A shmup RPG!!

[shmuppyLove]

I chanced across this game while looking for a GameBoy Micro -- Sigma Star Saga -- a shmup RPG from Namco!

http://youtu.be/h9pmorrmvVA



It's a bit strange, but interesting so far. The story at least is cool -- you are a crack pilot that is tasked on a super secret mission to be a double agent and work for the enemy!

It even has a hot alien chick with boobies

[rancor]

Looks interesting!

Erst Kerf is another RPG/STG hybrid. Demo is here.

[MathU]

It was an interesting idea, but I always thought the top-down adventure parts were kind of mediocre and the shooting segments just plain weren't very interesting. They should have just made a good RPG or a good 2D shooter.

I think Karous is a much better example of merging RPG elements into a 2D shooter.

[Estebang]

Yep, Sigma Star Saga was a huge disappointment. The best part of it is the intro where it's just a shmup.

Never trust anything to Wayforward.

[blackoak]

Erst Kerf looks very cool to me. Has anyone played it?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

It's a shame shmup/X mashup games didn't become more popular. I always enjoyed Guardic Gaiden/The Guardian Legend, thought it was really cool how they combined a top-down Zelda-esque adventure game with a shmup (you unlocked a password by beating the game to play through only the shmups sections as a second game).

[Estebang]

The Otomedius games kinda-sorta qualify as shmup RPGs.

[mice]

Been wathing a few Sigma Star vids now and it really looks interesting.
Sure, the shmup parts might look a bit easy and over-simplified (early in the game as far as I've seen, anyway) but the idea seems really cool.
Pretty sure I'd like playing this.

[near_miss]

The Binding of Isaac. Shmup-roguelike. Really had fun with that one. It even has a true last boss!

[wariomona]

＾ Blinding of Isaac is more arena shooter-esque though. There was also that MMO I saw on Steam called Realm of The Mad God where they claim "Realm of the Mad God is the first ever cooperative MMO bullet hell shooter". Buuuuuut... it's not like a bullet hell game at all. It plays more like your typical arena shooter just with the excessive grinding needed for a typical MMO and some roguelike death penalties on top.

[BulletMagnet]

Sigma Star Saga had potential, but the execution wasn't quite up to snuff...I did finish it though.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Realm of the Mad God

It's also got a flash version. Not that great though, it's definitely just an arena shooter with a somewhat laggy multiplayer during large boss fights that shoot lots of bullets. I played it for a few days then got bored. It's kind of hilarious; there's a number of melee classes with bad shot range that all suck due to how getting close to enemies puts you at risk of being shotgunned instantly to death. Warriors and paladins are basically there just for buffs. And you have to level them to 20 to unlock later classes (most of which suck compared to Wizard and Cleric). Necromancer's the only standout late game class.

[Skykid]

Ah, it's a shame to hear this isn't too hot, I thought it may be worth a look from the vid.

Wayforward nailed Contra 4, they should put that talent to better use.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

SSS starts out promising but the shmup sections quickly become very tedius after youve got a few more shot types and your weapons become very overpowered, if youre a JRPG nut ild say play it but if your playing just for the shmupping give it a miss.

I havnt played Erst Kerf, Observer has so maybe he could give some insight if he reads this thread

Oh I played Realm of the Mad God last week, its actually allot of fun, and doesnt have anything retarded like fishing unlike that other shmup mmorpg. Its free 2 play so you will get gouged if you start to play for loot and need extra item chests and character slots (fuck free 2 play gaming, everything on PC seems to be going that way nowadays, ild give my right nut for a non f2p PC mech game)

[Estebang]

Wayforward nailed Contra 4

One of the few things Icy and Tim Rogers can agree on is that Contra 4 sucks, and they're right.

Wayforward has some very talented pixel artists, but their game designers are hacks who have ruined many a promising project.

[AntiFritz]

Wayforward nailed Contra 4

One of the few things Icy and Tim Rogers can agree on is that Contra 4 sucks, and they're right.

Wayforward has some very talented pixel artists, but their game designers are hacks who have ruined many a promising project.

Opinions, i've loved contra since super C and love contra 4 just as much.

[cj iwakura]

Contra 4 was amazing.


SSS wasn't a bad game, just not all it could've been. It had a lot of good ideas, for sure.

[Mortificator]

Tim Rogers

A few seconds after clicking that link, I thought the design of the page it leads to would be the shittiest thing I'd see on the Internet today, but damn if the guy writing the text didn't prove me wrong.

[Captain]

I beat that game a long time ago, it was worth the time.

[Skykid]

Wayforward nailed Contra 4

One of the few things Icy and Tim Rogers can agree on is that Contra 4 sucks, and they're right.

Lol, Icycalm and Tim Rogers.

Contra 4 was mint, Wayforward did a great job. I 1cc'd the game and I didn't even see it coming. Hard as nails, fun as fuck, rammed with nice set-pieces, solid graphics and a nice Virt soundtrack.

Nothing wrong with it.

[Ed Oscuro]

Sigma Star Saga is just horrible. Contra 4 is another title I have trouble appreciating (I beat all the bonus missions, and they were poorly done - didn't care for the whole split screen issue either, but that was out of their hands) but not in the same league with SSS. Edit: Tim Rogers' summary of SSS is on the mark - lots of neat ideas, but it's no Secret of Evermore.

[Ed Oscuro]

Wayforward has some very talented pixel artists,

Correction: Wayforward contracts some very talented pixel artists. I don't think any of them are in-house.

but their game designers are hacks who have ruined many a promising project.

Unfortunately I think this is correct. Somebody here mentioned that the Aliens game they did was boring.

[Skykid]

I beat all the bonus missions, and they were poorly done

You mean the unlockable challenges? What was wrong with them, I thought they were pretty good fun. I liked the way it kept you engaged by constantly unlocking stuff (I really just wanted Contra and Super Contra) and even though they were implemented pretty simply, they definitely worked - some of them are extremely strict too.

I don't get why anyone who likes Contra wouldn't really like Contra 4. I admit you can feel the western dev in there, I'm not disputing that for a second, and I also concur that there are some technical niggles and the split screen thing can cause a few irksome walls. But I wouldn't trade away the split screen for anything, it gave the game a unique dimension and the series something fresh. And the game required serious memorisation - more so than some of Konami's earlier titles - but it was fulfilling to nail it and some of the set pieces were awesome.

I wouldn't say it was a perfect game, but it was a very good one. I had respect for Wayforward for their work. And everyone always crows on about the tunnel sections, which were far superior to those in the original Contra and required lightning reactions further on.

If folk want to rag on a shit outsourced Contra game, try this pile of ass:

[shmuppyLove]

If folk want to rag on a shit outsourced Contra game, try this pile of ass:

Ahahah it looks like a run'n'gun Guilty Gear. Millia and Sol Shootan Gaem!

[Ed Oscuro]

I beat all the bonus missions, and they were poorly done

You mean the unlockable challenges? What was wrong with them, I thought they were pretty good fun.

Random enemy spawns.

In theory, random enemies aren't a problem. In Contra 4, they made the possibility of beating many challenges a factor of luck, and more generally they show up a shoddy design implementation.

I think Tim Rogers review above was a pile of steaming manure, with a few nuggets of wisdom thrown in. One of these nuggets was the point that Contra 4 is very uneven with its pacing. Contra 4's jetski level should be famous and was one of the better-designed areas, but many other places were absolutely devoid of interest.

[Skykid]

I beat all the bonus missions, and they were poorly done

You mean the unlockable challenges? What was wrong with them, I thought they were pretty good fun.

Random enemy spawns.

In theory, random enemies aren't a problem. In Contra 4, they made the possibility of beating many challenges a factor of luck, and more generally they show up a shoddy design implementation.

I think Tim Rogers review above was a pile of steaming manure, with a few nuggets of wisdom thrown in. One of these nuggets was the point that Contra 4 is very uneven with its pacing. Contra 4's jetski level should be famous and was one of the better-designed areas, but many other places were absolutely devoid of interest.

Tim Rogers is a pile of steaming manure in a physical sense too. I think he writes reviews by telepathy.

I definitely agree with uneven pacing and also uneven difficulty. Stage 2's waterfall climb is very tough and so is the entire second half of stage 4 (getting to and navigating the flying rocket.) But, going back to look at some youtube vids I was reminded how much fun the game was as a whole. It really forces you to learn it thoroughly, and that includes experimenting with a variety of weapons and learning how to quick kill bosses. The last stage is immense too, so many pitfalls. It doesn't have the scale of something like Contra Spirits, and I think that's the difference between Japanese and western creativity, but what's there is solid enough.

I enjoyed anyway, I think it's a lot more worthy than any other outsourced Contra game.

[Ixranin]

The part I found the dumbest about SSS was that you could be randomly be given control of a large ship (the bomber or twin-gun), then sent into a level made up of narrow corridors and have no option but to repeatedly smash yourself into the walls.

In general the ships moved slow, had big hitboxes, the assortment of weapons wasn't really that interesting except the splash damage options, and the stage 1 boss was specially designed to piss off the player. (It spends most of its time offscreen and keeps zipping in-and-out as it gets faster.) That said, it wasn't terrible since I was actually able to play all the way through, but it definitely needed a lot more work on the concepts and mechanics.

[Observer]

SSS starts out promising but the shmup sections quickly become very tedius after youve got a few more shot types and your weapons become very overpowered, if youre a JRPG nut ild say play it but if your playing just for the shmupping give it a miss.

I havnt played Erst Kerf, Observer has so maybe he could give some insight if he reads this thread

I see what you did there.

But, yes, Erst Kerf has a level up system and a highly customizable weaponry and points you can spend on different attributes. It helps a lot that it uses this "tactical" mechanics where you can block enemy fire with walls or apply some massive bullet cancelling as well as triggering different enemy waves and bullet patterns. It's very unique, the music is great and I really liked it!

Another one and, wait for it because it's obvious as hell, is Diadra Empty, which is a Fantasy Zone clone on steroids, featuring a level up system and a shop at the end of the chapters to customise your firepower and other attributes. Plenty of stages and modes too.

I'm not sure if, for example, those shooters with shops (like Crimzon Clover, Genetos or Mars Matrix) would be considered rpgish hybrids.

[shmuppyLove]

had big hitboxes

Agreed. DAT HITBOX.

Still having fun though!

[shmuppyLove]

I'm not sure if, for example, those shooters with shops (like Crimzon Clover, Genetos or Mars Matrix) would be considered rpgish hybrids.

Crimzon Clover I wouldn't consider RPGish at all, even with the shop. It's just "omake" that you unlock, like stage select, sound test, etc. You can't upgrade the weapons or anything like that. Plus in SSS you're actually playing as a character and there is lots of story and dialog etc.

Something a bit more similar would be (gasp) Raptor or Tyrian. Tyrian especially with multiple (sometimes hidden) paths, shops, characters etc.