite a bit of DS, so I'm fairly acclimated to it for better or worse. Your miles may vary of course depending on how much handheld gaming you do.
Now the current asking price, I agree, is a bit ridiculous even considering the superplay DVD that comes with the game (and which will be of little practical use if you don't, you know, have the ability to play the arcade Ketsui), but it is a damn fine game and will give you a lot to do. I certainly got a lot of play out of it and feel like I've gotten my money's worth, but then I got it new on release instead of the current $80+ it seems to command.
PSP does have some pretty sweet shooter collections, though, and I hear that there's a pretty decent CPS2 emulator that allows for a wonderful portable Progear?
tl;dr Version:
-Is it Ketsui? No
-Is it an enjoyable game in its own right? I think so.
-Are the controls really as terrible as people say? Only if you're not fond of/used to DS controls. I find Umihara Kawase to be infinitely more problematic thanks to the DS Lite d-pad.
-Is it worth the current asking price? Ehh... If you can get it close to the original price or as part of a trade, sure. You'll have to decide beyond that. It's honestly become a little ridiculous, like paying $120 for the PS2 Mushihimesama port.
I think of the game, even on the "so easy your mom could 1cc it" difficulties, as being more in line with some of the old Caravan shooters, where limited gameplay allows one to focus on the score attack--and as can be seen from the hi-score thread (probably a bit buried right now) and from the occasional YouTube video, some people can milk out pretty impressive scores. Whenever I pick it up, its usually to challenge my old scores on one of the game modes, or to see if I can't survive just a bit longer in Doom or Extra.
So the boss rush label isn't technically incorrect, but I think just dismissing it as such really fails to give a feeling for just the amount of gameplay there is in the title. Of course, a lot of people seem to be perpetually surprised or angry that the game isn't arcade Ketsui, which really surprises me as it's like getting up in the morning and going to the kitchen and getting ridiculously pissed off at the bowl of apples on the table because you wanted them to be bananas instead. It doesn't take an MIT grad to realize this is NOT a 1-for-1 translation of the original release, merely a portable take based on it (I always thought the different title--Ketsui Death Label--might indicate they're not the same, but I guest not everyone gets that part). It's not a game for everyone and tends to get viewed a lot more favorably by people who enjoy handheld gaming, but I think a lot of the downright hate is more due to peoples' expectations being unfulfilled rather than the game actually failing at what it's trying to be.
A lot of people complain about the controls, but I think that just comes down to whether or not you're used to the DS setup. I've played the game both on my old fat DS and current DS Lite, and while I generally enjoyed the controls of the original I can't really say the difference is night and day or something that's going to break your experience. I play quite a bit of DS, so I'm fairly acclimated to it for better or worse. Your miles may vary of course depending on how much handheld gaming you do.
Now the current asking price, I agree, is a bit ridiculous even considering the superplay DVD that comes with the game (and which will be of little practical use if you don't, you know, have the ability to play the arcade Ketsui), but it is a damn fine game and will give you a lot to do. I certainly got a lot of play out of it and feel like I've gotten my money's worth, but then I got it new on release instead of the current $80+ it seems to command.
PSP does have some pretty sweet shooter collections, though, and I hear that there's a pretty decent CPS2 emulator that allows for a wonderful portable Progear?
tl;dr Version:
-Is it Ketsui? No
-Is it an enjoyable game in its own right? I think so.
-Are the controls really as terrible as people say? Only if you're not fond of/used to DS controls. I find Umihara Kawase to be infinitely more problematic thanks to the DS Lite d-pad.
-Is it worth the current asking price? Ehh... If you can get it close to the original price or as part of a trade, sure. You'll have to decide beyond that. It's honestly become a little ridiculous, like paying $120 for the PS2 Mushihimesama port.
Last edited by Warp_Rattler on Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
way to much money for a boss rush game, I was lucky and got one for 40.00 dollars. it's cute and all, but there are cheaper ways to play this and alot more.
Damn Tim, you know there are quite a few Americans out there who still lives in tents due to this shitty economy, and you're dropping loads on a single game which only last 20 min. Do you think it's fair? How much did you spend this time?
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
^Elixir wrote:It's not Ketsui.
It's overpriced.
This.
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
ebay scalpers making playasia follow suit. i picked it up from them last week $80
Re: Somebody talk me out of Ketsui Death Label
With wrong expectations any experience can turn into a disappointment. But if you expect a handheld remix with only bosses and a different scoring system to be like the original arcade game you beg for disappointment.
A handheld game that serves its simple purpose by giving you a quick shooter fix for 2 minutes up till an hour or so. I find Very hard/DL to be really fun (but almost too long but that's where extra and doom kick in). With doom I partly agree with rob ("what's so special about doom...") but it's fun once in a while and extra mode is fun once you learn how to consistently survive for more than 30sec. you get right into the action, no easy first stage.
But it works really well in very hard/death label/extra mode (well, doom mode as well, I guess).Elixir wrote: It doesn't have the scoring system that the real Ketsui does.
after 1 hour or so, I've never complained. Recently, I've actually been quite amazed of how well the controls work.Elixir wrote:The controls are awful regardless of what DS you use.
don't play novice, try Death label mode. I don't think you will have that much resources left to mash A?Elixir wrote:The scoring system requires you to continually lock-on to enemies by mashing A, which isn't fun.
lol, what is it worth now anyway?Elixir wrote:It's overpriced.
A handheld game that serves its simple purpose by giving you a quick shooter fix for 2 minutes up till an hour or so. I find Very hard/DL to be really fun (but almost too long but that's where extra and doom kick in). With doom I partly agree with rob ("what's so special about doom...") but it's fun once in a while and extra mode is fun once you learn how to consistently survive for more than 30sec. you get right into the action, no easy first stage.