AIR RADE AIR IS OUT!!

Soldato J · Post by **Soldato J** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 5:14 pm

Ok, so I stumbled on this Doujin shooter thread, and I want to get some. Where do you guys get info/the games? Please help a poor Doijin shmup nOOb......

I found Himeya shop, but can I order from them in the US, and are system requiremenets listed anywhere? Can I run on my US system? etc etc etc....

Also, all of the games on Himeya look really pretty....any reviews for them anywhwere (to know what is good vs. what is crap)?

Eltegantis · Post by **Eltegantis** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 10:06 pm

I played the demo and enjoyed it. What does the full version have to offer? How many levels are there? Do all the extra characters you unlock play differently? Does this game have legs for long term play?

The main game has 6 levels and takes about 25 minutes from start to finish. There's evidence of hidden levels, but I haven't seen them yet. There's also a decent variety of difficulty settings and game modes, though some of them need to be unlocked. As for the characters, the only qualitative difference between the ones I've seen is their shot, otherwise it's just speed/punch power/punch recharge rate. That said, I think they feel pretty different. The amount of unlockable stuff beats out just about any shooter out there that doesn't have the letter "R" and the word "Final" in the title, so if you like that kind of thing I think you'd be pleased.

I found Himeya shop, but can I order from them in the US, and are system requiremenets listed anywhere? Can I run on my US system? etc etc etc....

Orders from outside Japan are the reason why Himeya exists in the first place.

Whether or not a Japanese game (doujin or otherwise) will run on non-Japanese Windows with no modifications varies from title to title. If you use Windows XP, there are some language settings you can change to make just about anything run. As for Airrade Air specifically, I don't see why it wouldn't, but why don't you try the demo (the old one is linked from the highscore thread) and see? The system requirements, from the game's website, are:

Windows 2000, XP (ME is unsupported)
Pentium III 800MHz or better
128MB RAM
video card with support for DirectX 8.1 and 32MB VRAM

If you want to be positive it'll run, I'd recommend waiting for the updated demo before you make the purchase.

I found Himeya shop, but can I order from them in the US, and are system requiremenets listed anywhere? Can I run on my US system? etc etc etc....

I don't know of any general doujin info sites in English; I get most of my information from various blogs (and recently Doujin Douraku, but that won't help you much if you can't read Japanese). If you'd like to make a thread on it, I'm sure you can get some good advice. As far as quick 'n dirty shooter recommendations that you can still get new go... you can't go wrong with any of the Touhou games (IN and PCB), Platine Dispositif's stuff tends to be good if rock-hard, and I'm quite fond of La Soeur de Barrage, though it's very bare-bones. And of course this one's excellent...

pixelcorps · Post by **pixelcorps** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:08 am

ARA's installer works just fine on a US PC

it's usually fighters like melty blood and queen of hearts that have nightmarish installers..

Post by **Icarus** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:25 am

Soldato J wrote:Ok, so I stumbled on this Doujin shooter thread, and I want to get some. Where do you guys get info/the games? Please help a poor Doijin shmup nOOb......

Although the Japanese doujin sites have all the latest updates, they can be pretty hard to navigate. The Postman's Shoot The Core database has a good comprehensive list. An old member of the forum, Fev, used to have a good homebrew review site called Respect Teh Shmups!, but both herself and her site have long since disappeared

postman · Post by **postman** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 3:36 pm

Anyone else encounter a bug after beating the level one boss? I beat the flying bird, he drops the bonuses which I then collect, then my chatacter hovers back at the left side of the screen and just sits there while nothing else happens.......the screen keeps scrolling but there is no more progress in the game.............it happens every now and then........

Also, do I understand the play system completely? I gather there are two kinds of punches along with normal shot. The uppercut punch seems to make smaller enemies arch then explode, and the straight punch throws them in a straight line across the screen, both of which make for combo points and stronger attacks.......

Post by **Icarus** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 3:47 pm

I explain a bit about the system in the highscore thread. Please feel free to check it out.

postman · Post by **postman** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:26 pm

Thanks Icarus, I understand how to play better now, the game is more focused on the punch/chain combo system than actual shooting.....

Anyone else have problems with the bug after beating the level one boss? I can't progress in the game unless I use character #2......the others just vibrate in place after beating the boss and I have to quit out of the game.....;(

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:41 pm

Hurrar! I got paid yesterday so I went onto the site and ordered me a copy of the game. I should have it within a week so hopefuly I will be on the score boards soon enough!

Post by **Icarus** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:06 am

postman wrote:Anyone else have problems with the bug after beating the level one boss? I can't progress in the game unless I use character #2......the others just vibrate in place after beating the boss and I have to quit out of the game.....;(

Grab the update patch from Siesta's homepage. I've never had any problems with any bugs yet, but then again, I updated the game files straight after I installed them.

If you need a direct link, it's right here.

postman wrote:Thanks Icarus, I understand how to play better now, the game is more focused on the punch/chain combo system than actual shooting.....

No problem. A little tip: the trick to gaining high scores isn't in actual Punch/Upper chaining, but in the chaining through the AIR Special Attack, since you can get up to a x4096 multiplier. The idea is to find a large group of enemies to chain which willgive you a x4096, as this will also trigger Fever mode, where eggs will rush you. You can then chain these eggs with Punch/Upper, and pick up all the nice items they leave

Obviously you are temporarily powered down after using the AIR Special, but that's a risk you'll have to take if you want a high score