I <3 Cotton 2

[SuperDeadite]

So after playing Cotton 1 to absolute death (PCE, PCB, X68K), it was time to go back to Cotton 2. My Saturn refused to see the silly RAM cart so I gave up and got me the proper ST-V cart. Playing this one in the cab is absolute bliss. A proper anchored control panel is a must to really enjoy this one.

A lot of people seem to prefer Boomerang, but I like 2's approach more. Really allows you to get into the unique gameplay and enjoy it for what it is, and once you've managed to go from an empty lifebar to a full one by leeching off just a single enemy, feels so good.

Anyway after about 2 weeks of playing, I finally made it to stage 6. If enough people actually start playing this one I'll start up a proper high score thread, but for now, I recommend everyone give it a serious try and post your thoughts. Lovely game.

My best so far, default settings.

[tinotormed]

Nice score, but I think you should post it here.

Yeah, someone should take over for the new scoreboard btw.

[SuperDeadite]

Weird I searched for a Score Thread but only found one for Boomerang. I've never gotten the Search function here to actually find what I'm looking for.

[BIL]

Anyone know what the RAM cart actually enhances in Cotton 2 and/or Boomerang's Saturn ports (and if the STV carts have these enhancements by default, or lack them)? I think EOJ said years ago that it was limited to extra voice samples. That's all I've seen, though.

[BulletMagnet]

All I ever noticed off the cuff were some extra voices, though it's been awhile since I last dug into this one.

Anyhow, the Saturn-era Cottons are personal "hidden gem" titles of mine (Appli and Needle were my avatar here before Twitchin' Sal took over), with a nice presentation and unique mechanics, but I'm one of those who prefers Boomerang because it's not as totally reliant on your special attacks (your main shot is pretty weak in 2, and powering it up is a bit of a pain), which can be a bit tricky to pull off consistently when you're trying to dodge bullets. Not to mention you can't play as a goofy talking hat in 2.

[SuperDeadite]

Anyone know what the RAM cart actually enhances in Cotton 2 and/or Boomerang's Saturn ports (and if the STV carts have these enhancements by default, or lack them)? I think EOJ said years ago that it was limited to extra voice samples. That's all I've seen, though.

In 2 all it does is enable the voice samples. They are disabled without it. On the ST-V cart they are always enabled, Saturn just doesn't have enough RAM to load all the animation and voices at once, hence the cart. Saturn Boomerang doesn't support the cart at all.

[BIL]

Thanks, I'd wondered about that for years.

[Pretas]

I also prefer Cotton 2 to Boomerang. Having to manually perform the special move commands feels a lot more involved, you can't spam magic all the time, and it doesn't have the stupid tiny-hitbox characters. It also has the story scenes and Saturn arrange mode that Boomerang lacks.

[SuperDeadite]

I also prefer Cotton 2 to Boomerang. Having to manually perform the special move commands feels a lot more involved, you can't spam magic all the time, and it doesn't have the stupid tiny-hitbox characters. It also has the story scenes and Saturn arrange mode that Boomerang lacks.

Saturn Cotton 2 does have the ability to map the specials to XYZ as well. But you have to unlock it (or enter the cheat code). With a proper stick the command attacks are quite easy.

[Kollision]

OK, so I'm finally starting to see the light in this game.
I just ran into a strange issue in the port for the Saturn though.

Did anyone ever notice that sometimes the chains do not register?
I just did a full chain in stage 3 and could not see any chain numbers as I kept sealing enemies. I noticed I got no points while chaining, and after the boss I received no special bonus either. Sometimes this happened in stage 1 as well.

Is this normal or what?

[SuperDeadite]

Never seen this issue, been a long time since I"ve played the Saturn port though.

[drauch]

Big fan of the Cotton games as well. Been contemplating upgrading to ST-V as well at some point. I saw some early big box PC versions on Yahoo Japan at one point. Anything special about those, or just lazy ports?

[SuperDeadite]

Straight up ports of the Saturn games afaik. Probably the same as the other Sega PC ports of that time period (Virtual On, Sonic R, etc).

[BulletMagnet]

I saw some early big box PC versions on Yahoo Japan at one point.

Interesting, never knew those existed.

[CStarFlare]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/aw/d/B007YH5 ... SY165_QL70

So it was. Pity it's so spendy.

Wonder if Boomerang got the same treatment? Research time, I guess. (edit: Cotton 2's PC release is listed on the Japanese Wikipedia page, and it's the only PC release mentioned. I guess not)

[drauch]

I think that's just shit Amazon pricing. Pretty sure when I saw them a year or so back they were just a couple thousand yen. I could also be insane.

[CStarFlare]

That's true, but amazon's the only place I can find it so it's kind of the only price at the moment.

If someone could find a cheaper copy I'd be interested in grabbing it though!

[Kollision]

I just did a full chain in stage 3 and could not see any chain numbers as I kept sealing enemies. I noticed I got no points while chaining, and after the boss I received no special bonus either. Sometimes this happened in stage 1 as well.

Is this normal or what?

Well, answering my own question, I think it is.

I have called them BAD SEALS.
If by the 3rd enemy no CHAIN message appears then it's a bad seal.
The only way to avoid that is throwing away the bad seal and starting a new chain.

It happens from time to time, randomly.
I'd be a little less worried if someone could confirm this but alas. It seems no one cares about the game anymore.

[SuperDeadite]

I just did a full chain in stage 3 and could not see any chain numbers as I kept sealing enemies. I noticed I got no points while chaining, and after the boss I received no special bonus either. Sometimes this happened in stage 1 as well.

Is this normal or what?

Well, answering my own question, I think it is.

I have called them BAD SEALS.
If by the 3rd enemy no CHAIN message appears then it's a bad seal.
The only way to avoid that is throwing away the bad seal and starting a new chain.

It happens from time to time, randomly.
I'd be a little less worried if someone could confirm this but alas. It seems no one cares about the game anymore.

As stated I've been playing the ST-V cart daily for the last 3 weeks, and never experienced this. It's been a few years since I really played my old Saturn port, but I never remember this happening, but back then I was just a credit feeder, so I may not have noticed.

[BulletMagnet]

I would assume that there's something tangible about the way the enemy's being sealed/thrown/something else that makes it unable to chain, but I haven't done any experimentation on this front, as I can't recall ever having that problem either, off the cuff at least.

[SuperDeadite]

Well if a sealed enemy hits another enemy that has more HP then the chain's strength the seal will expire. But that doesn't sound like what he's describing.

[Kollision]

No, it's not. The chains DO NOT register.

But I seem to be onto something...
It only seems to happen when I use the bomb (down, down, A or up, up, A).
If I do any of the other commands the problem does not happen.

I will keep testing, even though it's so much easier to do the bomb.

[Kollision]

OK, just to confirm it, I went to MAME and the behavior is the same as in the Saturn version.

Even though they create seals, command shots for bombs (up up A, down down A) don't always initiate chains.
There are spots, however, where they will always work (the 3 first ghosts of stage 6, for example), so it seems the efficiency of this shot-command is randomized so that you need to keep your eyes open. It reminded me of the stupid random cube that fucks your chain in Muchi Muchi Pork.

[BulletMagnet]

Someone check the credits for a similarly-random Yagawa appearance!