ChainDive (a.k.a. Chain Dive)

[Obiwanshinobi]

Yet another game following Futari no Fantavision and Sky Odyssey on the list of stuff Sony should be more proud of than it seems to be.
Could somebody please explain to me the difference between DEFAULT and EXPERT control scheme?
I know there was a demo released in the US (OPS2M demo disc). Does it explain in English what the difference is about?

[Drum]

I did not know this game existed but now I am glad it does.
Saw an indie game in development that looks verrrrrrry verrrrry similar gameplay-wise. Racking my brains for the name.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

IIRC, this Chain Dive game is a hidden game bonus, is that right? I don't recall it being commercially released in the USA though. Hmmm, I'd have to check with my back collection of the Official Playstation Magazine with the PS2 demo discs to see which demo disc has this cool Chain Dive game (considering I do have them all). I do know that some hidden games were included (unlocked via codes) with the quarterly released Playstation Underground disc based sets as well.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Obiwanshinobi]

Should be one of 2003 issues.
I believe some hip cats on here owned the full version (Japan only) at some point.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Ah, that narrows down the search a bit easier. Thanks for the tip.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Limbrooke]

Should be one of 2003 issues.
I believe some hip cats on here owned the full version (Japan only) at some point.

I'm no hip cat and I still own a copy. Also, there's already a ChainDive topic: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13303
I haven't played in years though so I cannot definitely tell you the difference between the control schemes but looking at the images it's obvious that R1 now has a function concerning your plasma chain. I would consult dial911 as I doubt I've ever used expert.

Edit01: I looked through the manual and it doesn't seem to explicitly state the difference either. Worst case scenario you could try it yourself.

Edit02: I would also like to know which issue of OPM had the demo, but it seems to find that information is very tricky these days. Godspeed you, PC Engine Fan X!.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I searched for a thread, but found only the "BEHOLD!" one.
In this day and age it's nice to find actually obscure stuff (no FAQ out there it seems), but playable enough as is to be fun to explore. Same with The Adventure of Little Ralph (I know about GP's superplay, but don't intend to watch it without a reason such as hitting a brick wall).
Just wanted to know what that caption actually says about R1 and find out the rest by myself. Heck, even in Japanese it's nowhere near as cryptic as Viewtiful Joe in English.
Another game in half English, half Japanese I have fun exploring without a guide is Cyber Org of memorable soundtrack.
Speaking of which, Yuji Takenouchi responsible for the music in ChainDive also worked on Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and Space Manbow soundtracks.

[Ghegs]

I too own a copy of the game but I haven't played it in years. After playing it for a while again, I would say the difference between Default and Expert controls is that in Expert, hitting R1 will connect your plasma chain only to the green hookspots while R2 will connect the chain to both the hookspots and frozen enemies. So playing with Expert allows a greater degree of control, since you can easily zip around and freeze enemies and then go for a big combo.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I too own a copy of the game but I haven't played it in years. After playing it for a while again, I would say the difference between Default and Expert controls is that in Expert, hitting R1 will connect your plasma chain only to the green hookspots while R2 will connect the chain to both the hookspots and frozen enemies. So playing with Expert allows a greater degree of control, since you can easily zip around and freeze enemies and then go for a big combo.

Makes sense. Thanks a lot!

[Ghegs]

Oh, and quick googling says the game's demo was included in OPM 79.

[MX7]

I picked up this game randomly for a couple of quid from Game Focus in London many years ago. It's good fun, and very import friendly. The manual is also in English and Chinese, which is nice. I might have to dig it out.

[Ghegs]

Sounds like you have an Asian copy of the game. My JPN copy's manual is in japanese only.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yep, it's the U.S. OPM demo disc #79 that this little gem of ChainDive import demo is on. You'll have to go into the Extras folder and ChainDive will appear on-screen after pressing button X to boot it up. Uploaded a JPEG of the controls menu presented in English with the link below.

SCEA did release a couple of other PS2 import demos on their U.S. OPM demo discs besides ChainDive but they really aren't worth giving a spin nowdays. I did manage to find another cool interactive TechToy demo that features a cool particle display program showcasing what the PS2 could do with particle effects back in 2003 -- it's in one of the 2003 dated OPM demo discs indeed.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/705/img1465oj.jpg/

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Obiwanshinobi]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/705/img1465oj.jpg/

Naruhodo. Looks like Shinobi (2002) was even more influential than I thought. Somebody at Ubisoft Montreal and Desert Productions must've tried to borrow Sega's mojo pretty hard.
I must say I'm mighty imprssed by this game's presentation. Some of the most atmospheric 2.5 vistas around. As the camera zooms in pretty close and there's barely any antialiasing, it doesn't look as neat as Contra: Shattered Soldier, but escapes the usual 2.5 traps all the same.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Glad to help you out, Obiwanshinobi. It's my pleasure. Yeah, it would've been nice if SCEA did greenlight ChainDive for release stateside.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Limbrooke]

Oh, and quick googling says the game's demo was included in OPM 79.

On a second look, yeah, I managed to find it but only searching OPM, not "Official PlayStation Magazine" as I originally did. Thanks.

Even if there already was a thread, it's a good reminder. This is a pretty fun game and unlike anything else on PS2 (pardon NiGHTS), for shame it was never localized. I was thinking of firing up The Red Star again as well so I figure I'll run both games again.

[Drum]

I found that Chain Dive-alike indie game I was trying to remember the name of - Project Stormos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RkT2D1t4tY

He has a Kickstarter thingy going.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I found that Chain Dive-alike indie game I was trying to remember the name of - Project Stormos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RkT2D1t4tY

He has a Kickstarter thingy going.

Looks promising. Come to think of it, Ninja Five-O and ChainDive appear to be the last 2D "ninja" games developed by renowned Japanese studios. Moon Diver isn't quite in the same league, is it?
2D sells again it seems. If only Irem, or some other half-alive developer took another chance on it...