Xbox 360: Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 (November 2009)

[dunpeal2064]

If you're expecting this game to roll over and die without you putting in even a minimal amount of effort, then you have another thing coming.
What's really amusing, is that Futari 1.5 Original is nowhere near the toughest Cave game available, and I'd hate to think of how much moaning will ensue when you pick one of those up. Swallow your pride and L2P, people have given you enough help and encouragement already. The last step is yours, and yours only.

Harsh words, but true. If they all rolled over and died, they wouldn't be worth they money. I 1cc'd THunder Force 3 on my 2nd try, and although its a great game, I haven't played it since. I am glad that Cave games beat me down for months on end, while still remaining fun.

Imo, Pink Sweets makes MF look easy. That game is so hard. My experience with Cave is still small, too. Damn I wish I would play the newer DDP games.

[RNGmaster]

...in total I'm losing 4 lives in order to get to the boss along with a fair bit of bombing when I end up backed into a corner. Still not clearing the boss of course. Haven't cleared it once in practice either

Watch some fucking videos and learn a good path to take. Having trouble with the last part before the boss? Watch how Sapz does it. I've said this before, but you won't get good without looking at how other people play the game. And yeah, that means you do have to memorize. Suck it up.

[DrTrouserPlank]

If you're expecting this game to roll over and die without you putting in even a minimal amount of effort, then you have another thing coming.
What's really amusing, is that Futari 1.5 Original is nowhere near the toughest Cave game available, and I'd hate to think of how much moaning will ensue when you pick one of those up. Swallow your pride and L2P, people have given you enough help and encouragement already. The last step is yours, and yours only.

I think that's a little unfair based off my last post. I don't expect it to roll over, but I do "expect" to see progress or at least some sense peering out from within the madness.

I'm actually thinking of buying the MMP/PS limited edition because I can get it at a "reasonable" (lol) price at the moment. I still don't expect that it will be a patch on Guwange (which although in my opinion is a memoriser) is still one of the hardest Shumps I have played.

[DrTrouserPlank]

...in total I'm losing 4 lives in order to get to the boss along with a fair bit of bombing when I end up backed into a corner. Still not clearing the boss of course. Haven't cleared it once in practice either

Watch some fucking videos and learn a good path to take. Having trouble with the last part before the boss? Watch how Sapz does it. I've said this before, but you won't get good without looking at how other people play the game. And yeah, that means you do have to memorize. Suck it up.

In honesty its not that simple though.

I can watch a professional Snooker player on TV and even anticipate how he goes about making a big break and what shot he will play next, but that doesn't mean I will be able to get down on a table and replicate it.

[moozooh]

A good tip for popcorn enemies of stages 4 and 5: they are usually telegraphed by shadows, and if you're around the center of the screen, it is more beneficial to go towards the side the enemies appear on than otherwise, as you have to consider your weapon's range. If you're moving away from enemies, they fall outside the shot cone and stay alive long enough to corner you, and that could make things much harder for yourself.

Similarly, if a bullet-canceling enemy shows up on the screen, it's more beneficial to move towards it (starting on the opposite side of the screen is often even better if we're talking stage 4). Use these enemies to clear the screen and quickly fend off the popcorn while no new bullets is being generated. These little things can really work to your advantage!

[Chacranajxy]

I finally bought this damn game. Won't be here for a little bit, but at least it's on the way (along with the dlc card.). As long as we're on the topic of difficulty... I can get to the fourh stage boss of Ketsui regularly... So would I find this game to be fairly manageable from the get go? I'd like to 1cc this game, so I'm just hoping that it's a little more doable than Ketsui is for me right now.

[moozooh]

I can get to the fourh stage boss of Ketsui regularly... So would I find this game to be fairly manageable from the get go?

Yes, absolutely. Ketsui is a hard game. Futari Original is average at best.

[Icarus]

I think that's a little unfair based off my last post. I don't expect it to roll over, but I do "expect" to see progress or at least some sense peering out from within the madness.

Not unfair at all.

In all honesty, unless you can devise a route through the "madness", you won't see any progress. No one will clear this game for you. What myself and the rest of the people have said to you in the past two or three pages of thread, is that in order for you to develop as a player, you'll need a modicum of effort with regards to memorisation - no shooting game is 100% freeform with regards to strategy and scoring technique. If you're just going to flail about wildly and expect to clear the game, you might manage it a lucky one every 10,000 credits, but I can guarantee you, with the current attitude displayed so far, you'll get frustrated and tired before you get anywhere near 10,000 credits.

Guwange is nothing compared to Pink Sweets v1.00 in difficulty, and to a lesser extent, MMP! v1.00 at max rank.

[DrTrouserPlank]

I think I'm a lot better than I represent myself as being on this board.

BS aside the fact is that I do OK on runs (other than the odd one that goes down the crapper now and then) and whilst I berate myself for not making progress, I am a lot better than I was when I started, and a lot better than I was when I picked this game up again at the start of the week. I just have very high expectations of myself and what I feel I should be achieving (to almost impossible levels of expectation).

The game certainly isn't the blur-a-thon of impossible patterns that I couldn't even see (despite knowing their shapes) that I was expressing earlier. My eyes have speeded back up and I have that extra bit of time to weave and mess around. I still think putting everything together in one run will be a monumental task and it will require luck regardless of how much people believe this game can be controlled down to the last pixel. Two runs are never the same no matter how much you try to replicate movements.

Espgaluda 2 is on the way though, and MMP/PS LE is looking good for 80 bucks or so.

I still prefer this game to things like Ikaruga, which whilst beautiful in its own way is like trying to memorise the order of 4 decks of playing cards without error.

[RNGmaster]

I think I'm a lot better than I represent myself as being on this board.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-
Then show us. Upload a replay on YouTube - use a camcorder if that's all you have. Otherwise, your attempts to prove that you're not just a whiner will fall on deaf ears.

[DrTrouserPlank]

I thought that might strike a nerve here.

Unsurprisingly I don't own a camcorder as I'm not into voyeurism, and unless the replays from Mushi can be copied to a stick and aren't lumped into the game save itself, I guess you'll have to take my word for it.

This is really beside the point though.

[ratikal]

Decided to give this a whirl since y'all are talking about it. I never really tried Original, only really brushed Maniac and messed around with Ultra. I managed to reach Stage 5 on my first try, Larsa second phase on the second. Didn't bother scoring in the first run, but since the game didn't want to give me extra lives, I guess I had to (final score like 192M, nothing great).

And if were talking strategy here, I made little plans when I played. Like don't bother with those damn dinosaurs in stage 5, just kill em DEAD, or TAP TAP TAP to the left or right on stage 4 with those lady bugs. I dunno, just little simple things that pop up during gameplay. Bomb distribution helps a lot too, especially with these crazy fast patterns. That's probably what I love/hate about this mode, its crazy.

But yeah, I wouldn't hold yourself up crazy expectations. You aren't Prometheus, Icarus, or MrMonkeyMan. Just be proud of what YOU can accomplish. Stress really runs you and your skill down, I know that from experience. Just have fun, and if you have a few bad runs, whatever, everyone does.

BTW what character tears through bosses the fastest? I used Reco Normal.

[Skykid]

Espgaluda 2 is on the way though.

Say goodbye to your shmupping self-esteem then.

[ptoing]

BTW what character tears through bosses the fastest? I used Reco Normal.

Afaik Palm Abnormal, he has the strongest A shot, but also weakest C shot.

[DrTrouserPlank]

Decided to give this a whirl since y'all are talking about it. I never really tried Original, only really brushed Maniac and messed around with Ultra. I managed to reach Stage 5 on my first try, Larsa second phase on the second. Didn't bother scoring in the first run, but since the game didn't want to give me extra lives, I guess I had to (final score like 192M, nothing great).

And if were talking strategy here, I made little plans when I played. Like don't bother with those damn dinosaurs in stage 5, just kill em DEAD, or TAP TAP TAP to the left or right on stage 4 with those lady bugs. I dunno, just little simple things that pop up during gameplay. Bomb distribution helps a lot too, especially with these crazy fast patterns. That's probably what I love/hate about this mode, its crazy.

But yeah, I wouldn't hold yourself up crazy expectations. You aren't Prometheus, Icarus, or MrMonkeyMan. Just be proud of what YOU can accomplish. Stress really runs you and your skill down, I know that from experience. Just have fun, and if you have a few bad runs, whatever, everyone does.

BTW what character tears through bosses the fastest? I used Reco Normal.

I think it's palm, and probably palm abnormal although I thought that the power tended to balance out as you progressed (probably not).

I like characters that have their wide-shot linked to their slowest movement, so I think that's the "normal" shot-types for both.

[DrTrouserPlank]

Espgaluda 2 is on the way though.

Say goodbye to your shmupping self-esteem then.

Why's that then?

Is it hard? I could use a new project to complain about

[BulletMagnet]

BTW what character tears through bosses the fastest? I used Reco Normal.

Afaik Palm Abnormal, he has the strongest A shot, but also weakest C shot.

Reco Abnormal comes next after him in the raw power department, though she can be tricky to control since using her "A" shot actually speeds her up instead of slowing her down, not to mention you have to make sure your "option" bugs are "locked on" to targets to do max damage: I personally have a lot of fun playing as her, though.

[DrTrouserPlank]

Incidentally, I do appreciate those who have taken the time to offer constructive advice in this thread; even those who have been somewhat stern in their assessment of my position yet have still managed to keep their posts from descending into an elitist rant against me.

I'll clear this game on original eventually, maybe I'll clear it on maniac one day. Maybe you'll see me in the ESP2 thread or the MMP thread complaining about something or another.

Let's put it this way. In my life I have invested far more time in other endeavors that have turned out to be utterly fruitless, and whilst this task is ultimately fruitless other than from a personal viewpoint; I intend to see it through.

[moozooh]

Galuda 2 is somewhat harder than Futari 1.5 Maniac, btw, but not significantly so (if you can clear one, you can clear the other for sure). Quite a bit more fun as well, and very open-ended in terms of both scoring and survival.

[CStarFlare]

Espgaluda 2 can be rough if you're playing for score, but if you stay out of Zetsu and use your barrier in small increments you can generally bullet cancel/barrier your way through the things that are over your head. It has more bullets than Futari Maniac, but you have far more options for managing them.

[Skykid]

Espgaluda 2 is on the way though.

Say goodbye to your shmupping self-esteem then.

Why's that then?

Is it hard? I could use a new project to complain about

F1.5 is intermediate Cave difficulty, Espgaluda II is in the high tier. Its difficulty has been compared to Ketsui and DDP DOJ, with some claiming it's harder. Thing is, it's actually fairly easy early on, and will lull you into a false sense of security until you reach stage 5, at which point it will start replacing your life icons with blank spaces rather rapidly.

The last boss is like hell on earth.

But it's an utterly incredible game.

[chempop]

I've said this before, but you won't get good without looking at how other people play the game.

Speak for yourself, some of us don't watch replays before clearing a game, or even at all. It might have taken me a year to 1-All DOJ, but the reward was great having no clue how to survive that blasted Stage 5. I find it rather pathetic that people here are often afraid to play a game and figure it out for themselves, instead they just copy someone else's playtrough. I guess whatever makes you happy...

[burgerkingdiamond]

fucking fuckBALLS! I played about 4 credits in a row. Each one making to the last level, but making stupid deaths along the way. On my last credit I nearly no missed all the way to the 5th stage (died sometime during the 4th boss). I was on fucking pace to clear but I missed the St5 1UP. I made it all the way to Larsa with two lives in the bag and like 2-3 bombs. This is by far the best shape I've ever been in to clear. But I hadn't practiced Larsa and even spamming bombs I only got her about 1/2 through her last life bar. If I had gotten the 1up it would have been in the bag.

I decided that I'm gonna have to learn to deal with that bitch. So I practiced for like an hour and half of just Larsa (I really wish you could skip that dam intro!!!) I have a nearly repeatable strategy that only used 2-3 bombs. My main problem is the second half of her first attack (the first half is like clockwork).

Even with the nerves that come with a full run, I think that If I make it back to her again with any lives in stock it's gonna happen.

[Sapz]

Here is a method I found to completely trivialize the first attack. It's 'aimed' but skewed to a degree, which you can manipulate like you see in the video. This is also why the second half (streaming away from the middle) often gets you killed, while the first half (streaming towards the middle) is simple.

[DrTrouserPlank]

ZOMG my Espgaluda2 just arrived!

That was lightning quick.

[Skykid]

ZOMG my Espgaluda2 just arrived!

That was lightning quick.

See you in the Espgaluda II thread then.

[DrTrouserPlank]

ZOMG my Espgaluda2 just arrived!

That was lightning quick.

See you in the Espgaluda II thread then.

Yes I was going to make a joke along those lines as well, but fortunately for those of you who I have so endeared myself to I can't find the 'galuda 2 thread, so you're safe for the time being.

It's only a matter of time though

[Skykid]

Here you go:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28705

[moozooh]

Skykid obviously meant this Espgaluda II thread. ;)

[DrTrouserPlank]

Chars.