Xbox 360: Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 (November 2009)

[MJR]

I think it might be a little lower res. I've played the game in the arcade and while it doesn't look as good as 360 mode it also isn't as bad as 360 arcade mode.

That's interesting. I must presume that 100% zoom means 1:1 arcade res as the resulting play area window is slightly smaller than screen, so I dont think that there could be any aliasing artifacts on any cave xbox ports, if you play them in arcade mode.

[moozooh]

The reason the arcade mode doesn't look as good is that X360 can't output resolutions lower than 640x480, while arcade monitors display the game in its native 320x240, where natural scanlines mask the blockiness. There's no point running Futari in Arcade mode, really. 360 mode looks better no matter what you do with it.

[MJR]

The reason the arcade mode doesn't look as good is that X360 can't output resolutions lower than 640x480, while arcade monitors display the game in its native 320x240, where natural scanlines mask the blockiness. There's no point running Futari in Arcade mode, really. 360 mode looks better no matter what you do with it.

It can't, yes, that's why the 100% zoom gives area that is smaller than screen. I do have HDTV of course, but my X-arcade controller is plugged to my trinitron CRT TV. So of course I want to try out the arcade modes in a display where they are supposed to be seen, while playing with x-arcade.

[gamesterx23]

You could also try sitting down and learning something harder like 1.5 Maniac. Once you've made some progress 1.5 Original will suddenly feel a lot easier.

For me Original and 1.5 are completely different :/ - Playing on 360. I 1ccd Maniac with the horribad d-pad on the 360 controller after 1-2 weeks of play, and I almost never play shmups. Original mode destroys me early on. It may just be lack of interest in original mode, but I suck at it.

[dunpeal2064]

Yeah, transfer your licenses and the games should be playable both on and offline. Make sure to re-download them on your newer console after transferring your licenses otherwise they'll still have the previous license attached.

http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/Support/LicenseMigration

Thanks for your help Elixir!

[Nereid]

Sapz tells me that the person who holds the #1 replay for 1.5 Original (score 547M, gamertag kitsuneudon2, initials KMP) is the same guy (ABI) who holds the WR. Can anyone confirm this for me?

[Gus]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's him. I also think the guy at the top of the God leader boards(NAK) holds the Reco WR though that's nowhere near his best run.

[moozooh]

Yes, those should be ABI and NAK, respectively. I think ABI posted something about that run on his blog or something, but you'll have to ask EOJ—he follows the blogs of those guys reasonably closely; I'm not.

[finisherr]

After playing black label for so long I completely forgot about 1.5. It's sweet!

[Gus]

BL is indeed incredible but I think 1.5 especially Ultra tends to get underrated. There's a lot of fun to be had with the extra survival challenge even if the scoring isn't as flexible.

[CStarFlare]

I've always felt like Ultra stage 1 is really impenetrable thanks to the exploding rocks. Stage 2 is really tough but there's really not any spots where I feel like I can't figure out how to do them - it's rough but exhilarating. When I can make it there.

[moozooh]

You speak out my exact thoughts, CSF. :(

[dunpeal2064]

I've always felt like Ultra stage 1 is really impenetrable thanks to the exploding rocks. Stage 2 is really tough but there's really not any spots where I feel like I can't figure out how to do them - it's rough but exhilarating. When I can make it there.

I find this true for God and Ultra both. God's stage 1 is more managable to get through, but then stage 2 seems so much easier (survival-wise) due to all the bullet cancelling.

Ultra st1 is so freakin tough to me. Again, stage 2 doesn't seem nearly as bad.

Its funny, because when I first started playing this game a year ago on original, I thought that stage 3 was so freakin hard, and st4 was not nearly as tough. Maybe Mushi's odd numbered levels are meant to be the hardest?

[finisherr]

In Black Label stage 4 is definitely easier than stage 3. In 1.5, it's the other way around.

[Kiken]

I've always felt like Ultra stage 1 is really impenetrable thanks to the exploding rocks. Stage 2 is really tough but there's really not any spots where I feel like I can't figure out how to do them - it's rough but exhilarating. When I can make it there.

I concur. The floating island rocks spew out an obnoxious amount of crap in Ultra Mode. This is why I prefer God Mode (not to mention I like the save-up/cash-in scoring mechanic more than the cowbell-switch-weapons one), they toned down certain things just a smidge and made a more enjoyable mode as a result.

[DragonInstall]

I could never get into Ultra because the crazy bombard of rocks before the midboss in stage 1. I always have to bomb there and it's just infuriating not being able to avoid that part without bombing.

[hwl]

In Black Label stage 4 is definitely easier than stage 3. In 1.5, it's the other way around.

What? Are we talking Original? 1.5 Original stage 3 is the most difficult in the whole game imo. Way harder than stage 4.
In Black Label, it's the other way around. :f

[AntiFritz]

In Black Label stage 4 is definitely easier than stage 3. In 1.5, it's the other way around.

What? Are we talking Original? 1.5 Original stage 3 is the most difficult in the whole game imo. Way harder than stage 4.
In Black Label, it's the other way around. :f

Nah I would still say stage 3's harder then stage 4 in bl. Once i was able to get past stage 3 i got to stage 5 almost straight away.

[Illyrian]

Stage 3 is the most difficult stage in Futari Black Label on original mode at least. Disregarding bosses of course. The second half especially is pretty damn unpleasant.

[Gus]

I really need to figure out how to record my Ultra run and put it on Youtube. That stage 1 midboss section everyone complains about isn't difficult at all if you know what to do and neither is most of stage 2.

[Aliquantic]

You could ask Nereid on IRC or someone else to record your run if it's on the leaderboards and all else fails... and bug one of the Ijiyatsu regulars to take up Futari Ultra already

[burgerkingdiamond]

Stage 3 isn't that bad now, but I agree it is harder than 4.

[Special World]

Is there any way to reliably get through that one ridiculous boss pattern in Black Label Maniac Stage 2? Where that crustacean squid thing unleashes that ridiculous torrent of bullets, after shining some kind of weird white spotlight thing? Because I have no idea how to get through that. I bomb every time.

[finisherr]

For the record, I was saying that Stage 3 is harder than Stage 4 in Black Label Original mode. They seem about the same in Maniac mode.

Just ran Futari Black Label in SDLMAME on my tated CRT for the first time tonight. Looks so good! Makes me want the PCB : (

Is there any way to reliably get through that one ridiculous boss pattern in Black Label Maniac Stage 2? Where that crustacean squid thing unleashes that ridiculous torrent of bullets, after shining some kind of weird white spotlight thing? Because I have no idea how to get through that. I bomb every time.

Just keep on the focus shot and stay all the way at the bottom of the screen. You should destroy him before you have to dodge too much of the pattern.

[Annoyboy]

I just 1CCd 1.5 Original with Abnormal Palm after months of torment! So happy (though I'm sure the likes of Erppo and Sapz are laughing at me). I'm tired of Futari now though, so I think I'll go for a DFKBL 1CC next.

[dunpeal2064]

Grats! out of curiosity, how many lives/bombs did you need?

I just got to Larsa for the firdt time in 1.5, also with A Palm. Been at this game for a while, and I'm so close now.

[Annoyboy]

Thanks. I lost 3 lives in the run - one near the end of stage 4, one in stage 5 and one at Larsa. Not sure how many bombs I used in total, but I used a bomb at each boss from stage 3 onwards, and a few throughout stage 5, and spammed Larsa during the tail attack. I didn't wait to destroy the icicles in stage 2, so my score stayed quite low, I only hit the 100 million second extend when fighting the stage 4 boss.

If you're getting to stage 5 frequently, you'll get it soon. Good luck!

[Blackbird]

Beat Novice Ultra on the first try. Yeah, Novice is way too easy for me =P. Even between Novice Ultra and Original, the difference is still silly. Still working on different modes... I actually had a pretty decent Original run the other day where I almost reached the Stage 4 boss, which is further than I usually get. I think I'm finally getting a bit more comfortable with Stage 3 and the first half of 4. I think the next step is to practice bosses like crazy, though. The spider boss still gives me fits. Oh how I hate that spider boss.

Unfortunately, one of the employees claimed the arcade's awesome LE silver controller because he's also a fan of shmups =P. I had to revert to the stock controller, which I would only describe as "slippery". That gave me some trouble. I might have to invest in my own controller =/.

[Gus]

The official wireless controller is actually really good for this game. I did all my runs on it.

[finisherr]

I got to level 5 on God Mode today! I've noticed that there are random circular explosions that I can sometimes cancel by shooting them very quickly. However, sometimes they still turn into bullets even though I shoot them. Any ideas?