Let's discuss Psyvariar, the best shmup series of all time

[Some-Mist]

Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate was actually the 2nd shmup I sunk a lot of time into. I even bought an agetec stick (my first arcade stick) for it which later helped me unlock Gluon. kinda sucks to see that it's the hated on here

[ciox]

Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate was actually the 2nd shmup I sunk a lot of time into. I even bought an agetec stick (my first arcade stick) for it which later helped me unlock Gluon. kinda sucks to see that it's the hated on here

Nah it's perfectly normal to like something because you initially got attached to it like that, I do this all the time with other game series that have way better games than what I started out with. It's just nasty when one game is so overrated it obscures the best of the series

[Some-Mist]

I still haven't been able to sink my teeth into the ps2 emulated collection (on PS3) even though I own it tho..
it does seem - to me at least - a great deal harder than psyvariar 2.

[Bananamatic]

Revision is damn hard because 8 stages+many boss attacks that are just random spam with just 2 lives and no extends, plus even unlocking Gluon is pretty hard

[daigle]

can someone explain all the different versions im seeing online? is revision different than complete? confusing

[ciox]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyvariar# ... e_Edition-

[daigle]

awwww yeaaaa

thank you

[Zengeku3]

Why isn't everyone playing it?

Because you are playing it.

[Austin]

I have Psyvariar 2 on the Dreamcast and put a good bit of time into it when it was new. I never did play any of the other versions, but I enjoyed the DC game for what it was. It's got a pretty interesting main gameplay mechanic which sets it apart from other shooters.

*Edit 7/15: While at the local game shop last night, I had some money to burn and I saw they had Psyvariar: Revision available. I went ahead and picked it up.

[nasty_wolverine]

So my previous complain about some stupid filter was base less, infact what i missed was how to access the options screen... stupid me.
Went into the options screen, turned to smoothing down to zero, turned 60hz mode on. and behold, its not straining my eyes anymore.

Got a new perspective on Psyvariar revision. Its great, the graphics the music, the gameplay. I think I ll be playing it alot more now.

[ciox]

So my previous complain about some stupid filter was base less, infact what i missed was how to access the options screen... stupid me.
Went into the options screen, turned to smoothing down to zero, turned 60hz mode on. and behold, its not straining my eyes anymore.

Got a new perspective on Psyvariar revision. Its great, the graphics the music, the gameplay. I think I ll be playing it alot more now.

That's cool, doesn't 60hz mode speed up the game though? Or was that some weird emulation bug.. On the PS3 version there's no 60hz option anymore naturally, it just defaults to 60hz and doesn't speed up the game either.

[Weak Boson]

I always assumed that 50hz slowed it down - that the 60hz speed was the standard one. Is this not correct?!

[ciox]

I always assumed that 50hz slowed it down - that the 60hz speed was the standard one. Is this not correct?!

I guess not, when I play the PS2 version in pcsx2, 60hz mode makes the game speed up like crazy, making it look completely different from what I see in the official superplays by SWY and ISO, most online videos too really. It's just way too fast, something like 20% faster given the jump from 50 to 60 frames.
Aren't there any other shmups with hacky 60hz modes like this?

[nasty_wolverine]

I always assumed that 50hz slowed it down - that the 60hz speed was the standard one. Is this not correct?!

I guess not, when I play the PS2 version in pcsx2, 60hz mode makes the game speed up like crazy, making it look completely different from what I see in the official superplays by SWY and ISO, most online videos too really. It's just way too fast, something like 20% faster given the jump from 50 to 60 frames.
Aren't there any other shmups with hacky 60hz modes like this?

I think its just the display modes, i didnt feel any speed up. computers normally run at 60hz, NTSC mode is always 60hx, pal is 50hz i think. I think the emulator couldnt handle the game trying to manually switch to 60hz rather than choosing PAL or NTSC mode.

It felt completely normal otherwise, was able to reach the 3rd normal stage.

[Weak Boson]

50hz mode is definitely slower (and therefore easier) but I think 60hz is closer to the arcade from what I've seen. Looking at youtube videos (not the most reliable method but hey) the first stage on the PS2 versions was about 70 seconds, while it was around 60 in MAME and superplays (not really sure if there were arcade or 60hz NTSC-J PS2). So assuming the PS2 versions were in fact running in 50hz, that would make the 20% faster 60hz closer to the actual speed. I guess if it's misbehaving in emulation that's a different issue.

[manatworks]

Love the 2nd game , even i probably never get to face Gluon.

[ciox]

50hz mode is definitely slower (and therefore easier) but I think 60hz is closer to the arcade from what I've seen. Looking at youtube videos (not the most reliable method but hey) the first stage on the PS2 versions was about 70 seconds, while it was around 60 in MAME and superplays (not really sure if there were arcade or 60hz NTSC-J PS2). So assuming the PS2 versions were in fact running in 50hz, that would make the 20% faster 60hz closer to the actual speed. I guess if it's misbehaving in emulation that's a different issue.

You are right and this is messed up. Why is the arcade perfect mode not only off by default but included in the European release only??
Video of a Revision cabinet that makes it really obvious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHEci9sPS30

[trap15]

The arcade version runs at 60Hz. Not sure why anybody would think different...

[Obiwanshinobi]

Why is the arcade perfect mode not only off by default but included in the European release only??

The only unusual thing about PAL version is that, unlike most PS2 games with 60 Hz mode, it doesn't ask whether you want 60 Hz or not when it boots. You enable 60 Hz on the - ridiculously hidden - options screen, where you can also enable tate and disable the fullscreen filter.
The reason why 60 Hz isn't the default mode in PAL games for SDTV consoles is that some older PAL TVs don't display NTSC properly. Not all PAL games are slower at 50 Hz (some are optimised and play technically the same), but Psyvariar is, therefore people who acquired the PAL version need to be told how to access 60 Hz.

[ciox]

The only unusual thing about PAL version is that, unlike most PS2 games with 60 Hz mode, it doesn't ask whether you want 60 Hz or not when it boots. You enable 60 Hz on the - ridiculously hidden - options screen, where you can also enable tate and disable the fullscreen filter.
The reason why 60 Hz isn't the default mode in PAL games for SDTV consoles is that some older PAL TVs don't display NTSC properly. Not all PAL games are slower at 50 Hz (some are optimised and play technically the same), but Psyvariar is, therefore people who acquired the PAL version need to be told how to access 60 Hz.

Thanks for this, it really makes sense. I thought only the EU version could run at 60hz hence my confusion.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

What's interesting about those saved superplays on the Taito G-Card version of Psyvariar Revision, only one superplay is saved directly to the card itself. Still impressive to watch on a proper low-res 15kHz arcade monitor setup. You can view it and then, play the very same stage that the superplay was achieved on to try it out for yourself.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[ciox]

Something cool, a japanese dude found secret music tracks on the disc of the PS2 version of Psyvariar Complete Edition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIp-bPTlmx8
To me this type of eclectic ambient/trance style sounds exactly like what ORE808 (director and programmer of all Psyvariar games, composer only of the last boss theme) usually composes as 'Cozi the End of Stream', suggesting it was put there by him as a final touch before the disc went gold.
The tracks have various musical influences (Robert Miles, Aphex Twin, u-ziq) of the Psyvariar sound crew turned up to 11, compared to the more subdued stuff you get in the games' soundtracks. Others noticed these influences before too, especially on japan boards, hell one of the bosses is called AFX-2.

[evil_ash_xero]

The games are too short for me. Nice soundtracks though.

[ciox]

The games are too short for me. Nice soundtracks though.

The games have short stages because they were planning on the bosses being milked (which is really difficult and fun, no ticking from safespots here), so in the end even with short stages it would still add up to the required 20-25 minutes of gameplay, not saying that's everyone's cup though.

[evil_ash_xero]

I remember the 2nd one being about 15 minutes. But I haven't played it in a long time.

[Zerst]

I think it's fine with the short stages and no boss milking. Just a nice quick game with awesome music.

[Vamos]

Something cool, a japanese dude found secret music tracks on the disc of the PS2 version of Psyvariar Complete Edition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIp-bPTlmx8
To me this type of eclectic ambient/trance style sounds exactly like what ORE808 (director and programmer of all Psyvariar games, composer only of the last boss theme) usually composes as 'Cozi the End of Stream', suggesting it was put there by him as a final touch before the disc went gold.
The tracks have various musical influences (Robert Miles, Aphex Twin, u-ziq) of the Psyvariar sound crew turned up to 11, compared to the more subdued stuff you get in the games' soundtracks. Others noticed these influences before too, especially on japan boards, hell one of the bosses is called AFX-2.

The last track on the secret track is stunning but i could swear ive heard it somewhere before.

[Pretas]

I've been playing Psyvariar Complete for the first time, being already familiar with the sequel. Is it just me, or is Medium Unit significantly harder than Revision? Because you can't buzz as much, you don't level up as frequently, leading to a weaker shot and less invincibility throughout the game.

I'm not fond of how you almost never level up during boss battles in either version. It reduces them to simple dodging tests, without the unique mechanic of strategically chaining bursts of invincibility through their patterns. I'd say that fixing this was the biggest improvement of Psyvariar 2. Even so, I'm still greatly enjoying both versions of the original game.

Is there a full summary of the series' storyline in English? The intro cutscenes of both games sure have a lot of barely readable text.

[ciox]

It's true that you level up too rarely in Medium Unit but in Revision it's alright, if you check out the superplay you'll see every boss has a specific level up pattern that you have to fit into to level up, generally levelling up once or twice during each complete loop of their patterns.
BTW, buzzing is where all the score comes from and not necessarily levelling up often, during levels each buzz instantly gives a large point bonus (huge bonus if it's a Danger stage, this is why pros shortbomb during those stages), while during bosses the point bonus is very small but you raise your buzz chain bonus immensely if you manage to clear the stage.


From what I know there's no readable translations of the stories, but I'll just post what I figured out long ago.

Psyvariar
The four manmade Intelligence Units keep the galaxy in balance, until a supernova greatly increases their capabilities and Gluon becomes drunk with power, there's an attempt to rein them in by their human creators and Gluon both fights against this and overpowers the other Intelligence Units, making the entire "GUIS" robotic army hostile to humanity.
A much smaller AI on Earth called Lambda designs the Axion ship which is piloted by the telepathic Psyvariars, fresh out of cryostasis for this task.

Psyvariar 2
The story is kind of a mess where a ton more organizations/powers are named and then never mentioned again.. Kei and Yuhei are Psyvariars and supposed to be fighting side by side to stop a techno-religious organization from resurrecting their "god" Gluon, to this end the organization uses piloted heavy MDS suits (most of the bosses), the "DMAL-4" neutrino collector which you supposedly destroy in stage 2, and the "Eta" AI on Earth which stores all their knowledge and gets destroyed in stage 5, everything gets blown up but too late to stop Gluon's resurrection.

http://www.success-corp.co.jp/software/ ... logue.html
http://www.success-corp.co.jp/software/ ... story.html

[dark]

I've played it on the DC. The way I continued to do rolls was to start the roll w/ left then right, and then keep pressing down on the dpad to keep the roll going rather than having to wiggle left and right continuously. Easier on the dpad and easier to avoid and shave bullets - but you are then glued to the bottom of the screen until you roll around on the dpad.