Xbox 360: Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu 1.5 (November 2010)

[DragonInstall]

So anyone tried Ketsupachi yet? I would like to know if its good or what the mechanics are..

Still cant decide to either get the DLC or retail.

[Skykid]

So anyone tried Ketsupachi yet? I would like to know if its good or what the mechanics are..

Still cant decide to either get the DLC or retail.

Hold the phone man, there's a question here needs answering still!
Until I find this out I won't know whether I'll be double dipping on both the DLC and the retail release either.

I understand that with the BL DLC you get some nifty options regarding music selecting for different modes. For instance, does it allow you to have BL music on Arrange A?

yes it does, there's a lot of confusion on this

Right, thanks. So just to clarify: if I don't have the BL DLC, there's no way I can get this music functionality on 1.5 with just the standalone Ketsupachi disc. It doesn't patch something to my HD or something so I can get the same music options with 1.5?

[8 1/2]

Doesn't seem like anyone has the disc version in hand yet Skykid, but I think it's been said several times already that you do indeed have to get the DLC if you want the soundtrack swapping. The disc version is a separate game that does not interact with 1.5 at all. So double-dipping is necessary if you want soundtrack options AND ketsupachi. Still waiting on concrete confirmation when someone gets their package, but that does seem to be the case. I'm not an audio person, so it means nothing to me, but I can understand other player's frustration. .

[bcass]

This whole retail release of DLC has been handled poorly. It seems exceptionally ill-conceived.

Also, I think one person over at Cave-STG has played the retail-only mode, and they weren't impressed.

[Annoyboy]

Someone should be able to play the disc version even if they haven't received it in the mail yet. I just did a quick search and found an ISO available via a French site, and I know some of you have JTAG systems. :/

Edit: Oh, and -

Those who buy the disc release have it even better, as they will be able to switch between 1.5, Arrange, and BL soundtracks (the 1.5 soundtrack will be on the disc).

http://www.cave-stg.com/?p=864

[Skykid]

Doesn't seem like anyone has the disc version in hand yet Skykid, but I think it's been said several times already that you do indeed have to get the DLC if you want the soundtrack swapping. The disc version is a separate game that does not interact with 1.5 at all. So double-dipping is necessary if you want soundtrack options AND ketsupachi. Still waiting on concrete confirmation when someone gets their package, but that does seem to be the case. I'm not an audio person, so it means nothing to me, but I can understand other player's frustration. .

Crap. Thanks for the info, that's what I figured. I would really like to play Arrange A with the BL soundtrack, but forking out for the DLC for that small luxury seems costly when Ketsupachi is a must.

Damn you cave!
I'll wait until someone has a retail copy to confirm, and then double dip if I have to. Thanks for the answer dude.

[drunkninja24]

This whole retail release of DLC has been handled poorly. It seems exceptionally ill-conceived.

Also, I think one person over at Cave-STG has played the retail-only mode, and they weren't impressed.

I got it and have put a few credits into it. I like it so far, but I obviously haven't dug deep into scoring to have a truly informed opinion of it.

[8 1/2]

Edit: Oh, and -

Those who buy the disc release have it even better, as they will be able to switch between 1.5, Arrange, and BL soundtracks (the 1.5 soundtrack will be on the disc).

http://www.cave-stg.com/?p=864

That makes it seemingly even more confusing. So, it seems, and correct me if I'm wrong, if you buy the DLC you can swap the soundtrack within 1.5. However, if you buy the disc version, you can swap soundtracks within the disc version, but NOT in 1.5. Or am I just reading that wrong?

[drunkninja24]

Edit: Oh, and -

Those who buy the disc release have it even better, as they will be able to switch between 1.5, Arrange, and BL soundtracks (the 1.5 soundtrack will be on the disc).

http://www.cave-stg.com/?p=864

That makes it seemingly even more confusing. So, it seems, and correct me if I'm wrong, if you buy the DLC you can swap the soundtrack within 1.5. However, if you buy the disc version, you can swap soundtracks within the disc version, but NOT in 1.5. Or am I just reading that wrong?

I think you got it there.

[Skykid]

I think you got it there.

Bollocks.

Anyone got any MS points for sale. I have an Arrange A that wants a decent sountrack.

[dan76]

I got my copy today and as far as I can tell there's no option for BL soundtrack in 1.5 after installing BL on my HD and booting up 1.5.

Those who buy the disc release have it even better, as they will be able to switch between 1.5, Arrange, and BL soundtracks (the 1.5 soundtrack will be on the disc).

http://www.cave-stg.com/?p=864
[/quote]

This is true.

After spending a few hours with the disc it seems that BL has certainly cleared up some of the things I didn't like about 1.5. I'm generally happy with both games on the disc - the rank bar is really good, it's kind of like being able to go from Futari manic to God in game. Though the patterns are much denser at max rank it's doable because of the slowdown + bullet canceling opportunities (bees, destroying enemies and hypering) - I've been doing better with the rank higher in Strong mode.

Ketsuipachi is a companion piece with Arrange A on 1.5. I haven't really figured out any scoring but getting those 10's feels good. You only have one ship, and as with auto bomb off in strong mode, your bomb stock can be used as a hyper or bomb. I've found it a bit easier than BL.

So yeah, it's good - great even... alright... It's a personal thang, but I don't like bullet cancelling with hypers - I'd prefer to have to dodge - and well, hypering is still a big part of the game. What did I expect?

Ideally there would be an option to download Arrange A - then I could sell 1.5...

[8 1/2]

By only one ship, do you mean you don't choose ships or you only get one life?

[dan76]

You get three lives but no choice of ship.

[8 1/2]

Panzer Jager gets no love.

[emphatic]

Panzer Jager gets no love.

Even your hair color likes Tiger Schwert more.

[PurpBullets]

Panzer Jager gets love from me, I always go purp.
I am waiting on this from ncsx. :/

[AAA]

I have both the disc version of BL and the BL DLC. To clarify it for sure, the music situation is this:

Downloading the BL DLC allows you to select either the original OST, or the BL OST, for each of the game content components (per stage, per boss battle type, select screen, stage clear screen, ending, name entry), of each game mode that is available through the 1.5 disc and it's BL DLC.

Buying the disc version of BL allows you to select either the original OST, or the BL OST, or the Arrange (Ketsui/Ketsupachi) soundtrack, for each of the game content components (per stage, per boss battle type, select screen, stage clear screen, ending, name entry), of each game mode that is available through the BL retail disc.

So, you cannot have the Arrange (Ketsui/Ketsupachi) soundtrack during any of the modes that are played via the 1.5 retail disc. This is presumably to further incentivise user pickup of the retail BL disc.

[JoJo]

Is there any sign of the soundtrack style that was heard in the trailer videos?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_LGyRaPTPc
Like there?

[bcass]

I don't think people are bothered about not being able to play the 1.5 modes with the Ketsui remixes, people want to play the 1.5 modes with the BL music, which you can't do with just the 1.5 and BL retail discs.

[fagin]

Had the full retail version delivered today. Christ knows what all the scoring mechanics are in the various modes, but it is sure for shit worth having the retail version of BL (and I already have DDP DFK 1.5 & 1.51). The Ketsui mode (Arrange) is nuts! Above all else I love DDP DFK, so more of the same with various modes is all good in my book!

[8 1/2]

Got through the first loop of 1.5 in Power style last night. After so many close calls I ended up only dying twice: once on the second half of the lasers in stage 5, and once on Shooty/Shotia at the end. Pitiful score, but it's nice to feel like I can move onto BL once it arrives without any lingering reservations, having finally now finished the first loop with all three styles.

Does anyone know if, when playing Power style, if you collect two bombs in row, does your MAX bomb bonus increase like the original DDP? It's so hard to tell if it makes any difference at all. I had three at one point I had collected without taking a hit. I always really liked that risk/reward in DDP. I guess mainly since my chaining is pretty rubbish, so it became a key part of getting to the second extend on the first loop. Kind of a shame they seem to have taken that part out of the equation.

[moozooh]

Nope, max bomb bonus doesn't stack. And I'm really glad it doesn't, because bombing or dying once in DDP didn't only fuck up your scoring for one stage, but for every stage afterwards. It's not really risk/reward because it forces you to play as cautiously as possible.

[8 1/2]

It's not really risk/reward because it forces you to play as cautiously as possible.

Not to argue really, but aren't you playing cautiously because there's a big risk, and you take that risk to get a reward?

I can see why it could be frustrating, but on the other side, rolling into stage five or six on a no-miss game with the score rolling like a slot machine is just an amazing feeling of accomplishment. I can't help but feel a bit dicked by its omission from DFK, as it takes considerable practice to get to a point where you can no-miss several levels in a row, and it feels cheap to not get some sort of reward for the effort, especially when that reward used to exist.

[moozooh]

Well, it's just that I considered risk/reward as a concept where playing more aggressively pays off in the form of higher scores, like in grazing games (Psyvariar, Shikigami no Shiro), or games that employ using your life/bomb stock as a scoring resource (Yagawa games, Touhou), or proximity games (Ketsui, Futari Original), or bullet herding games (Espgaluda, late Cave in general). In DDP the notion of risk is very conservative and boils down to avoiding danger (by walking a very rigid path that is more often than not the safest one you can come up with), rather than voluntarily putting yourself into it. But you're right, I guess this is a matter of perspective really.

[Aliquantic]

Missing/bombing on any stage in DFK will still put a big dent in your score by slashing your potential for the stage, so there's a pretty big reward for no-missing multiple stages... the only big difference as moozooh pointed out is that getting hit won't kill your score for the rest of the game, so you have more opportunities to recover. It's maybe less visceral than seeing the digits go up all by themselves, though there's a definite appeal to seeing yourself getting multiple okus with every single hit at the end of a stage too

On another note, the leaderboards for DFKBL are pretty bare right now on both releases (some of the type combinations on the DLC are in the teens, and most of the retail types are in the double digits, with B-Power being all too popular sadly)... I don't know how fast the leaderboards have filled up in the past though, or what it implies about the game's sales.

[AAA]

Is there any sign of the soundtrack style that was heard in the trailer videos?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_LGyRaPTPc
Like there?

sadly no. dunno if it will unlock on fulfilling certain conditions though?? pretty damn misleading promotion if not.

[JoJo]

Is there any sign of the soundtrack style that was heard in the trailer videos?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_LGyRaPTPc
Like there?

sadly no. dunno if it will unlock on fulfilling certain conditions though?? pretty damn misleading promotion if not.

After seeing a few videos this arrange of the soundtrack IS available in the game if you have the retail black label.

I just want the soundtrack for listening, it's FREAKING AWESOME

[msm]

been playing the ketsui mode loads today, it's ace, usually i'm on play-asia slow shipping so already read all about how to play before anything arrives but with the ketsui mode there isn't much info out there, so here are some findings, i wouldn't be surprised if people had worked out more from watching videos but anyway:

- getting 10 chips you seem to have to be nearly on top of the enemy, especially at the start. later on it sometimes seems easier to trigger them - red meter being in the red maybe?
- collecting 10 chips makes the red meter go up really fast, 5 or under don't seem to affect it much
- bees positions are marked, they are yellow and flash white, picking them up cancels bullets, you get a better multiplier for picking them up when white, not sure what this multiplier means though.
- killing some enemies with lock shot cancels bullets from that enemy, some enemies cancel their bullets no matter how you kill them.
- bombs can be used as bombs or hyper and the hyper meter filling up refils bomb/hyper stock.
- holding both fire buttons makes the red meter go up and increases your firepower
- red meter is red gives harder patterns

i've no idea how all that affects scoring and i'm not familiar with black label mode but suspect a lot of the above is the same in both modes.

[ratikal]

I'm debating whether or not it's worth $25 dollars so my ears can orgasm while playing Arrange A. In total, I would have payed like $85 for the retail and DLC. God damn you, Cave!

[Nico87]

Shit question inc. I'm not a very competent shmups player, though I do have the ocassional "how the fuck did I manage that!?" moment. I still haven't bought 1.5, but I'm seriously considering buying BL retail. Is BL much harder than 1.5 in general? I've read alout about Ketsupachi and seen a few trailers, and I'd definitely like that, plus I love the BL soundtrack. I never really got around to playing Futari BL 'cause I liked the scoring system in WL, so I wouldn't know of any increasing in difficulty between WL and BL.