Xbox 360: Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu 1.5 (November 2010)

[moozooh]

Well, I'm going to go out on a limb and say 1.5 is the least interesting of all modes DFK as a title has to offer. BL is better balanced, 1.51 is better tuned (less frustrating for sure), Arrange A is flashy and interesting in its own right, Arrange B is great for quick scoring sessions once you get the rank up to a certain amount. At least I could say that scoring-wise I'm not going to bother with it at all, having the access to other modes which all feel better for me in one way or another.

[NTSC-J]

I think I agree with moozoh. The regular version seems kind of stiff compared to all of the other modes although it's still the hardest of them so I see it as something I'll get to eventually as I adjust to this game. It's one of Cave's most dense, I think. I see a lot of people getting turned off by the main game but the Arrange modes are pretty welcoming.

To anyone having troubles with 1.5, Adverse wrote a good guide for it over at cave-stg.

[ebarrett]

I'm not really enjoying myself either, so don't feel too bad. 1.5 scoring in Power style confuses and frustrates the hell out of me. I'm going to give the other modes a good try as well, but right now I'm not too pleased.

Ah, the classic "I suck at it so it sucks" scenario

But yeah, without having played it yet, 1.5 looks like the less interesting of all the modes - the 1.51 changes seem to make it look sort of unfinished.

[CptRansom]

At what point did I say the game sucks? I'm simply not enjoying 1.5 because I don't fully grasp the scoring. My incompetence doesn't make it a bad game. How can I judge something I don't understand?

Okay, that guide helped out quite a bit! When should I be switching between Normal and Boost modes?

[ebarrett]

I thought Mr. Green there would be indication enough that I wasn't being serious. Besides "so far I'm not really good at it so I don't reallly like it for the moment" sounds extremely convoluted and would further dilute the joke.

Anyway the joke was a failure either way

[CptRansom]

It's okay. We can still be friends. =)

[StarCreator]

Cool. I didn't think that there'd be three arrange soundtracks.

There's four, including the iPhone soundtrack, with three of them being used in-game.
Honestly, I don't think the arrange CD that came with the LE would be very gameworthy.

Where are the 4 arrange soundtracks?

1. Black Label
2. iPhone
3. LE Arrange CD
4. ???

I was actually counting vanilla, but I suppose Ketsupachi could count too...

[Skykid]

At what point did I say the game sucks? I'm simply not enjoying 1.5 because I don't fully grasp the scoring. My incompetence doesn't make it a bad game. How can I judge something I don't understand?

Okay, that guide helped out quite a bit! When should I be switching between Normal and Boost modes?

Only from what I've heard, I think when you're not using a hyper, being in normal mode increases the hyper more quickly than boost, so you could use that to build quick hyper bars. When in boost mode and using a hyper, this increases the hyper at the same time you're cancelling bullets (unlike the other two ship types.)
So if you're playing the game of hypering the hell out of the first half of each stage and then not hypering to the end, this should be a good score building ship.

[Special World]

I think 1.5 is a bit strict, and I could see why somebody wouldn't like it. It stays lenient while you work toward your hit counter, and then goes into strict mode when you actually need room to breathe. I think it's quite good myself, but my pick for the real gem is 1.51. I really feel sorry for people who don't get a first print copy, because unlike Futari's 1.01, this is actually an amazing addition to the game. It plays like pure score candy, and maintains excitement by upping the ante whenever you do: lasers just pop out everywhere. Arrange B will be a good mode once they fix it so it's not a bombfest later on, and I haven't spend enough time with (nor do I understand yet) Arrange A.

I can see why somebody would be disappointed in this game, I was actually hugely disappointed before I actually understood 1.5's scoring and downloaded 1.51. At this point though, I think it may be my 3rd favorite Cave 360 release after Futari and Ketsui. We'll see how it hold up, but I'm having a blast.

[brentsg]

I think 1.5 is a bit strict

Anyone who says that couldn't have spent any time trying to score in DOJ.

I think people are just expecting too much, too soon with 1.5. Think about it.. Pachi games always require memorization in order to master the chaining that's required to score well. DFK is actually very forgiving compared to previous games in the series. There's no way you're going to pick it up and play without dropped chains in a week.

[cul]

I think 1.5 is a bit strict

Anyone who says that couldn't have spent any time trying to score in DOJ.

I think people are just expecting too much, too soon with 1.5. Think about it.. Pachi games always require memorization in order to master the chaining that's required to score well. DFK is actually very forgiving compared to previous games in the series. There's no way you're going to pick it up and play without dropped chains in a week.

Indeed, the difficulty gap scoring and surviving wise between DOJ and DF is pretty big.

[Special World]

I think 1.5 is a bit strict

Anyone who says that couldn't have spent any time trying to score in DOJ.

I think people are just expecting too much, too soon with 1.5. Think about it.. Pachi games always require memorization in order to master the chaining that's required to score well. DFK is actually very forgiving compared to previous games in the series. There's no way you're going to pick it up and play without dropped chains in a week.

Oh no, I'm aware of that. DOJ is strict as a motherfucker, to the point where I feel it's just a game of "be here now."

I probably am just new to it though. I'm sure it'll get better with a few weeks of playing, though I'm absorbed in 1.51 right now.

I was wondering though: Why is it advisable to build up your multiplier and THEN go into boost? Does your hyper meter raise more quickly in boost mode if you have a high score multiplier?

[CptRansom]

Thanks for the help. I think at this point I'm just going to keep hammering away at it. Either it'll be like Futari/DOJ/Ketsui and click for me, or it'll end up like Galuda 2 or Deathsmiles and I'll hate the scoring completely. Hopefully I'll get time to play more than ten or so credits this week. >.>

EDIT: Yeah... I think I'm just going to play Strong mode like a wuss and just settle for a much lower score. OH WELLS WHO NEEDS THE SECOND EXTEND AMIRITE?

[Special World]

God, I lose my chain all the fucking time. I can't get past the first stage without fucking up horribly -_-

[EPS21]

God, I lose my chain all the fucking time. I can't get past the first stage without fucking up horribly -_-

Are you getting into the hidden route? The normal 1st stage mid-boss is really hard to keep the chain after he's dead, but the hidden mid-boss its pretty hard to drop it, just making sure you laser the silos afterward. Watch some replays to see how its done too, in the hidden route stage1 is by far the easiest to chain.

[Schrodinger's cat]

God, I lose my chain all the fucking time. I can't get past the first stage without fucking up horribly -_-

I always seem to lose chain somewhat before or after midbosses. And it's always right when I get more than 1000 hits and a full hyper meter. I can have full hyper and 500 hits and keep a chain going but as soon as I hit ~1000 it dies. Maybe I'm thinking too much about that 2x multiplier that it makes me nervous or something. It's going to take months in practice mode for me to get full chains it seems like.

Are you getting into the hidden route? The normal 1st stage mid-boss is really hard to keep the chain after he's dead, but the hidden mid-boss its pretty hard to drop it, just making sure you laser the silos afterward. Watch some replays to see how its done too, in the hidden route stage1 is by far the easiest to chain.

The non-Ura mid-boss isn't too hard to chain if you use a hyper. Just tap C slowly to cancel bullets and hold laser when the meter is getting low, then repeat when your combo meter is up again. If you're "gentle" enough with it the boss should be dead after enemies start to appear again so you can chain everything normally to the end of the stage. I stick to normal mode using power style for the extra speed boost after the mid-boss. I'm not sure if you're talking about keeping the chain alive without hypering through the mid-boss though. I could see a real challenge in that.

[Icarus]

You should only be destroying the first stage and the two fifth stage Ura midbosses - stages 2, 3 and 4 Ura midbosses should be timed out. If you think you'll chainbreak after the Ura midboss, Hyper in Normal Mode to boost the chain meter for a couple of seconds.
Also, knowing where to position yourself correctly for the next wave of enemies is important, since you can sustain the chain meter on enemies yet to appear on-screen.

[Elixir]

Arrange A has frozen on me twice within an hour, bringing the total crash count up to 4. This mode is shit.

edit: if the MODE has something relative to the MODE which makes the MODE crash, it's a problem with the MODE and not the game itself, else power style in 1.5 and 1.51 would also be doing this

[-Bridget-]

So, I've tried out 1.51 a few times, and....

....I dont get it.


It sure seems cool and all, with the lasers and the chaos and the chaining, but.... yeah, I really dont understand how to increase my score in this mode. It doesnt seem to matter how much I chain, or how many of those lasers explode into 20 bazillion bullets, it's not all that good of a score at all....

....are the bees really important for points in this mode? REALLY hoping they're not, that one aspect would totally break it for me (I really, really loathe game modes that have too much reliance on memorization. I only remember where about 3 of the bees are, and that's not likely to change at all).

Any tips anyone could give for this mode would be appreciated.

Though if the stupid bees ARE important, I'll probably just go back to Arrange A, which does not require that I remember where they are and is currently my favorite of the game modes.

[Elixir]

Can someone explain what the requirements are for unlocking the Ura route in each stage? The first stage requires you to destroy the tanks before they get the opportunity to destroy the barrels, right?

[-Bridget-]

Can someone explain what the requirements are for unlocking the Ura route in each stage? The first stage requires you to destroy the tanks before they get the opportunity to destroy the barrels, right?

Yes, and you also have to get the three bees that are there, as well as achieve full hyper at some point before the midboss shows up (you dont have to be IN hyper when it shows up, you just have to have used one).

It seems that the Ura route stays active from there on unless you die, but I'm not entirely sure.

[Elixir]

It seems that the Ura route stays active from there on unless you die, but I'm not entirely sure.

You only have to meet those requirements on the first stage, it isn't stage-specific for every Ura midboss?

Anyway, to answer your question about 1.51: The mode basically combinds Change and Hyper into one (hold for Hyper, tap for Change) and all Ura bosses are there by default, along with Hibachi in the first loop. As for scoring, I think this mode requires you to use Normal while in Hyper to increase Hit, and Boost to gain Hyper by getting near enemies.

Haven't tried Novice yet. I want to play Arrange A but the thing keeps freezing on me.

[GaijinPunch]

I think 1.5 is a bit strict

Anyone who says that couldn't have spent any time trying to score in DOJ. .

Ditto. WTF, people? Chain's that don't break... autobomb... since when is this strict?

[Taylor]

It seems that the Ura route stays active from there on unless you die, but I'm not entirely sure.

You only have to meet those requirements on the first stage, it isn't stage-specific for every Ura midboss?

Once you unlock the hidden bosses you will continue to get them unless you:

1. Die during a hidden boss.
2. Reveal but miss a bee.

With the exception of the first boss, the game decides if you're going to see the hidden bosses as you enter the stage. So if you unlock the hidden bosses on stage 1 but then reveal and miss the first bee on stage 2: the stage 2 hidden boss will show and the stage 3 one won't.

If you mess up the stage 1 requirements you can also get on the hidden boss route on stages 3 and 5 somehow. I think this is perfect bee collection but I am not sure.

[njiska]

Reveal but miss a bee

Interesting, i don't think i've ever experienced this. Shall have to test it now out of curiosity.

If you mess up the stage 1 requirements you can also get on the hidden boss route on stages 3 and 5 somehow. I think this is perfect bee collection but I am not sure.

There's definitely some way to get them in stage three because there is an achievement for staying in the main route through stages 1 and 2, then entering the hidden route in stage three.

[flux]

It sure seems cool and all, with the lasers and the chaos and the chaining, but.... yeah, I really dont understand how to increase my score in this mode. It doesnt seem to matter how much I chain, or how many of those lasers explode into 20 bazillion bullets, it's not all that good of a score at all....

....are the bees really important for points in this mode? REALLY hoping they're not, that one aspect would totally break it for me (I really, really loathe game modes that have too much reliance on memorization. I only remember where about 3 of the bees are, and that's not likely to change at all).

Any tips anyone could give for this mode would be appreciated.

Though if the stupid bees ARE important, I'll probably just go back to Arrange A, which does not require that I remember where they are and is currently my favorite of the game modes.

I think they are very important. Each bee you pick up while it's green adds one to the multiplier by your bombs and that seems more important than the chain multiplier. I killed a previous score having almost the same chain but I didn't slip up and bomb on one of the earlier stages.
It's really not that hard to remember where the bees are. I used the guide with the pictures and it only took me 1 play through to remember most of them.


[quote="Elixir]Arrange A has frozen on me twice within an hour, bringing the total crash count up to 4. This mode is shit.[/url]

Mine hasn't crashed but it can't remember any of the config settings (not a problem with any other mode). I have to change all the the screen and control settings back to what I want every time I play.

[dan76]

Though if the stupid bees ARE important, I'll probably just go back to Arrange A, which does not require that I remember where they are and is currently my favorite of the game modes.

You need to know where the bees are for Arrange A if you want to score.

I was quite happily plowing through this mode for a few days, having fun cancelling bullets with boost in hyper - my score was slightly increasing with each play though, getting further into the game... Then I decided to have a look at a replay.

The guy got five times my entire score before the stage 1 boss. I couldn't really understand how this was happening - but from studying the replay, certain things have to be learnt if you want to score well.

Collecting bees increases your hyper meter. An example on stage one - the hidden midboss. I was going into him with one hyper before - now I'm managing to get three hypers before he appears - entering hyper, this means that I'm hitting more bullets, so my multiplier is increasing faster. I'm not canceling bullets with boost at all. When I come out of hyper I stick to boost laser and grind the silos grabbing all the bees. By the stage one boss I'll have 4 hypers trailing behind (that I don't use - save 'em for the beginning of the next stage).

It took a few hours to figure this stuff out from studying one replay (maybe the guy is doing everything arse backwards... doubt it though) - but you'll need to collect those little bees. They also increase score by quite a bit, but I'm not sure how that all works yet.

... we need a strategy section...

[Special World]

I think 1.5 is a bit strict

Anyone who says that couldn't have spent any time trying to score in DOJ. .

Ditto. WTF, people? Chain's that don't break... autobomb... since when is this strict?

Your chains break when it counts, when you have a full hyper meter and you're looking to score. I have a hell of a time with the first stage alone, it always breaks somewhere or I fuck up on one of the silos and miss the special boss. I know I need to play it more to get better, but when you fuck up in this game it's like you've accomplished nothing all level. It's extremely punishing to know you've worked half the level to build up your hit counter only to lose it soon after.

[DragonInstall]

Can someone make a guide or a short summary of how arrange A works? Im really confused about when hyper items come or how hyper works. I see replays of some dude keep switching boost normal in hyper and canceling bullets? really confusing as Ive never played DOJ either.

[njiska]

Can someone make a guide or a short summary of how arrange A works? Im really confused about when hyper items come or how hyper works. I see replays of some dude keep switching boost normal in hyper and canceling bullets? really confusing as Ive never played DOJ either.

My incredibly basic and ill-informed review of Ver L touches on how hypers affect scoring - http://njiska.com/2010/12/xbox-360-impo ... arrange-a/

Short of it:
- Hypers are collectable and appear when a bar is full
- Normal Hyper Shot will tag bullets and add them to the chain
- Boost Hyper Shot will cancel them into gold stars
- Ideal strategy appears to be tag with normal than switch to boost to destroy.
- Keep an eye on your chain gauge as it's not always replenished as fast as you'd like.