Mushihimesama Futari or ESP Galuda II?

[Taylor]

BL Maniac I can understand, but why are people against BL Original? Is it just the easier survival 1CC?

[Elixir]

BL Maniac I can understand, but why are people against BL Original? Is it just the easier survival 1CC?

Scoring is ridiculously anal and induces restart feveron.

[third_strike]

Scoring is ridiculously anal and induces restart feveron.

From I know the scoring is ridiculously anal in all Futari arcade modes since you need no miss the whole game. And bombs affects the score.
Cool!

[Elixir]

Actually I'm pretty sure that isn't true for Maniac 1.01, Maniac 1.5, Maniac BL or God Mode.

[third_strike]

Actually I'm pretty sure that isn't true for Maniac 1.5.

Well it is of topic but, can you say me how many times the player loses or bombs in official DVD? I never watched this replay.
Cool!

[ncp]

Why would he bomb or die if he can no-miss no-bomb the entire game?

Also, bombs affect the score in every Cave game.

[NR777]

Actually I'm pretty sure that isn't true for Maniac 1.5.

Well it is of topic but, can you say me how many times the player loses or bombs in official DVD? I never watched this replay.
Cool!

Bomb penalty is worse than dying in BL. Remaining bombs have a big part in your endgame bonus. For example: you have three live and have almost taken out the final boss...it would make more sense to suicide and take it out at that point because your bonus will be based on Bomb Stock x Remaining lives. Zero bombs remaining in BL means zero completion bonus. Unfortunately, the only replays I have from the official DVD are from 1.5 Ultra. Check out the leaderboards on XBL for the top scoring runs. There is some awesome stuff up there...including a guy who is about .5 bil away from the WR on God Mode in BL ( current WR stands at 6bil ). EOJ has a nice run on 1.5 original up there as well.

Futari differs greatly from Galuda II in that it encourages extremely aggressive play in order to score well. Galuda II favors a more strategic approach and it takes a long time to get used to the scoring system's intricacies. I've only started to get comfortable with them...and I still suck. Today marked the first time ( and I've had Galuda II for about a month ) where I was able to properly work Zetsuhikai mode. I haven't been playing score attack because I've been humbled. Got over 700mil on Omake! today without a clear ( I was experimenting ) and it was higher than my 1cc scores...

Bottom line: Futari plays more like a traditional Toaplan shmup and has a simpler scoring system. If you want to just concentrate on dodging bullets and shooting, Futari is a better bet because you'll ease into it's depth later. If you want to get raped by a fierce game and be stymied by a complex scoring system, get Galuda II. I, personally, find much more enjoyment in Futari...but it all comes down to what you want out of a game.

Also, watching good runs of Galuda II make it look way easier than it actually is. To score well, your timing has to be absolutely perfect.

[NR777]

Actually I'm pretty sure that isn't true for Maniac 1.01, Maniac 1.5, Maniac BL or God Mode.

Absolutely right...though some people will only play Original and be disappointed because it doesn't play like Strikers.

[GaijinPunch]

Actually I'm pretty sure that isn't true for Maniac 1.01, Maniac 1.5, Maniac BL or God Mode.

Or Ultra.

[Ravid]

Actually it pretty much is true for Ultra (except for final bosses).

[-Bridget-]

This particular choice definitely is just a matter of opinion, really.

I, personally, suggest watching a ton of videos of both games, learning the scoring, and THEN deciding.

Everyone could argue all day about which game is better, but the simple fact is, BOTH of them are freaking brilliant.

For me, I like Futari a bit more. It's a much more difficult game to me (as far as survival goes, anyway, depending on the mode) and there's just alot to do there. I really love God mode... I love the scoring system and I love the challenge, and Arrange is great fun. But I can say alot of the same for Galuda. Galuda Black Label is probably my favorite scoring system ever; it took awhile to learn, yes, cause it's crazy complicated, but it's such a blast once you get the hang of it. Arrange mode, while I dont like it as much as Futari's Arrange.... mostly due to the fact that at higher "levels", boss fights mostly consist of sitting in one spot making gold out of a bazillion red bullets, which is cool but can get a little dull.... despite that, it's still very entertaining, and can make for a great change of pace from the other modes.

Both games are seriously brilliant.

[xris]

Futari and Esp2 are the only 2 cave games I've played, beyond a single playthrough of DS. The arrange modes are a good topic. I agree that Futari is more fun, but I find Esp to be challenge, true fun.

[Elixir]

Actually I'm pretty sure that isn't true for Maniac 1.5.

Well it is of topic but, can you say me how many times the player loses or bombs in official DVD? I never watched this replay.
Cool!

I haven't seen that dvd before. What are you getting at?

[apple arcade]

.

Futari differs greatly from Galuda II in that it encourages extremely aggressive play in order to score well.

You have to play fairly aggressive in Galuda II to do well. Just like Futari Original, you have to be close for gems to be worth anything and to be honest I think the window is smaller than Futari's green aura window. Granted it as you said, you have to be extremely strategic but the same holds true for Futari Maniac.

[NR777]

.

Futari differs greatly from Galuda II in that it encourages extremely aggressive play in order to score well.

You have to play fairly aggressive in Galuda II to do well. Just like Futari Original, you have to be close for gems to be worth anything and to be honest I think the window is smaller than Futari's green aura window. Granted it as you said, you have to be extremely strategic but the same holds true for Futari Maniac.

I can certainly see that, though I still think Futari BL requires far more aggressive play than any mode in Galuda II. Maniac is no where near as complicated as Galuda II even though there is a huge amount of strategy involved in knowing when to cash in your multiplier.

[GaijinPunch]

Actually it pretty much is true for Ultra (except for final bosses).

Pretty sure the last thing most people are thinking about w/ bombs in Ultra is the dink the score. Obviously it's used for hiring scoring in places like stage 1 mid boss. I've not given the mode too much time though, I will admit.

[third_strike]

Actually I'm pretty sure that isn't true for Maniac 1.5.

Well it is of topic but, can you say me how many times the player loses or bombs in official DVD? I never watched this replay.
Cool!

I haven't seen that dvd before. What are you getting at?

Nothing special, I guess I understand the score system in maniac now, let say I love the money and in this mode the money comes like water in one river.
Cool!

[tearsofash]

Wish I would've seen this thread before I ended up buying both of them last week. Only missed its creation by a few days. =\


Sounds like I made the right choice getting futari first and galuda a few days later though.

[roker]

Why does Cave insist on making us point blank everything?

It's kind of jarring.

First Ketsui, then Galuda, and now Futari ... why?

(disclaimer: I still love playing Cave games, in fact, I consider Ketsui and Galuda II two of the finest Cave games I've ever played ... verdict is still out on Futari)

[xris]

Point blanking is fun. The faster you kill stuff, the less you have to dodge. I can usually tell how I'm handling everyhing by how far up the screen I am. Top, good and confident. Bottom, not so well.

[roker]

Point blanking is fun. The faster you kill stuff, the less you have to dodge. I can usually tell how I'm handling everyhing by how far up the screen I am. Top, good and confident. Bottom, not so well.

dodging is fun though.

It's never not fun to dodge. That's the flip side to the point blanking in ESPGII, it's fun to go in slow motion and dodge bullets, it's also fun dodge those Z mode bullets as well.

[Elixir]

Point blanking is fun. The faster you kill stuff, the less you have to dodge. I can usually tell how I'm handling everyhing by how far up the screen I am. Top, good and confident. Bottom, not so well.

Trust me, dodging is way more enjoyable.

[spineshark]

Top, good and confident. Bottom, not so well.

True, but in a lot of games point-blanking scoring seems to more be an annoying way to make sure you have to memorize the whole thing even more

[xris]

Most of the time, I'm just trying to survive. In later levels, I'll still jump on problem enemies and pointblank them. I like spread weapons, so you have to get up close to do damage sometimes.

[evil_ash_xero]

These genuinely are two of CAVE's best games. I'm pretty interested to see, when Ketsui and Deathsmiles comes out, how high all these games will rank. I love DS MBL, but have never had the chance to play Ketsui. I hope it can live up to some of it's hype and be as good as these games.

[apple arcade]

I think ESPII has some of the best bullet patterns of any game.

examples are the zig zags on the stage 2 boss fight and the waves on the stage 3 boss fight. (the 2nd pattern on 2nd form)

[mdsfx]

I picked up both of these releases within the last 2 weeks and have to say that if you're not a veteran SHMUP player, and I am not, Espgaluda 2 might kick your ass. It's still kicking mine. It makes MushiFutari feel like a walk in the park.

[roker]

I just wanted to add that I think Galuda is the better buy because I enjoy the fast pace of the 360 mode more, but I felt like Futari has it going on with the numerous modes of play. I also want to add that I think Futari is actually more anal about scoring than Galuda. I feel like there's too much to keep track of in Futari (tap here, hold here, ok wait for the bar to be red, oh noes you messed up! etc. etc.).

[ncp]

I also want to add that I think Futari is actually more anal about scoring than Galuda. I feel like there's too much to keep track of in Futari (tap here, hold here, ok wait for the bar to be red, oh noes you messed up! etc. etc.).

I take it you've never used zetsushikai? edit: Or played Esp2 Black Label?

[roker]

I also want to add that I think Futari is actually more anal about scoring than Galuda. I feel like there's too much to keep track of in Futari (tap here, hold here, ok wait for the bar to be red, oh noes you messed up! etc. etc.).

I take it you've never used zetsushikai? edit: Or played Esp2 Black Label?

I use the z-mode all the time. I'm not best at it, but I can get an extend about 80% of the time on the first stage. I've managed to make it to the 4th stage and do it while throwing multipliers all over the stage.

Have I played BL ESP2 ... yes! Have I mastered and/or understand it ... fuck no!