Best version of Shikigami no Shiro 2?

[Dr. Jeckidy]

Hello folks, I am a newcomer and of course a big shmup fan. I also have a website where I have written some niche information on video games, such as a list of japan-only Xbox and Gamecube games, which was praised by the users at Digital Press!

Anyways, as for the topic, my preferred version of Shikigami 2 has always been the Xbox version. That goes for the first one as well, which I own a legitimate copy of (and the "Evolution: Blue" version to boot). You can actually read the text as the graphics are very crisp and high-res, and the game runs smoothly. Now, I think dreamcast version is by far the worst, unless I somehow have a bad copy (I only have it burned) but from what I played, it has alot of lag. The PS2 version which I too own (and the poorly translated US version, btw) is blurry and has a lower resolution, but better than the dreamcast version. However, I can't say anything about the Gamecube version as I haven't played it yet, nor have I played the PC version, which I assume to be almost as good as the Xbox ones.

[lgb]

in Japan, the PC port was the last version to be released so it should be decent. I have nothing to compare it to at the moment.

this may mean nothing: the Gamecube port was the first after the arcade release, and Ikaruga technically fares better on the Gamecube...

[Kron]

Now, I think dreamcast version is by far the worst, unless I somehow have a bad copy (I only have it burned) but from what I played, it has alot of lag. The PS2 version which I too own (and the poorly translated US version, btw) is blurry and has a lower resolution, but better than the dreamcast version.

It has alot of lag or alot of slowdown? Those are two completely different things. Try playing the GD disc.

So the PS2 version which is technically the worst and looks very rough is still better than the Dreamcast version which in all honesty is commonly accepted as the most accurrate arcade conversion is it?

How do you have each console hooked up?

I owned both the Gamecube and Xbox versions early on but sold them in favour of keeping the DC version.

If I was ranking them:

1. Dreamcast
2. Gamecube (speed is not faithfull to the Naomi original) but visually alot better than the Xbox ver.
3. Xbox
4. PS2

[antares]

The DC version is a direct port from the original Naomi hardware so it should be the most accurate.

[EOJ]

Dreamcast version. Just like Ikaruga and every other Naomi arcade port released on the Dreamcast.

[Kiken]

Hello folks, I am a newcomer and of course a big shmup fan. I also have a website where I have written some niche information on video games, such as a list of japan-only Xbox and Gamecube games, which was praised by the users at Digital Press!

Anyways, as for the topic, my preferred version of Shikigami 2 has always been the Xbox version. That goes for the first one as well, which I own a legitimate copy of (and the "Evolution: Blue" version to boot). You can actually read the text as the graphics are very crisp and high-res, and the game runs smoothly. Now, I think dreamcast version is by far the worst, unless I somehow have a bad copy (I only have it burned) but from what I played, it has alot of lag. The PS2 version which I too own (and the poorly translated US version, btw) is blurry and has a lower resolution, but better than the dreamcast version. However, I can't say anything about the Gamecube version as I haven't played it yet, nor have I played the PC version, which I assume to be almost as good as the Xbox ones.

DC version is the most arcade faithful port, no arguement.

How do you have your consoles connected? The DC version through VGA, even in yoko, is extremely sharp. The problem with the US PS2 version of the game is that it does not support 480p like the Japanese version does, so you're stuck with 480i (unless you wanna mess with the 240p hex-patch). Also, the PS2 version with Wait ON adds more slowdown than what is found in the NAOMI/DC version. There are several spots in stages 4 and 5 in particular, that are much easier due to extra slowdown.

[antron]

As far as I remember the 240p patch only works with the Japanese version.

[Obiwanshinobi]

The PC version runs in resolutions up to 1024x1280. The performance depends on your machine of course (oddly enough, 2 seems to have worse code optimization than III). If you're gonna play it on an LCD monitor/HDTV, the PC is way to go. System requirements shouldn't be a problem, provided your PC isn't very old.

[FIL]

Can't say I've ever noticed lag in the DC version. I have a legit copy too.

[louisg]

DC one is pretty jerky (tiny one-frame slowdowns everywhere iirc)

[Kron]

I don't agree.

[Dr. Jeckidy]

Now, I think dreamcast version is by far the worst, unless I somehow have a bad copy (I only have it burned) but from what I played, it has alot of lag. The PS2 version which I too own (and the poorly translated US version, btw) is blurry and has a lower resolution, but better than the dreamcast version.

It has alot of lag or alot of slowdown? Those are two completely different things. Try playing the GD disc.

So the PS2 version which is technically the worst and looks very rough is still better than the Dreamcast version which in all honesty is commonly accepted as the most accurrate arcade conversion is it?

How do you have each console hooked up?

I owned both the Gamecube and Xbox versions early on but sold them in favour of keeping the DC version.

If I was ranking them:

1. Dreamcast
2. Gamecube (speed is not faithfull to the Naomi original) but visually alot better than the Xbox ver.
3. Xbox
4. PS2

LIke I said, I haven't played the original GD-ROM version so I assumed the possibility of running it from a CD-R burn contributing to the slowdown. My apologies if I jumped to the conclusion that the DC version was immediately inferior to the PS2 one, and I didn't know actually that the american release of the PS2 version cut that out. I have played it in high-def and it does look blurry, but the Xbox one always looks good for me, even in smaller resolutions. In that case, I'll investigate the DC one more. Thanks for informing me.

[Kron]

When you say you played it in high definition what kind of setup was it?