Nanostray impressions!!!!

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:33 pm

That final boss was a nice challenge. Though, the way the game saves your progress, you're likely to meet him with a ton of ships and bombs, and then he is no match. This felt like a lame way to get to the credits of the game, but I'm happy to have unlocked all of Arcade mode and Challenge mode. But don't look for my scores on the world ranking boards. Even if I had the skills (which I surely don't), I'm currently obsessed with beating the 3rd level of Shiki II. Oh well.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 5:18 pm

Speaking of handheld shmups, what the heck ever happened with the petition to get another print run of Judgement Silversword for the Swancrystal?? Did the company ever agree to it, or does it still remain rare and expensive as heck?

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 5:32 pm

dave4shmups wrote:Speaking of handheld shmups, what the heck ever happened with the petition to get another print run of Judgement Silversword for the Swancrystal?? Did the company ever agree to it, or does it still remain rare and expensive as heck?

Two runs were made and that was the end. Bandai doesn't make the system or the games anymore.

jp · Post by jp » Sat Jul 23, 2005 7:00 pm

Damn, I managed to pull myself back into 3rd place after a lot of new people showed up. I really need to work on my Mitsurin Jungle and Sunahara Desert scores.

Oh well, guess I'll try to snag first from madvin by the end of the weekend.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 9:06 pm

Cthulhu wrote:
dave4shmups wrote:Speaking of handheld shmups, what the heck ever happened with the petition to get another print run of Judgement Silversword for the Swancrystal?? Did the company ever agree to it, or does it still remain rare and expensive as heck?
Two runs were made and that was the end. Bandai doesn't make the system or the games anymore.

I'm aware that the Bandai no longer makes the SwanCrystal, but Qute developed, or at least published, Judgement Silversword-that's why I was asking if anything came of the petition that was started last year.

Darkcomet72 · Post by **Darkcomet72** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 3:25 am

JP... I don't understand where you get this autofire thing from, but valor works like this:

(%of the level in which you didn't shoot or use R-button * 400)^2

So the highest possible valor bonus you can recieve is 160,000. It's impossible to get that high, because it means you don't shoot at all.

Autofire dosen't do anything to valor.

DavidHolliss · Post by **DavidHolliss** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:55 am

your right DarkComet, the autofire thing is something alot of people think though so it must have been posted somewehere ?

Great game though, amazed by the scores on the leaderboard though....

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 4:09 pm

The autofire and valor thing was written in the f-ing instruction booklet, that's why I and so many others thought that was it.

DavidHolliss · Post by **DavidHolliss** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 4:32 pm

I see, your right, but Bartman (from Shin'en) has confirmed it's not true on the official forum ....

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 5:05 pm

Can anyone compare this to Iridion II? I liked that game at first but ultimately found too flawed to consider a 'serious' shmup

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 5:37 pm

It exceeded my expectations (which I set incredibly low, mind you).

But the slanted perspective and sloppy hit detection makes some hits incredibly unfair and also makes it hard to aim.
For example, you are at the far right side of the screen about halfway up. A bullet comes at you and you try to move right since you see there is still space, but the game doesn't let you. Or, you try to shoot something directly above you on the screen (from the far right side), but your bullets go towards the middle of the screen.

I also had a problem with the tower section of the Mokuzu Depths boss, the thing has a small footprint but a tall height. I tried to fly around behind it but ended up crashing into the top of the tower (when I thought I should be physically behind the base and therefore also behind the top)

Everything could have been so much better if Shin'en just used a freaking orthographic view.

jp · Post by jp » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:09 pm

Darkcomet72 wrote:JP... I don't understand where you get this autofire thing from, but valor works like this:

(%of the level in which you didn't shoot or use R-button * 400)^2

So the highest possible valor bonus you can recieve is 160,000. It's impossible to get that high, because it means you don't shoot at all.

Autofire dosen't do anything to valor.

I read the manual.

*bitching*

It really sucks how the earlier levels are worth more for the "World Championship" thing since they yield more points but the harder later levels don't really do that much for you.

And yes, I'm just pissed because I'm first in the last 3 levels but not even really placing in the first 3 levels because I hate playing those levels for score. Too... damn... simple... and... boring...

bVork · Post by **bVork** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 12:06 am

Woohoo, just found Nanostray.

At Electronics Boutique.

From browsing other forums, it seems that only EBs in the US aren't carrying it. At least three other people I talked to found it in EBs up here in Canada, so fellow Canucks on this board should check that place out before braving the bratty-kid-infested Toys R Us.

PFG 9000 · Post by **PFG 9000** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:29 pm

What's the likelihood of this becoming a rarity? Because with the limited release and all, I would certainly consider hunting down a few sealed copies to hang onto for a few years.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:35 pm

PFG 9000 wrote:What's the likelihood of this becoming a rarity? Because with the limited release and all, I would certainly consider hunting down a few sealed copies to hang onto for a few years.

I had this thought too, but was worried that handheld shmups do not usually have the following needed to create much of a demand. At any rate, on this forum I would say that the majority have little interest in handheld shmups. But I'm still thinking this over.

jp · Post by jp » Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:36 pm

Most people are starting to find copies. I think the shipments may be trickling in now... so it may not be as rare as I had initially believed.

Bydo Dragon · Post by **Bydo Dragon** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 3:38 am

Finally got my copy today; found it at a Toys R Us in Kennesaw.

Freakin' awesome game. I agree; it's like the bastard child of DoDonPachi, RS and Iridion II. Which, basically, means it rules.

Still getting used to this dual screen deal. I'm not used to having to take my hands off one set of controls to switch weapons. I'll get the hang of it, though.

Darkcomet72 · Post by **Darkcomet72** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:48 am

Better watch out, JP, I'm right behind ya!

jp · Post by jp » Wed Jul 27, 2005 6:28 pm

I'm pretty much done with Nanostray. Moved on back to the Genesis shmupping.

So have fun.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 8:07 pm

Yeah, I didn't score too highly, but I might be done with this game also, especially since I have Star Soldier and Sengoku Cannon coming in the mail.

Surprisingly I was in the top 5 for Sunahara Desert for about a day before this ModusPwnens guy pwned me out of 5th place :\

PFG 9000 · Post by **PFG 9000** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:09 pm

Now the word seems to be that Majesco isn't broke after all. Has anybody else heard this? Or is it common knowledge already?

Darkcomet72 · Post by **Darkcomet72** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:22 am

jp wrote:I'm pretty much done with Nanostray. Moved on back to the Genesis shmupping.

So have fun.

Well that was shameless...

Oh well.

jp · Post by jp » Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:03 am

Darkcomet72 wrote:
jp wrote:I'm pretty much done with Nanostray. Moved on back to the Genesis shmupping.

So have fun.
Well that was shameless...

Oh well.

Aw come on man, aside from Radiant Silvergun, Game Tengoku, Border Down, Mars Matrix, Batsugun, and non-Thunder Force Tecno Soft games you know I don't play a single shmup for more than a week.

GIANT SQUID · Post by **GIANT SQUID** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 5:55 pm

if i understand it correctly... the scoring system in this game is retarded...i have no idea what the hell shin'en was thinking...bad game design is annoying..i really hope i am missing something here.... they could have come up with better ways to tempt players to reduce the amount of shots or auto fire on the screen with out making the valor system too overpowered.... i think that is dumb. i can't believe that in many instances, you can get MORE points for killing less things.....that is weird...i need to look into this more, but this minimalist advanced play style is ill concieved....

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 6:57 pm

YOU CAN END A SENTENCE WITH SOMETHING OTHER THAN AN ELLIPSIS

Ahem.

Personally, I enjoy the scoring system. It forces you to think to score, but it doesn't cripple playing the game for survival.

GIANT SQUID · Post by **GIANT SQUID** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 8:33 pm

sethsez: quit yer cryin, i'll chill out with the "..." if it bothers you so much, but in exchange, you need to stop letting things as silly as that, ruffle your feathers enough to post something so silly, in all caps...anyway, i'll lay off the period key, but i sure do like using it though.

anyway, yeah i can see how it can be somewhat fun, but it is, in my opinion, a half-assed attempt at a scoring system. Then again, i am not the most well versed shooter player, but from a design stance, it is pretty weak. i guess i just have beef with being rewarded for my abilty to not shoot something and dodge debris, as opposed to my ability to shoot something and dodge debris...muh, takes all kinds, but i DO like this game though, even if the scoring system is a little dumb.

Darkcomet72 · Post by **Darkcomet72** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:04 pm

GIANT SQUID wrote:reduce the amount of shots or auto fire on the screen with out making the valor system too overpowered....

First off, Valor is worth Jack. It's about 10% of your overall score in most stages, sometimes 5%, even.

Also, Autofire dosen't lower your valor. Well.... It does, but Tapping the shot button does just as much damage to your valor score.

I know, cause I'm in 4th place

[/brag]

GIANT SQUID · Post by **GIANT SQUID** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:08 pm

ahhh, i was told by bartman, that the valor was calculated by how much the autofire was used, it decreases for every frame that the button is being held. it can range anywhere from 5000-160000, but of course 160000 would only happen if you didn't shoot at all. BUT this still makes it so that some enemies are not worth their value in ammo spent, or value used. (the big ships in the jungle for example) agian, if i am wrong, then that is great,cause i don't want the game to suck, at least for score attack, but i also have a problem with the whole, DON'T EVER USE SECONDARY FIRE! that is dumb. but whatever floats your boat...again i am just not into minimalist style game design...i don't want to reverse engineer the system jsut to get high scores. i should have to kill more things and press more buttons but whatever, i'm ranked 50 somthing and your 4th so whatever. i really hope i am totally wrong about this, but whatever, all i know is i sure like how the secondary fire looks and it is a shame i can never use it if i want to get a high score....i just think that is lame as hell.

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 4:44 am

According to a friend of mine (who owns Nanostray) Majesco filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy(sp?), and are basically on their way out the door as a company. Anyone have information to back up or prove false this knowledge?

Either way, a local Gamestop had their last copy up on the shelf, so without a second thought, I shelled out the $30 right then and there, even when I don't have a DS yet. ^^;; But whatever, I'd rather pay 30 for it now than 40+ on ebay later. Plus, my girlfriend's getting a DS soon for her B-day, so i'll be able to play it soon enough. ^.^

5parrowhawk · Post by **5parrowhawk** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:54 am

My impressions:

Graphics - Very nice. I really like them, although the textures in some areas look a bit low-res. Still, this is quite possibly THE prettiest shmup for any handheld (haven't seen Sengoku Cannon, so I can't really judge).

And yes, I would have preferred a top-down perspective a la Giga Wing et al.

Controls - Not bad. I find the DS's D-pad a bit dodgy, though. Didn't have much trouble with movement/overshooting/etc., and the use of the touchscreen is pretty decent. Is it possible to remap the controls? - I'd much prefer to reverse the functions of the R and L buttons...

My main beef with the controls isn't really a control issue per se, but more an issue with the inaccurate explanation of the valor system in the game manual. I believe I've probably worn out about 10% of the life on my DS's A-button just by hammering it.

Display clarity - I have to take issue with the display. Collision hulls are difficult to judge. The radar is quite useless (anyone find a good use for it?). The boss scanning is a cute feature, but really a non-issue. I'd have preferred a scan system a la R-Type Final, where one would be able to unlock enemy data/tips/etc by scanning enemies. The most egregious problem with the visual presentation is that occasionally, objects in the foreground will "block out" your ship, enemy bullets, etc.

Weapons and scoring - I had a bad first impression, but the gameplay and scoring system seem quite solid upon a second look. Chaining the blue coins is a Good Thing. The weapon system isn't as great as it sounds, because certain guns are more obviously "newbie guns" (hello, Lightning) which can't be used effectively without sending your score plummeting.

(I really wish they'd made the green B-fire an all-round attack, or at least a forward one...)

The weapons feel just a touch underpowered (unless using B-fire). Considering that the developers seem to have intended it that way, I suppose it works.

Level and enemy design - Visually impressive but a little spotty in gameplay terms. I find that the game is a bit memorization-heavy - there are spots where enemies will hit you almost before you can react. In a way it feels more like a horizontal scroller in that sense. The bullet patterns are serviceable but not outstanding - then again, being a Shanghai Alice fan, I've been spoilt rotten. The enemy formations are quite well done; I was pleasantly surprised by their movement patterns, although they could stand to move a bit slower in some spots...

The learning curve for the game feels a bit steep - I'm finding this game tougher to grok than most of the shmups I've played.

More caveats:

- The collision hulls for environmental objects, as well as the collision hulls for enemy ships for purposes of colliding with the player's ship, seem a little oversized. This is most noticeable in the ship portions of Sunahara Desert, where you can be flying parallel about half a ship's width away from the large enemy battleship and still have your shots disappear as soon as they're fired.

- The game just seems cramped, like I'm looking at a segment of a screen that should have been about 50% larger in both dimensions, especially the X-axis. This is partly a result of enemy speed and the sizes of the collision boxes. (Bullet speed seems fine.) I understand that this is partly necessary due to the small screen, but still...

Conclusion - I wasn't expecting a miracle from Nanostray. In some ways the game exceeded my expectations - the bullet density is about right for the screen size, the patterns are decent and the scoring system is great - but it does have its flaws. I'd recommend this title with some reservations; the gameplay is very much predicated on heavy memorization, and your enjoyment of it is likely to be directly proportional to how much of that you can deal with.

If you like:

Iridion, Silpheed - you're likely to love it to bits.

More horizontal shmups - recommended.

More vertical than horizontal shmups - try it out first if possible.