Please Explain The Brilliance Of Futari

[Bananamatic]

Aesthetics do mean a lot.

[Special World]

I thought Futari was the best STG ever upon playing it, but after playing Futari Black Label I've never gone back.

- The best eye-candy in any Cave game to date. Filling the screen with gems is a joy.
- Multiple difficulty modes offer a large variety of survival and scoring challenges. Original isn't just easy mode, it has rank and the best example of proximity scoring in any STG. The shot switching mechanic is a little half-baked, I'll admit, but it doesn't mar the game too much. There's also novice modes to ease people into playing, and novice ultra is actually a pretty fun mode.
- Maniac mode is a vast improvement over 1.5 maniac. It allows for a lot more flexibility and tons of cash-ins. I also love waiting to kill bullet-cancel enemies, and watching the screen fill with gems. One of Cave's best scoring systems, and it also doesn't kill your score as much if you die or bomb. It's very flexible.
- God mode is unbelievable fun. I can only get to the third boss, but I absolutely love it. Cashing in a 30,000 is the ultimate sensory overload.
- The game just looks, feels, and sounds good. There's not an element out of place. For Deathsmiles, the shots and lasers feel kinda lame, but the scoring system saves it. For Akai Katana, I can't stand the bosses and their infinite health bars. In Futari BL, everything works.

[Skykid]

- The best eye-candy in any Cave game to date.

But it's just not. Go back and look through every Cave game to date, and closely.

[dunpeal2064]

I just didn't see any brilliance. I played Futari 1.5 twice in the arcade--both times Original mode. Fast game? Yes. But it played just like a fast Toaplan style game except EASIER--no way I should have reached stage 4 on my first or second play.

The scoring system? Well if it isn't obvious, then it's a discardable scoring. I was nevertheless able to play the game up to about the middle of stage 4 without even having to focus on the scoring system.

Maybe the scoring system makes the game harder, but I play for longevity first and score second with any shmup I play.

All fair complaints, but you picked the easiest mode in the game, both tries.

I think its important to remember that the Mushi series was supposed to be grabbing the attention of those who were not wow'd by DOJ or Ketsui, because those games were already top-notch 2 loop extreamly difficult games.

Original Mode always felt to me like it was trying to appeal to people who would just blow things up in a game and not think twice about how far they got, how high they scored, etc.

The difficulty and score-depth are there, just not in 1.5 Original. However, even if you don't want to score, survival is still going to be much more enjoyable in a harder difficulty, at least for someone used to the harder Toaplan games.

I think its great to have a game (God) that works chaining, point-blanking, bullet-cancelling, and still a fair amount of dodging/herding into a 5 stage no loop experience.

I'm sure the "Hardest boss Evar" video and platinum release region-free-ness also hyped Futari up there quite a bit.

Its not my favorite Cave game, but its a great entry. Dunno about best art style or music though. I love stage 3-5 musically, but other Cave games have much more style, and much better music.

Also, why no arrange tracks for Black Label or Arrange?

[Erppo]

- The best eye-candy in any Cave game to date.

But it's just not. Go back and look through every Cave game to date, and closely.

So this is a fact but the design quality (that can actually by judged at least somewhat objectively) is purely a matter of opinion?

[Skykid]

- The best eye-candy in any Cave game to date.

But it's just not. Go back and look through every Cave game to date, and closely.

So this is a fact but the design quality (that can actually by judged at least somewhat objectively) is purely a matter of opinion?

Absolutely.

[DrTrouserPlank]

Let's just say that Futari is complete bobbins and leave it at that.

One of Cave's best trolls to date.

[Gus]

I don't see how anybody could say Futari BL God isn't at least up there in terms of eye candy. The solid gold gems, the flashing 30,000, the screen filling patterns with the ridiculous slowdown. It's the kind of game that doesn't just cross over into feeling excessive but basks in the excessiveness and even fetishizes it. It's basically exactly what someone who randomly typed 'Hardest boss ever' into Youtube would imagine the rest of the game to look like minus the crushing difficulty.

[Special World]

- The best eye-candy in any Cave game to date.

But it's just not. Go back and look through every Cave game to date, and closely.

I never said it had the best or most consistent style, or the most impressive aesthetic. I said it had the best eye candy. Nothing else comes close in that regard, really. Feel free to throw some names out if you want.

[Skykid]

- The best eye-candy in any Cave game to date.

But it's just not. Go back and look through every Cave game to date, and closely.

I never said it had the best or most consistent style, or the most impressive aesthetic. I said it had the best eye candy. Nothing else comes close in that regard, really. Feel free to throw some names out if you want.

ESPgaluda I&II



Guwange



Daifukkatsu



Progear





And the list goes on.

[Bananamatic]

Who the fuck plays Tateha

[mjclark]

I don't see how anybody could say Futari BL God isn't at least up there in terms of eye candy. The solid gold gems, the flashing 30,000, the screen filling patterns with the ridiculous slowdown. It's the kind of game that doesn't just cross over into feeling excessive but basks in the excessiveness and even fetishizes it. It's basically exactly what someone who randomly typed 'Hardest boss ever' into Youtube would imagine the rest of the game to look like minus the crushing difficulty.

This may very well be the answer I was looking for in the OP- we've discussed in other places how a big part of CAVE's appeal is the way in which they "visualize" scoring and this sounds like the ultimate expression of that. Reading this has actually made me excited to play

[dunpeal2064]

Who the fuck plays Tateha

MjClark, the first time you fill the screen with copper flashing 30,000 counters, I think you'll be playing this game at least semi-regularly. There's always time for such a short game, even if you are getting near the end.

[Icarus]

Who the fuck plays Tateha

Hi. o/

[TLB]

Who the fuck plays Tateha

teh guy who haz da werld rekkerd?????!?!?!?!

[Skykid]

Who the fuck plays Tateha

She's pretty much the only character you can play in Yagawa's arrange.

[mjclark]

MjClark, the first time you fill the screen with copper flashing 30,000 counters, I think you'll be playing this game at least semi-regularly. There's always time for such a short game, even if you are getting near the end.

Thanks entirely to this thread I have just had a quick go on Futari BL Maniac/God modes, comprehending and enjoying the experience in a way that has not happened before. The hypnotic and compelling rhythm of building and then cashing in the multiplier coupled with the flashy, action packed graphics now have an addictive quality and I can see why this is a CAVE fave.
Thankyou to everyone in this thread who has helped me to make a start on appreciating and enjoying this game. The intent of the OP has been fulfilled completely!

Now to get back to Raiden II lol

[burgerkingdiamond]

Futari FTW.

great colorful graphics with giant bugs and dinosaurs.

I've only really spent any time with Original. The scoring system is simple to understand right away which is what I like the most. Arbitrary? Any scoring system can be called arbitrary... And the fast bullet speed on later levels, especially when you have rank up is exhilerating (how the fuck do you spell that?)

I just played it for the first time two nights ago after a long break (after I cleared it I lost motivation to play again). On the 3rd credit I made it to Larsa but was sorely unprepared for her. I thank God for Futari's excellent practice mode which let's you skip directly to boss fights. I honestly don't think I could have ever cleared it without practicing Larsa for about an hour and a half straight.

It's really an excellent game. I for one cannot understand DFK for the life of me (anyone else feeling the meh? )

[mesh control]

I for one cannot understand DFK for the life of me (anyone else feeling the meh? )

Build up hit counter by cancelling bullets or riding dick lasers, gain hyper meter back, chain the level DDP style, use hyper to milk mid-bosses, chain some more, milk the boss for bit, and collect bees. That's about it.

DFKBl:
Cancel bullets using bees, get large hit count, sit on the side of the screen and hyper. :V

[AntiFritz]

IMO espgaluda 2 is the best looking shmup. The stage 3(?) midboss's entrance blew me away when i first saw it.

[Obscura]

I liked Futari 1.5 original a lot at first because it was the only arcade bullet hell I had played.

Then I tried Ketsui and Espgaluda, and realized that there was better stuff out there (I still need to give DoDonPachi a go).

Also, stage 3 and stage 4 in 1.5 original really are in the wrong order.

[gray117]

For me futari was indeed mechanically good, but this was what just didn't make it brilliant for me:

It is a great game, although I always felt it lacked a certain charm compared to the original Mushi )

[Vyxx]

Love the scoring in Futari 1.5, but I do agree that the difficulty is unbalanced. Stages 1 & 2 and incredibly easy, then Stage 3 is a kick in the balls (Maniac) the first few times I played it. Stage 4 I found actually a lot easier than stage 3 once I could get there on almost every credit.

As for aesthetics I was always a fan of the original Mushi a lot more.

[Skykid]

IMO espgaluda 2 is the best looking shmup. The stage 3(?) midboss's entrance blew me away when i first saw it.

Fuckin' orgasmic. It's one of the greatest cinematic highs in a Cave game because of the way they tie in that amazing musical switch up. Espgaluda II is sexy, damnit, you're making me wanna play.

...but it's in a box that I can't get to.

[MrChiggins]

Futari veers a bit too far into ridiculous territory as far as the consistency of the enemy designs and whatnot. And the pacing isn't perfect. But it's still a fantastic game. There's no question that it's popular because it's on the 360, it's region free, and the difficulty is very forgiving on the easier settings. But there's also no question that it's popular because it's a fantastic game. I love the scoring in Original and Maniac. I've clocked around 100 hours in Futari and even now on paper the Original scoring doesn't sound appealing to me... but in practice I find it just as enjoyable as any other scoring system.

And Tateha is the tits.

And if Espgaluda II's graphics don't give you a massive curved boner, I might begin to wonder if you're actually human.

[Kollision]

Brilliance?

It's the gems. They shine.

[Special World]

Again, Skykid, you're not correctly IDing with what I'm saying.

Futari perfectly combines a graphical vibrancy with stellar visual score candy. The graphics are intensely bright and colorful, the bullet patterns are gorgeous purples and pinks, and the spinning gems everywhere are a visual spectacle.

Even if it lacks a specific aesthetic that Progear, Mushi, or Guwange has, it completely makes up for it with strong colors and gleaming gems.

DFK has the same sort of intense colors, but comes off a little sterile and is missing the visual overload provided by Futari's gems.

Espgaluda II comes close to the visual score candy with its ingots, but the overall color palette is a little muted and doesn't quite shock the senses like Futari.

Futari is wowing to look at. It's a spectacle. Not all spectacles are tied together by a firm aesthetic. In a way, the color and intensity of Futari's visuals become the aesthetic as it seems to drift between themes.

I would say that Futari Black Label is easily Cave's best, for this reason and others.

[mesh control]

Best looking Cave game is either Rade or Guwange.


One tiny thing that Futari did (that I wish other cave games did) was add a bit of physical depth in some of the stages. Whether it's the rock monuments on stage one, the icicles in stage two or the lanterns in stage 5. The games are all about the presentation, but sometimes it feels like I'm on moving board game.

[kyuzo]

The thing that's amazing about futari original (and BL more so) to me is that the scoring system is the most approachable out of any of the cave games. I don't mean understanding the scoring system, but I mean actually working on how to score better by yourself. Most of the cave games make me feel forced to look at superplay vids (i.e. drop your combo and you're hosed), but with futari I didn't really feel that need much at all.

Also, I suck and futari original modes are easy, there :p

[finisherr]

I love this game (particularly Black Label). Here is why:

3 difficulty levels

Unique stage environments/atmosphere

Awesomely intuitive scoring system that is quite fun and non-headache inducing (Manic/God)

The sound when you destroy an enemy with laser is really satisfying

x30,000

It's pretty cliche, but Futari Black Label is my favorite shooter, for all of these reasons. The scoring system is a big factor for me because of how intuitive it is. ALthough I find that I'm mostly playing for survival, my understanding of the scoring system allows me to add another degree of depth if I please. In most other shmups I'm mostly just trying not to die (which is fun, but not as fun as understanding the scoring mechanics and liking them as well).