Does Zed Blade loop?

[spadgy]

That's it. A really simple question to improve the new Zed Blade high score thread.

Does Zed Blade (AKA Operation Raganarok AKA Sakusen Na Ragnarok) loop? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

This NMK MVS hori is great fun by the way. Nothing too fancy, but a superb soundtrack, great visual style and immediately gratifying. You should play it and submit a score! Right now (partly as it's newly installed at London's Casino Arcade thanks to DEL's generosity) a fair few of us are playing it, and we all know a busy high score board provides the best fun you can get from a shmup, and the fastest improvement!

Thanks.

[Smraedis]

From what I've found.. and credit fed, it just has one loop.. the last stage is very nasty too.. but the music is nice on it.

[Leandro]

The soundtrack is great, I wonder if it's by the same guy who composed for Battle Garegga

[clp]

The soundtrack is great, I wonder if it's by the same guy who composed for Battle Garegga

Thats a pretty specific suggestion to come out the dark with? anyway yes it is manabu namiki .

[Dragoforce]

I think the music is awful But i'll give the game a go if only because of Spadgys wonderful enthusiasm

I guess you already asked Raiden Fighters 2 about it? Since he cleared the game and all.

[Skykid]

I think the music is awful

You're off your rocker, this is what shmup soundtracks are all about!

[PC Engine Fan X!]

And did you notice the cool Akira holographic theme presented in the background scenery of Zed Blade? Very nice in-game tribute to it indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Skykid]

And did you notice the cool Akira holographic theme presented in the background scenery of Zed Blade? Very nice in-game tribute to it indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

As in Akira the movie? Where do I look?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

That would in the first stage...look closely at the background scenery and you'll be surprised.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[spadgy]

I think the music is awful

What?! It's one of the greatest old skool rave soundtracks there is! Whistles! Horns! Hand's in the air! etc...

And PC Engine Fan X - are you referring to the way the enemy vehicles appear from abstract shapes?

And Smraedis - thanks for the answer. I could have credit thread though myself couldn't I? Such is my pathetically blinded dedication to the 'one credit rule' I didn't even think to. That and the fact that I thought there might be loop requiremeants (though I doubt it).

So, does anybody know if there are loop requirements?

Thanks

[Skykid]

That would in the first stage...look closely at the background scenery and you'll be surprised.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Are you thinking of Last Resort man?

[Dragoforce]

I think the music is awful

You're off your rocker, this is what shmup soundtracks are all about!

I like my rock. Go Sato is what shmup soundtracks is all about.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

As far as I remember, it got shitty reviews (even by the printed zines I trust) and the ten minutes I played it it looked and felt extremely lame. Maybe I should give this another try... I'm generally well-disposed towards anything that has a OST by the Ketsui and DOJ dude.

[spadgy]

It's a fun game, rather than an earth-shatteringly fantastic one. It plasters a big grin across my face when I play, even though it's not without faults.

[Skykid]

It's a fun game, rather than an earth-shatteringly fantastic one. It plasters a big grin across my face when I play, even though it's not without faults.

Nah man, it's a very good hori indeed. Just need to persevere with it, loadsa fun.

[DEL]

The 'shoot the shit out of the scenery' scoring method is madly addictive.

[Skykid]

The 'shoot the shit out of the scenery' scoring method is madly addictive.

That's the one!

[spadgy]

Don't get me wrong. I adore it. I can't stop playing. Those facts alone mean for me it's a great game in the most important ways. I just do accept that it's not the masterpiece/pinnacle of the form my enthusiasm for Zed Blade might suggest!

Shooting the scenery eh?

[MX7]

I should have played this mother last time I was in Casino, but the lure of DFK and Tatsujin Oh was too strong, as ever

[Smraedis]

I can't believe that the floor carries so much of the score in the first stage.. its about as bizare as the Hyper Duel stop moving for points scoring method.

[Skykid]

Don't get me wrong. I adore it. I can't stop playing. Those facts alone mean for me it's a great game in the most important ways. I just do accept that it's not the masterpiece/pinnacle of the form my enthusiasm for Zed Blade might suggest!

No, but I have the same enthusiasm and we both have impeccable taste, so that must count for something.

Shooting the scenery eh?

PM me man, we need to trade some scoring tips n' tactics!

[clp]

I think the music is awful

You're off your rocker, this is what shmup soundtracks are all about!

I like my rock. Go Sato is what shmup soundtracks is all about.

*FACEPALM*
As a collector of old skool hardcore / acid house etc i struggle to sit still with this soundtrack
Anyways whats are the scoring methods in this one ive played a bit recently but cant see where the milking is at ? someone emphasise on the shooting scenary thing please or is it really as mental as shooting the ground ? , will submit a score later .

[emphatic]

*FACEPALM*

+1

[Dragoforce]

Too bad I play the MVS version, otherwise I would release a replay with the music replaced by Crazy frog. Shit sounds the same, but the at least the frog got a cock.

[clp]

Too bad I play the MVS version, otherwise I would release a replay with the music replaced by Crazy frog. Shit sounds the same, but the at least the frog got a cock.

wow your ears must be severly untrained/ borderline spastic .

[emphatic]

Too bad I play the MVS version, otherwise I would release a replay with the music replaced by Crazy frog. Shit sounds the same, but the at least the frog got a cock.

wow your head must be severly untrained/ borderline spastic .

^^fixed

[Dragoforce]

My ears are quite alright sir, especially since I freed them off the Zed blade OST.

People have diffrent tastes regarding music, simple as that

Edit: Hey emp, is it cheating to pause while listening to music?

[Skykid]

My ears are quite alright sir, especially since I freed them off the Zed blade OST.

There's a Zed Blade OST?

Third level music is so mean it hurts, volume needs to be cranked for that second bass drop mid-way through the stage. For me, this is some of Namiki's best work.

someone emphasise on the shooting scenary thing please or is it really as mental as shooting the ground ? , will submit a score later .

What I've gathered so far is that you want to be shooting something always! And yes, that means piling bullets into any inert scenery that you can at point blank range - most of which is on the first stage. The second stage has some pylons you can use and the third practically nothing. Fourth stage has some boulders top and bottom, but they're fast so it's a little risky.
Boss milking is fairly obvious in this game. Because you can gain score by simply shooting anything, the idea is to keep the bosses alive as long as possible. Once you get your head around this the rest is easy.

There are other scoring techniques I'm not entirely familiar with. I think I might open a small strategy guide for this and take on people's input.

[emphatic]

Edit: Hey emp, is it cheating to pause while listening to music?

Oh, if only you would act the age of that joke.

[emphatic]

My ears are quite alright sir, especially since I freed them off the Zed blade OST.

There's a Zed Blade OST?

If you have a Uni BIOS for your MVS mobo, you can listen to all music of the carts in Stereo (should your mobo support it). If that fails, I've heard of some sort of program the kids call M.A.M.E.