What are the easiest 360 Cave games?

[Special World]

After credit-feeding through Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu Black Label, I've come to realize that I am just not good enough yet to 1CC a lot of these games. So far, the only 1CCs I have are in Mushi Futari Black Label Original, Deathsmiles, and Deathsmiles 2X. It seems like there's a huge gulf between these games and the others. What would be a good game to try 1CCing next? I like playing for score as well, but I would like to occasionally beat these games :\

[KAI]

Muchimuchi Pork is easy, go for it.

[Obscura]

I haven't played it, but DFK 1.5 Strong has a reputation of being not much harder than Futari BL.

[shmuppyLove]

Akai Katana has lots of modes ... probably some are easier than others? I've only played it very briefly but it was pretty badass.

[Bananamatic]

Pink Sweets

[KAI]

Pink Sweets loves newbies.

[Chaos Phoenixma]

First time I beat Stage 6 on Pink Sweets Arrange, I beat Stage 7 also. Arcade mode is ridiculously hard.


Muchi Muchi Pork isn't all that easy being a 2 loop game. Whether we're talking about the easier but still not easy requirement to 1cc in 1.01 or the no death requirement for 1.00.


Daifukkatsu first loop is easy, but to clear either loop will require some effort. Ura loop moreso.

[Cagar]

Daifukkatsu 1.5.

[trap15]

Daifukkatsu 1.51

[Cagar]

Daifukkatsu 1.51

If we count arranges too, the easiest is arrange A.

[trap15]

1.51 isn't really an arrange, but if we are counting arranges, Futari Arrange is extremely easy. Even Ultra is easy as hell.

[sirmax]

Guwange 360 Arrange is also easy as pie. Just position your ghost-thing in the middle of the screen and every bullet becomes so slow, you shouldn't have any problem dodging 'em.

[Special World]

Well, I mostly meant the main games, as a lot of the arranges are really shoddy, imo. I do like Pink Sweets Arrange, but that's almost *too* easy for the first few stages, and then in level 4 or 5 there's those crazy lasers that destroy me.

Daifukkatsu is actually my least favorite Cave game by a large margin, but I do like Arrange A a lot more than the main game. I don't really consider DFK Bomb and strong to be very compelling clears, since it's like being handed a ton of extra lives.

Muchi Pork gets a lot of credit for being easy, but I don't find it that much easier than other Cave games, considering it piles on the bosses towards the end. I guess I stand more chance of that than beating Espgaluda II or DFK Black Label, though. And I do like the system a lot.

Akai Katana does seem a bit easier, though I loath the bosses on that one, since they have a million billion health.

I guess I should just figure out for myself which ones I find easiest. Maybe I should just go full-out for the 1CC, but I find it impossible to ignore scoring. As soon as I get that pork gold, those 5 chips, or those ingots, I just can't stop. The only game I can comfortably ignore scoring in is DOJ, because that's just so strict and brutal.

I also don't know that it's really beneficial to look at which game's easiest, but rather which one I enjoy the most. I imagine that if I played some of these games as much as I play Futari I could get the 1CC in them. But my favorite after Futari is probably Ketsui, which is pretty brutal.

If you guys have any tips for general survival, that'd help. I'll check out the general survival thread while I'm at it. I've just recently started using continues to work on later levels, and maybe I'll go into training mode more. Some games like Ketsui and Muchi Pork make it tough to train bosses, though, and those are the two I'd absolutely want to train bosses in.

Anyways, just thinking out loud.

[chempop]

The only game I can comfortably ignore scoring in is DOJ, because that's just so strict and brutal.

This. Play DOJ-BL for survival, it will make you a better player faster than any other game by allowing you to focus on the simple skills that apply to all cave games, herding, streaming, point blanking, sweeping, survival bombing, etc.

[KAI]

What about Instant Brain? I've heard it's really easy.

[Special World]

What about Instant Brain? I've heard it's really easy.

downvoting this post

[EmperorIng]

You guys here talking about 1CCing "easy" Cave games and here I am still trying to 1CC the Darius, Ray, and GigaWing games. : /

The closest I ever got was DonPachi, but that game's bullet density is fairly low. Still a hard son of a bitch after 3 stages though (do you really want to practice three easy stages over and over again though?).

[Special World]

The only game I can comfortably ignore scoring in is DOJ, because that's just so strict and brutal.

This. Play DOJ-BL for survival, it will make you a better player faster than any other game by allowing you to focus on the simple skills that apply to all cave games, herding, streaming, point blanking, sweeping, survival bombing, etc.

Yeah, this is actually going pretty well as far as me being able to consciously avoid shots. Newer Cave games seem to focus more on shutting down your brain with intricate, tricky patterns, but in DOJ the patterns seem pretty straightforward. It's tough as nails, but what you see is what you get.

I still can't beat level 3, though, which is sad. I think I've done it once before.

You guys here talking about 1CCing "easy" Cave games and here I am still trying to 1CC the Darius, Ray, and GigaWing games. : /

The closest I ever got was DonPachi, but that game's bullet density is fairly low. Still a hard son of a bitch after 3 stages though (do you really want to practice three easy stages over and over again though?).

IMO you should at least be able to 1CC Deathsmiles or Deathsmiles IIX. Both fairly easy (unless you go max rank). The last boss in DSIIX looks like a motherfucker, but for some reason his bullets always go through me. I thought I should have died 10 times but only died once. It's a pretty easy game for me, except for the carnival boss(es) and the last level. Game gets a lot of flak for looking ugly, but it plays really well and has some of my favorite Cave music.

[MSZ]

I am a below average CAVE player. But I was still able to 1CC Mushihimesama Original, Futari BL Original and DFK 1.5. So there you go, these are the easiest 360 CAVE games.

[Special World]

Whelp, I almost beat stage 3 in training without dying. I got to "just a couple more shots," but that killed me, of course.

I feel good about that one, though.

[Erppo]

If you guys have any tips for general survival, that'd help.

Play more and keep your mind on it. When you screw something up, think why it happened and how to avoid it next time. Watch replays fom players better than you and think why they do what they do. Never blame the game for your own mistakes.

I believe that's all there is, all finer techniques eventually follow from that.

[Special World]

If you guys have any tips for general survival, that'd help.

Play more and keep your mind on it. When you screw something up, think why it happened and how to avoid it next time. Watch replays fom players better than you and think why they do what they do. Never blame the game for your own mistakes.

I believe that's all there is, all finer techniques eventually follow from that.

Thinking about why things happen is the tough part, I think. You get so in the zone that it's hard to deduce what went wrong.

I'm gonna keep practicing general skills on DOJ, though, and maybe I'll practice beating Mushihimesama Original, since that has very little scoring.

One day I'd like to 1CC Ketsui, though

[trap15]

Watch your own replays. It helps a lot.

[Cagar]

I'm gonna keep practicing general skills on DOJ, though, and maybe I'll practice beating Mushihimesama Original, since that has very little scoring.

One day I'd like to 1CC Ketsui, though

1ccing ketsui or DOJ for the first time are like heart attack simulators, but after you can do it, nothing is going to stop your CAVE-love. Your soul is theirs. Be sure to have fun in your life before crossing that line, and quit playing immediately if you think your life might still be worth something in the future.

Edit: just to make sure this time, i'm joking. Ketsui and DOJ will really blow your socks off, unlike air gallet. They are the most rewarding beginner-clears, and after clearing them you'll love shmups more than ever.

[Hagane]

Air Gallet > DOJ

Easiest would be Futari Original and Deathsmiles from what I've played.

[KyoKusagani1999]

Oh, but... I'm Too Lazy to dodge Anything today...
How about DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou NO BULLETS?
It's exactly as it says on the tin!

[BER]

Akai Katana (with the third plane) should be your next target. Bosses having tons of health never crossed my mind, since I have enough bombs to clear the tough patterns and everything else is easy enough for me not to care about boss health. Other than this, bullet speed is slow overall, and not many patters are tight, making this game easy to 1cc. I spent a couple of hours analyzing bomb and ninja mode usage in survivalist replays and got the 1cc in about three hours of gameplay.

After this, you should consider Espgaluda II (with Ageha or Asagi). Once you figure out which patterns to use kakusei and barrier modes on, you should be able to eke out the 1cc. I spent about 10 hours analyzing various replays, 30 hours actually playing, and quite a bit more just admiring the superplays to get the 1cc. As for character selection, Ageha's good to get through the first 4.5 stages, but then Seseri and the final boss are quite hardy. I managed to clear the game with Ageha anyway, but when I switched to Asagi, I was surprised I could whip through the final stage rather easily when I entered it with only three or four lives. You can try getting used to the game with Ageha until you can get to the final boss of the game and then adjust to Asagi to bang out the 1cc.

Mushihime Original might also be a good candidate, but I haven't 1cc'ed it myself yet.

After Guwange, which is on XBLA, the difficulty gulf opens widely for me.

[KAI]

Air Gallet > DOJ

Espgaluda II is out of the question, the game is too badass.

[Special World]

I actually just find the bosses in Akai Katana really, really boring. It's a problem I have with a number of Cave games: scoring in the levels is really rewarding and fun, and then the systems just grind to a halt when I reach a boss. It's really bad in Akai Katana though, because their patterns are all extremely sterile and their health meters are so huge. This happens to me in Espgaluda II as well - why the fuck does the fourth boss have so much health? It's absurd. I find Espgaluda II really hard as well. Like, there's just this point where Cave game's just become ludicrous to clear. For some reason I can imagine clearing DOJ or Ketsui, but not Espgaluda II or Daifukkatsu Black Label. I know they're easier games, but it's like they've just reached a point of excess that I can't fathom at this point. There's just so much going on always that it blows my mind thinking I could clear them.

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

For Mushihimesama the Matsuri 1.5 Original Mode is one of the easiest clears. I think I cleared it my first try, but I had played other modes a lot prior to it. Deathsmiles Megablack going the easiest route and skipping the extra 2 stages is the easiest Cave clear I've ever done. I was just screwing around testing levels and shots and accidentally 1CC'd it. I've heard lots of people saying they cleared Deathsmiles II their first try, or they at least got to the final boss.