Xbox 360: Akai Katana Shin (May 2011)

[IDruggedShamu]

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[Special World]

Can someone tell me if this game is full 16x9 like deathsmiles iix?

I bought a new plasma and don't want to play any abnormal aspect ratio games for a bit. Thanks!!!!

From what I've heard, it's widescreen but still has some small borders.

[IDruggedShamu]

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[cools]

It is 16:9, but there is a 16:9 frame around it. At least, there is in the demo.

[brentsg]

Gah! I love the plasma... But I'm starting to regret picking it up because I don't want the shooters to ruin the picture... Gave away my old LCD... Anyone else play shmups on plasma sets? Any tips?

Been really looking forward to this game... Sucks to know I might not even be able to play it! Lol

Make sure it's not calibrated with vivid settings like out of the box. Turn on any pixel shifting technology if it's got it.

They are a bit more sensitive initially than later on, but they are far more robust than people give them credit for. If you see a bit of image retention from the games after you first switch away from the game, that's just residual electric charge in the cells. That's not burn in or anything.

I play everything on my plasma and never give it a second thought.

[IDruggedShamu]

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[ratsflif]

I'm up to 179 million in the demo, I'm determined to break 200 before my game arrives tomorrow. It seems like the 2nd plane is really the only choice for highscores.

[Special World]

I'm up to 179 million in the demo, I'm determined to break 200 before my game arrives tomorrow. It seems like the 2nd plane is really the only choice for highscores.

Why? Even if you're not getting the overall high score for the other planes, you're still getting the high score for that plane.

[ratsflif]

I'm up to 179 million in the demo, I'm determined to break 200 before my game arrives tomorrow. It seems like the 2nd plane is really the only choice for highscores.

Why? Even if you're not getting the overall high score for the other planes, you're still getting the high score for that plane.

I know some like to break the highscores down my plane/character/... but I don't. I play with whatever one I can score the best with and thats usually how the leaderboards are. And this is just my oppion but it seems like the 1st plane is good to get a grasp on the scoring and has a strong focused attack, the 2nd is much harder as you have to aim your katanas and the 3rd with its super wide shot seems like a good 1cc plane.

[Cell247]

Anyone have a translation of the menu and what each mode is?

[DragonInstall]

It seems like the 2nd plane is really the only choice for highscores.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. I saw a nico video of someone getting 631 mil in the demo with type 1 ship.

[Thjodbjorn]

I played for an hour or two tonight. I'm really loving Shin mode, I don't quite understand zatsu/arcade. I'll enjoy having a score in the low 100s for a day or two, until the rest of everyone gets it.

[drunkninja24]

Does the game allow you to fill the entire screen instead of having that border that the demo does?

[ex.machina]

Does the game allow you to fill the entire screen instead of having that border that the demo does?

Yes, you can stretch it to full screen.

[evil_ash_xero]

To anyone who has it: how long is the new stage? Is it short like the first two, or is it longer like the last 3?

[chempop]

All the screen options are there - zoom, x-axis, y-axis, up/down, left/right, but they don't apply if you turn 4:3 zoom on. I'm using 4:3 and the right and left sides are cut off on my tv in arcade mode which sucks because I can't see the bosses life-bar.

Zatsu/Arcade seems just like arcade mode except maybe a bit harder and in 16:9. Not sure if there are any other differences.

Not sure which stage is new, haven't really been playing Shin mode whole lot yet.

The game is killer, loving every minute of it!

[TonK]

Man, sucks that JapanVideoGames doesn't ship till the 1st. I'm gonna try to cancel my order tomorrow and go through Play Asia.

Anyone else order from JapanVideoGames.com?

[Dave_K.]

Like the PS/MMP port, you cannot enter your initials into the local/offline highscore board, it just uses a default "cav". I guess I won't be playing this much at shmupmeets...thanks Cave!

[chempop]

@Dave_K, I was wondering what was up with not being able to put my initials in myself, then I remember MMP/PS not letting me either. I keep thinking that maybe I'm missing something since the text is all Japanese.

@Tonk, what's wrong with ncsx, ups will get it to you from them in a few days tops. Sounds crazy to order from Play-Asia when there are piles of copies in NY.

[Fudoh]

Just got this - - - the amount of japanese is a bit overwhelming.....

Left/Right are the different game modes (Shin/Arcade/Zetsu), right ? Was Zetsu unlocked by using the DLC (I entered the code before starting the code for the first time) ?

What's the difference between the two start options (1st and 2nd choice on each menu) and what's toggled by pressing X in Shin and arcade mode ??

[Sumez]

In the demo, X toggles novice mode, I bet it's the same thing.

Could first and second options be regular arcade mode and score attack?

[Fudoh]

Could first and second options be regular arcade mode and score attack?

Most likely, could have figured this by myself - thanks !

btw: I like the 100% border option. This way the game gets locked to 100% zoom (854x480 unscaled) and all the displays (scoring, lives, bombs) are moved outside the screen. Very nice option for people with large TVs.

[StarCreator]

Also, I'm fairly certain the DLC is for additional choice acting.

[Thjodbjorn]

In the demo, X toggles novice mode, I bet it's the same thing.

Could first and second options be regular arcade mode and score attack?

Right on both counts. I might have to try that frame option. First thing I did was zoom to 150%, but I have a 50" set.

[dan76]

When I first fired the game up I thought thank God they put a 4:3 option in there - but it's mullered (unless there a setting I'm missing). Like previously posted, in the options you can get the display perfectly set up for a 4:3 crt - yet when you start the actual game it's over zoomed. You can bring up the option menu in game but it doesn't alter.

So at the moment it's either ultra zoom, which on my tv allows me to fly off the top, bottom, left and right of the screen and also cuts off the boss health bar... Or playing in a bordered black box just like Deathsmiles 2.

Patch anyone???

Other than that after playing for a couple of hours the game seems really good. I wasn't such a fan of the demo but arcade and Zetsu (modified arcade) are both excellent. Not as easy as I thought it would be either.

[Skykid]

When I first fired the game up I thought thank God they put a 4:3 option in there - but it's mullered (unless there a setting I'm missing). Like previously posted, in the options you can get the display perfectly set up for a 4:3 crt - yet when you start the actual game it's over zoomed. You can bring up the option menu in game but it doesn't alter.

Hmm, interesting. I'm playing it in my cab (EDIT: Sorry, that sounds like I already have it! I will be playing it in my cab makes more sense) which has manual screen adjust toggles, so I might be able to resize it properly unless the 'over zoom' is actually cropped like that (and not just disappearing off the edges of your screen?)

[dmauro]

Ahhh, I'm so out of the loop. How did I miss this?

[fagin]

The only mode that appears to give full 4:3 video is the second (is this arcade?). It looks glorious on my Arcade Cab. I can get fullscreen 4:3 in this mode with chassis zoom and I don't miss any information.

The first mode (Shin?) does not give proper 4:3 fullscreen, the best on my CRT is slight borders top and bottom. I haven't tried the third mode yet.

If I'm being honest the JAP text on everything is not helping us that much I suspect.

[chempop]

So it's confirmed - arcade mode in zoom expands past a regular 4:3 area, so manual display adjustments are needed to view properly. Just when we thought they knew how to solve the 4:3 issues they screw up again, time to flood their mailbox/facebook page with patch requests

The game is awesome though! MMP/PS took some time to click right with me, this on the other hand has instantly won me over.

[ratsflif]

Looks amazing on the cab.....

If you turn the wide option off then it will expand to fullscreen but none of your screen adjustments will work (they work fine when its in widescreen). Luckily on a cab it isnt an issue: