Recommend me a game.

[Marc]

So I've gotten the money to treat myself to a new 360 game, but can't decide between Caladrius, the Eschatos/Ginga Force set, Saidaiojou or the XIIIzeal disc . Impressions would be more than welcome.

[Udderdude]

Saidaiojou.

[Formless God]

SDOJ like the rest of the cool cats

[BPzeBanshee]

Shooting Love bundle, because SDOJ is too mainstream, and the Shooting Love bundle doesn't have annoying lolis distracting you from playing or lolifying your game.

[trap15]

Shooting Love bundle, because SDOJ is too mainstream, and the Shooting Love bundle doesn't have annoying lolis distracting you from playing or lolifying your game.

[Formless God]

lolis distracting you from playing

you haven't seen a single footage of sdoj have you

[KAI]

Where is the Pinsweets love?


BUYSDOJBUYSDOJBUYSDOJBUYSDOJBUYSDOJBUYSDOJBUY

[nZero]

The pack with Eschatos in it if you haven't played it yet. Plus you get Judgement Silversword and (more importantly) Cardinal Sins.

[J_Taishu]

You may want to get something other than Saidaioujou because the game is clearly going to sell very well. You can always pick it up used later, but something like the Eschatos/Ginga Force pack or the Triangle Service games could become rare pretty quickly.

[HydrogLox]

As it is all a matter of taste - giving a ranked list of your top 5-10 favorites (360 or not) may go some way to providing you with a more helpful recommendation.

My vote is "Shooting Love. 10th Anniversary - XIIZEAL & ΔZEAL" because ΔZEAL looks like it has a Raiden Fighters feel to it and it is the precursor to Trizeal, another Triangle Service game that I like (but only after having committed some time to it) and playing XIIzeal (XIIStag) on the 360 could be fun.

• I respect Cave's work but Saidaioujou strikes me as yet another "Dodonpachi". I had high hopes for Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu but it failed to grab me (so far) - Ketsuipachi seems the most interesting version/arrangement. So far Donpachi is still my favorite in the series - maybe my taste (and/or skills) will eventually develop to the point where I'll appreciate Cave games more than I do right now. Right now I'm in the Triangle Service camp.
• The Ginga Force & Eschatos Wonder Pack shouldn't really be passed up if you don't own any of the games. I think everybody should try Eschatos (Serraxor's Review) which has a Dreamcast shooter feel to it and it is also nice to get a soundtrack and Ginga Force.
• Right now "Caladrius" is in my "why did I bother" category. Again I may need to spend more time with it. But I knew what I got into because I have yet to warm up to the Deathsmiles series. Otherwise Moss seems to have experimented with several constrained ammo weapons (which recharge over time) and configurable weapon load outs (a capability which has to be unlocked) but it's nothing like the Raiden series.

The shooting game I spend the most time with? Under Defeat HD.

[Zaarock]

Eschatos & Ginga Force if you don't have either, four great games in one. Time will tell how good SDOJ actually is, but if you're a big fan of the DDP games(I'm not) it's worth getting of course.

[RaidenViper]

Shooting Love bundle, because SDOJ is too mainstream, and the Shooting Love bundle doesn't have annoying lolis distracting you from playing or lolifying your game.

I'm sure there's an option to turn off the voices. like all other Cave xbox 360 games...

Another vote for SDOJ.

[Cagar]

Saidaioujou it is.

[Kollision]

+1 for shooting Love bundle

now turn this into a poll

[Captain]

You cannot simply ask someone to recommend something entirely related to taste, if the games are of nearly equal quality, think about what you really like the most and go for it!

@thread

amazing there isn't a fight in here already.

[pestro87]

You cannot simply ask someone to recommend something entirely related to taste

My thoughts exactly. Also, the 360 port for SDOJ hasn't even been released yet... Cave will probably do a good job on the port but still...

[Vyxx]

The pack with Eschatos in it if you haven't played it yet. Plus you get Judgement Silversword and (more importantly) Cardinal Sins.

This, but specifically because you get Judgement Silversword @_@

So awesome.

[lilmanjs]

Triangle Service needs love! plus you'll be buying something you can't currently somehow play.

[colour_thief]

The pack with Eschatos in it if you haven't played it yet. Plus you get Judgement Silversword and (more importantly) Cardinal Sins.

THIS

Seriously it's the best value of everything. And the games are awesome.

[VixyNyan]

All the above choices are great and recommended. But you also have to remember that not all of them are region-free.

With Qute Wonder Pack (Eschatos/Ginga Force). you get sweet music by SuperSweep Records (with the favorites being done by Yousuke Yasui and Shinji Hosoe), and there's a lot of variety in the obstacles you face in each game and stage (chapters in Ginga Force). Eschatos gives you Option Levels that unlocks more features the more score you collect within all the modes, and the game also includes the WonderWitch games Judgement Silversword and Cardinal Sins, and as the title implies, CS has you going through 7 different "sins", one for each stage, with specific requirements to beat each of them for a high rank. Ginga Force allows you to customize your ship with variety of weapons, support items and sub weapons too. The Story is interesting too. Highly recommend all 4 games in the pack.

Triangle Service deserve love too. I am still happy today for playing "Shooting Love. 200X" and the Shmup Skill Test mode that's included in that one game, which tests you in different type of shmup situations, while later grading you at the end of the test, giving you an Age rating (the younger age you get, the better). ExZeal and TriZeal are in that version, while you get DeltaZeal and XIIZeal in the "10th Anniversary" version. Whichever you get, you will enjoy the games a lot.

Unfortunately, Caladrius isn't region-free (last time I tested anyway), but it's still a fun Moss game, and once you finish the game with one character, you can customize them and equip them with the other characters' Element Shots. It's a fluid and smooth-running game, and it does run on a similar engine as Raiden IV (which is harder to 1CC simply because it force you to play through 2 loops to complete). And both games have Sol Towers for you to find in the Stages. XD

SDOJ would be a good pick too, since it's a Cave game, you decide if you like the voices or the shop system in the new 360 Mode or not, but either way, it will be full of bullets to dodge, and hypers for you to use effectively in the right situations. It will also have challenges for you to attempt with various requirements on each. Also Hibachi-chan and Inbachi-san wanting to beat the player up mercilessly. ^^;

[ACSeraph]

Otomedius.

Seriously though it seems to get some hate but Caladrius is a solid game that is very interesting and hard to master when you go in depth. It has some problems though due to character balance and the ways the leaderboards work. The other games may be better first picks, but it is worth playing Caladrius eventually.

[stryc9]

Unless you have a particular love for DDP games, I would recommend Eschatos, man. with all the various modes and difficulty settings you can tailor the game to your skill level and have a blast. But be warned, HARD and HARDEST are a nightmare Eschatos is an awesome shooter with awesome music that includes the WonderWitch games too.

And now you get Ginga Force with it? Seems like a no brainer to me

[chempop]

How rabid are you about the pachi series, and have you played DOJ and DFK to death already? If you haven't, I'd get those first, it's best to play them in order.

I haven't played Caladrius but I'm under the impression that it has the least going for if out of the games you mentioned. Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken, but doesn't it have 1 primary (worthwhile) game mode.

XIII&Delta-Zeal would be a good choice imho. Off beat games that seem to be very impressive yet different enough from most of what else is out there.

Eschatos&Ginga... goes without saying that this is the best bang for your buck. I held off on Eschatos for a while and once I finally got it I was blown away. Tons of difficulty and mode selection, 2 old school extra games... oh yeah, and it comes with Ginga Force too (which I haven't bought yet, but hear mostly positive things about).

[ACSeraph]

I haven't played Caladrius but I'm under the impression that it has the least going for if out of the games you mentioned. Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken, but doesn't it have 1 primary (worthwhile) game mode.

Yet again I don't really get this. Aside from the balance Caladrius has a lot going for it. The game requires strict planning based on your shot choices to succeed at, and every character has to approach the game in a totally different way. The scoring is based on kills with your limited elemental attacks which forces you to experiment and learn when and where to use your attacks to get the biggest multipliers while also thinking about where you need to save energy for survival. The main game is definitely a very worthwhile game mode, and the multiple characters effectively makes is have multiple modes.

I'd like to hear from some people that have actually spent time with this game what their problems are with it. I definitely don't think the game is perfect but the problems are minimal if you ask me and overall its a great game. Sometimes I think its just being ignored because of the moe. I'll bet if it was the same game with a Gradius style theme everyone would love it. Why does everyone hate moe so much anyhow?

Keep in mind that I'm not saying "if you can only buy one game buy Caladrius", but I am saying that the game is absolutely worth the attention of the shmups community.

[Marc]

Love the DDP series, but as pointed out above I guess that will be relatively easy to pick up further down the line, it's between the Eschatos and Zeal packs at the min.

[chempop]

ACSeraph, I appreciate the info on Caladrius but it really does seem like it has the least to offer gameplay wise, even taking into account 5 or so buttons and a bunch of characters to choose from.

Why does everyone hate moe so much anyhow?

It's not just the moe, but how sexualized it is. For some, it's a big plus, for many it's a non-issue, and for others it means insta-disqualification. Tons of members dig the whole moe touhou vibe while others are more into mechanized crafts and sci-fi themes. Imagine being into this genre for 25 years and all of a sudden your tanks, helicopters, and spaceships are replaced by little magical girls... it's not rocket science buddy

[BPzeBanshee]

I'm sure there's an option to turn off the voices. like all other Cave xbox 360 games...

Likely but not guaranteed. Cave have screwed up far simpler things in the past. That is however, beside the point, which relates to why said voices are even there in the first place.

Since this thread's actually got some serious thought put into it, I'll word this as well as I can. There is no doubt in my mind that any of the choices recommended here are going to be reasonably good ones. I'm voting on the Shooting Love 10th Anniversary because Triangle Service needs all the support it can get, and I personally prefer games that don't shoehorn stories featuring anime characters with annoying voices in a language I don't understand into an arcade setting. Unravelling the mysteries behind G-Stream G2020 has been one of the most enjoyable things I've done lately, which will continue and hopefully lead to a complete ST guide on the game with the release of DeltaZeal, and I don't have a J360, so my choice is clear. If Marc's into every Cave game ever and can only pick one purchase, of course SDOJ is the obvious pick, but if he wants something different from most of what's in the market the 10th Anniversary bundle is worth looking into.

[ACSeraph]

ACSeraph, I appreciate the info on Caladrius but it really does seem like it has the least to offer gameplay wise, even taking into account 5 or so buttons and a bunch of characters to choose from.

Why does everyone hate moe so much anyhow?

It's not just the moe, but how sexualized it is. For some, it's a big plus, for many it's a non-issue, and for others it means insta-disqualification. Tons of members dig the whole moe touhou vibe while others are more into mechanized crafts and sci-fi themes. Imagine being into this genre for 25 years and all of a sudden your tanks, helicopters, and spaceships are replaced by little magical girls... it's not rocket science buddy

I guess its harder for me to get because it's a total non-issue to me and I like both styles. It's not like the techno theme has disappeared anyhow. Different strokes for different folks I guess. You can actually totally turn off the art in Caladrius though for what it's worth. As for not having a lot to offer, probably compared to the Eschatos pack that's true, I'm just saying for what it is its a good game. I feel like it's gameplay systems shouldn't be ignored just based on its aesthetic themes.

[kathy]

How rabid are you about the pachi series, and have you played DOJ and DFK to death already? If you haven't, I'd get those first

Great advice imo. Plus DFK can be had for a steal these days!

[Ed Oscuro]

You cannot simply ask someone to recommend something entirely related to taste,

you're right all the same