RQ: Difference in difficulty levels in Dodonpachi PSX port?

[KNekoSpy]

I bought it on PSN via the Japanese PSN store, but I'm finding it frustrating how I can't see much difference in the first place. The game seems largely the same no matter what I set it at except for maybe some changes in bullet speed here and there. Even the so called 'Kids Mode' is still just as challenging. I was hoping I could start on a lower difficulty and learn the game that way <.<

I want to get on the 2nd loop so bad, but I can't even 1 credit the game, I usually lose all of my lives by the 4th stage...

(Mod edit - changed thread title to comply with strategy section guidelines)

[PROMETHEUS]

You might want to give this a read if you're playing PSX port :p
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 88#p707688

(If you have a working computer you are wasting your time with this port.)

If the difficulty levels are the same as on the PCB, then it only changes the rank mechanic which is almost absent in DDP. Basically at normal difficulty ranks starts lower and gets to maximum within a few minutes of play. If you die, rank goes back to lowest level, but it comes back to full within a few seconds. Rank doesn't have a very big effect on bullet count, just a bit...

At the hardest difficulty rank is always at max. I don't know what happens at lowest difficulty or if there is one, I guess rank would just increase slower... 2 more minutes or something ? ^^ And if you die takes a minute to come back to full rank maybe instead of 20 seconds. Eheh.

So all this difficulty business is pretty irrelevant.

[RNGmaster]

There's rank in DDP? Color me intrigued.

[PROMETHEUS]

Yeah it's just pretty much insignificant. Easiest way to see it is dying at stage 3 teleporting ships, you'll see they shoot so much less bullets after your death. They seem to be the most affected by rank, although other enemies are also affected. But like I said rank quickly ramps up to maximum so it doesn't matter and most people don't know it's there.