Epsgaluda/Espgaluda II

[Illyrian]

So I was wondering what the actual differences were between Esp I and Esp II.

I'm considering getting Esp II for my xbox but as I already have Esp I on MAME I'm not sure if it's worth the expenditure.

Can anyone tell me what the real differences are between them?

[Kaspal]

So I was wondering what the actual differences were between Esp I and Esp II.

I'm considering getting Esp II for my xbox but as I already have Esp I on MAME I'm not sure if it's worth the expenditure.

Can anyone tell me what the real differences are between them?

i'd say they are both different games... i mean, they share the name and all that, but the playing experience is different in both... i play them both (one on the PS2 and the other on the x#60) and i love them both... you should try'em both out.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

The first one is one of the easiest Cave games, the second one is pretty brutal. #2 still has the slomo button but it also has another mode that is "payed" for with jewels you get by bullet-cancelling during the regular slomo mode. All in all, it's very very complex and versatile and you can play it in many different ways. It also has even more beautiful graphics than the first Espgaluda and although it still has pop trance tracks they're not quite as sugary as in the first one.

[Drachenherz]

And, if you opt for Esp II, make sure you got lots of lube ready, because it will rape you. Hard.

[Aliquantic]

Zetshushikai (the second Kakusei-like mode that spawns suicide bullets) is the key to Espgaluda II and the main big difference with the first one, making scoring a fair bit trickier and "open-ended"... survival-wise I don't find it much harder, with fairly easy stages (until you start scoring!) but pretty tough bosses that just beg to be milked. I can't say I'm very fond of the first Espgaluda, but the second one is gorgeous

You also get three extra modes, most notably Black Label which is faster-paced and with a more complex relationship between all the modes and more bullet cancelling (basically you hoard bullets, split them with a short invulnerability burst, cancel them, spawn suicide bullets and cancel them to get more gems and restart the whole thing). There's also Arrange, which is all about SWARMS of bullets and cancelling, and Omake, a score attack mode that can be cleared without ever moving, but is pretty fiendish to score well in.

[BulletMagnet]

This should fill in most of the gaps that previous posters haven't already addressed.

[Illyrian]

I also had a look at a super play, and decided to buy it.

Job done. Ty for the info guys.

[Arcade Legends 3]

I have not played EspGaluda II, but it must be better.

[sikraiken]

I have not played EspGaluda II, but it must be better.

How does that help at all?

[BPzeBanshee]

I just got ESPGaluda II myself. It's a damn fine game, though it is complex and frankly GaijinPunch's ST thread isn't as helpful as it could be in regards to learning how to play.

Money well spent, anyhow. I recommend trying Omake! with Arrange Music enabled once you have a run of the Arcade mode.

[GaijinPunch]

I just got ESPGaluda II myself. It's a damn fine game, though it is complex and frankly GaijinPunch's ST thread isn't as helpful as it could be in regards to learning how to play.

Well, it's an ST... not a walk through or hand-holding. It's got the brutal facts in there (and they are brutal). It's basically Cave's most complex scoring system... words will never do it justice. Videos + practice = win.

[Sumez]

Yeah, Esp2's scoring system, though built on Esp1's, is extremely abstract and very difficult to learn, I think, even when you start understanding what's going on.
Personally I think Cave took it a step too far - Kakusei is fun in Esp1, and still fun in Esp2, but the game requires you to base your runs entirely on getting the most out of Zetshuwewiosdghnsisai, which IMO puts a constant stress factor on your play, that makes the game difficult to enjoy. It's a very solid system, though, that allows for almost infinite fine tuning of your scoring strategies and execution.

[BPzeBanshee]

I just got ESPGaluda II myself. It's a damn fine game, though it is complex and frankly GaijinPunch's ST thread isn't as helpful as it could be in regards to learning how to play.

Well, it's an ST... not a walk through or hand-holding. It's got the brutal facts in there (and they are brutal). It's basically Cave's most complexing scoring system... words will never do it justice. Videos + practice = win.

You're not wrong GP, but your method of documentation is nothing as precise as (for example) the Battle Garegga thread which is actually quite helpful for learning the scoring system. Every bit counts, which is why I'm chipping in where I can as well.

Yeah, Esp2's scoring system, though built on Esp1's, is extremely abstract and very difficult to learn, I think, even when you start understanding what's going on.
Personally I think Cave took it a step too far - Kakusei is fun in Esp1, and still fun in Esp2, but the game requires you to base your runs entirely on getting the most out of Zetshuwewiosdghnsisai, which IMO puts a constant stress factor on your play, that makes the game difficult to enjoy. It's a very solid system, though, that allows for almost infinite fine tuning of your scoring strategies and execution.

Yeah, I haven't even touched Zetshuellenemopeekai yet but I still stand by my early comments about Esp2 in that half of the complexity is actually what ESPGaluda has already to begin with, the rest is the intricacies of the stages characters and the extra mode that are new which add up to "Cave's most complex system ever".

[Sumez]

Well the "Esp1 half" of the scoring system (Kakusei) is just as simple and fun as it was in Esp1, but taking Zetschusdsfhsdhflsdjsdiofgjsdfiogjhdfgukai mode into account, you're suddenly forced to learn the tiny differences that can make a huge difference on your score all over each stage, and executing it properly is at least as difficult as learning it - and to be fair, Zesshikai (!) mode is where like 90% of your score is at (rough estimate not based on any actual measurements, and probably completely off, but you get the point).


edit:
This is what you want the game to look like most of the time:

[GaijinPunch]

You're not wrong GP, but your method of documentation is nothing as precise as (for example) the Battle Garegga thread which is actually quite helpful for learning the scoring system. Every bit counts, which is why I'm chipping in where I can as well.

Yeah, Esp2's scoring system, though built on Esp1's, is extremely abstract and very difficult to learn, I think, even when you start understanding what's going on.

That's Icarus', right? I'd definitely say my love for any single game isn't close to his for the ones he delves into. Personally, while concrete examples don't hurt, I think the rest of the thread should have the more specific scoring strategies. Also, I wrote the ST right as the game came out. Almost nobody here had it, and I was living in Hawaii, which was devoid of games. In short, I only had my own patterns, and the ones people put up on the internet. They were always changing, so I saw it rather silly to put up there, as they'd soon be outdated (not to mention long-winded, and arguably take the fun out of the game).

[S20-TBL]

Zetschusdsfhsdhflsdjsdiofgjsdfiogjhdfgukai

Epic.

Here's a video of--um, Sumez' JPG in action, played by aubirdforce. He picks when and where to Zetsushikai. Then again, that's the Arrange Mode.

This should fill in most of the gaps that previous posters haven't already addressed.

Ooooh, "Absolute Death Field" is in there. I was looking for this HG entry a couple of weeks ago and wondered if it was done.

[TonK]

You could write a book on Galuda 2's scoring and still not cover it.

It's not an easy game to write a guide for.

GP's guide really helped me get started, but the rest is up to the player.

[Sumez]

It's weird, with all those crazy arrange and BL modes, which only help adding to the confusion (I can never remember which does what), they could easily have made an Esp1 mode which uses only Esp1 style Kakusei, for those not digging overly complicated modes. I would have loved that (even though I still like the depth of the original mode).

[evil_ash_xero]

I really like the Galuda series. The first one doesn't have the "wow" factor, that it should, but it's a fun game. The second one is one of CAVE's most impressive looking games, and has the cool stuff that made Galuda good. But it's really hard. I got the hang of it, so I don't think it's too hard. Unless you want to actually beat it, and forget that. That last boss is....well, I can't even beat Galuda 1's last boss.

[Illyrian]

From what I can see from the video kindly linked earlier in the thread you, as in esp I wait till an enemy who fires lots of bullets appears, go into slowdown mode, then some wierd shit happens and you become invincible and can run through bullets, which seems to help. Then you go into overheat mode and the bullets are still slow for some reason, then you kill the enemy and get eleventybillion points.

Can someone explain the thing where you're suddenly invincible and want to run through bullets, and the whole, slow overheat mode bullets thing?

[BulletMagnet]

Ooooh, "Absolute Death Field" is in there. I was looking for this HG entry a couple of weeks ago and wondered if it was done.

It does need an update or two (though nothing compared to the Deathsmiles article, considering how much has happened on that front since it was submitted), but most of the crucial stuff should be in there someplace.

[Aliquantic]

Can someone explain the thing where you're suddenly invincible and want to run through bullets, and the whole, slow overheat mode bullets thing?

This is Black Label, effectively another Arrange sort of mode for the 360, and NOT the arcade release, which I'd recommend you start with since BL is more convoluted! The basics of Espgaluda II Arcade shouldn't be too hard to pick up, though

(I've outlined the gist of BL and its "mode progression" above but if you're interested in the details, check this post from the ST thread)

[Icarus]

Here's a video of--um, Sumez' JPG in action, played by aubirdforce. He picks when and where to Zetsushikai. Then again, that's the Arrange Mode.

That's actually Japanese player SIN on Black Label, not Arrange. I recognise the stage3 mid-boss pattern.

[S20-TBL]

That's actually Japanese player SIN on Black Label, not Arrange. I recognise the stage3 mid-boss pattern.

I see. So all that poster did was re-upload it...

[Illyrian]

Hey guys,

A quick update on where I am with this game now.

Basically my best so far is the stage 3 boss, with 75 million points. Was an okay run but I collapsed like an idiot on the 3rd stage midboss.

Spend like...3 hours getting the scoring run for the first and 3rd levels mostly under control but I seriously need to get the second level set. Once you figure out how to get the first extend before the first boss things start to fall into place!

Awesome game so far.

[chempop]

Is that an Arcade/360 mode score or Black Label?

I've had the game since it was released on 360. Probably in my top 3 Cave games although part of me likes the Arrange mode on the PS2 release of Galuda1 the more.

I just got so bloody close to clearing Galuda2 (360) just now, first two misses were right before Seseri (who I no missed). If I had a sliver more shield I would have made it to the final pattern with over 300 gems!