Triggerheart Exelica Enhanced for PS2

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Sturmvogel Prime
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Post by Sturmvogel Prime »

I hope the game includes a gallery :)

BTW, i saw the opening video and it looks promising
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Kiken
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Post by Kiken »

Linked from newStage:

Here are the menu options in THEE:
Arcade Mode
Story Mode
Training
Gallery
Tutorial
Ranking
Option
Save/Load
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Cthulhu
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Post by Cthulhu »

Kiken wrote:Linked from newStage:

Here are the menu options in THEE:
This is a terrible reason to be interested in a game, but I almost want something whose acronym is THEE. :lol:
"Am I the only one who thinks it's funny that people start declaring a game is overrated before it's even out? "
"You're at shmups.com. We're all psychics full of righteous indignation!"
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Koa Zo
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Post by Koa Zo »

I've been really tempted to blow the money on this game, and almost ordered it last night, then i got to thinking...

Reportedly, the major enhancement is the addition of a CG story-intro and CG cutscenes. The footage on youtube shows some nice visuals, but the CG scenes are widescreen yoko.

So now i'm concerned that the game may not be playable in tate, or that the intro and cut-scenes are going to be yoko.
I don't have much faith that the developer will produce CG scenes in both yoko and tate formats.

$90-100 is steep anyway, but if they fuck-up tate mode, well ...I don't know what to think.

Any thoughts?
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Kiken
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Post by Kiken »

Koa Zo wrote:I've been really tempted to blow the money on this game, and almost ordered it last night, then i got to thinking...

Reportedly, the major enhancement is the addition of a CG story-intro and CG cutscenes. The footage on youtube shows some nice visuals, but the CG scenes are widescreen yoko.

So now i'm concerned that the game may not be playable in tate, or that the intro and cut-scenes are going to be yoko.
I don't have much faith that the developer will produce CG scenes in both yoko and tate formats.

$90-100 is steep anyway, but if they fuck-up tate mode, well ...I don't know what to think.

Any thoughts?
The new anime intro will most likely be yoko-only in presentation (much like the cg intros for both Strikers 1945 games on the Saturn and PS1). Once at the title-screen, the game will probably auto-load the requested screen configuration. I think for many, the draw of this port is the ability to play as Faintear (and the additional art).
bucklemyshoe
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Post by bucklemyshoe »

The main draw for me is the Loli Mechs no lie.

Other than that, I don't own a dreamcast stick but I do own a PS2 stick and would absolutely love to play this game with it.

All the new bells and whistles are lovely. The new OP song is also very addicting. I've been considering buying the single.

affiliate linked here: http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-a12 ... -39rt.html

and youtubed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjQaMoVdWzk
bucklemyshoe
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Post by bucklemyshoe »

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P_HAT
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Post by P_HAT »

Kiken wrote:Linked from newStage:

Here are the menu options in THEE:
Arcade Mode
Story Mode
Training
Gallery
Tutorial
Ranking
Option
Save/Load
No boss rush T_T
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Gmintyfresh
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Post by Gmintyfresh »

My vastly overpriced copy of Trigger Heart Exelica is on the way:

Invoice No. xxxxxxxxx

Mr
Geoff Johnson

Qty Item Price
1 Trigger Heart Exelica Enhanced [Limited Edition]
Compatible with PlayStation2 Japan, NTSC J 129.90
Coupon: RL-xxxxxxxxx -5.00

Sub-Total 124.90
Shipping (Air Economy Box Registered) 18.40

Total 143.30
All values USD


Shipping date: 26. Mar, 2009

Payment on: 16. Sep, 2008
Received via: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Reference No.: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thank you for shopping at Play-Asia.com!
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SFKhoa
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Post by SFKhoa »

Same here, though I wouldn't really call yours vastly overpriced since you preordered long enough before the price jacked up to 159.99 over at Play-Asia.
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Elixir
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Post by Elixir »

Yeah, $180 including shipping is just too much. I will probably play this more once I figure out what I'm doing with a 360 controller.
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Gmintyfresh
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Post by Gmintyfresh »

SFKhoa wrote:Same here, though I wouldn't really call yours vastly overpriced since you preordered long enough before the price jacked up to 159.99 over at Play-Asia.
Yep I'd noticed the price has hiked up even further, still it is a nice set :D
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Kiken
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Post by Kiken »

NCSX got in their stock today (despite the Mt. Redoubt crap in Alaska... Hey, Rob, tell your state to stop blowing up!). The LE is $150 there.
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Post by bucklemyshoe »

mines on the way :) 180$ loli-mechs!

lol i remember when the LE was priced at 99.90
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Gmintyfresh
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Post by Gmintyfresh »

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Kiken
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Post by Kiken »

Ok, this just arrived so I booted it up real quick.

The game supports +90 and -90 tate displays for Arcade Mode only. Story Mode is restricted to yoko display.

The game does support progressive scan.

Faintear is fast as hell! Her laser is pretty damn strong as well (she's playable in both game modes).

I'll post more about the game later, after I've spent some time with it.
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Jockel
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Post by Jockel »

The Limited Edition looks fucking awesome.
PC Engine Fan X!
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Post by PC Engine Fan X! »

Jockel wrote:The Limited Edition looks fucking awesome.
For a hundred and fifty smackers, it better be damn good! ^_~
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nZero
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Post by nZero »

Kiken wrote:I'll post more about the game later, after I've spent some time with it.
Mine's not here yet, how are the ranking tables set up?
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bucklemyshoe
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Post by bucklemyshoe »

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they actually did A LOT with this port. story mode is like a visual novel with small segments of game play and faint tear herself changes the entire way the game plays. you can take a more traditional shooter approach instead of anchoring things, her lasers are suped up nicely. damn she's fast too, it's hard to dodge bullets she moves so fast.

i recorded some stuff, i need to transfer it to the computer and then i'll put it on youtube later. first impressions and an example of faint tear's game play.

BTW if any one hasn't bought and decide to do so from play-asia then please use my affiliate link. http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-a12 ... -84-p.html
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Kiken
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Post by Kiken »

nZero wrote:
Kiken wrote:I'll post more about the game later, after I've spent some time with it.
Mine's not here yet, how are the ranking tables set up?
There are 18 ranking screens:
EASY: Arcade and Story (each have individual rankings for Exelica, Crueltear and Faintear)
NORMAL: Arcade and Story ("")
HARD: Arcade and Story ("")

The music has been remixed again, and there are several new tracks. Another thing that I noticed is that during the descent in stage 4, you can actually see the bottom of the shaft the entire time.

Interruptions abound in Story Mode! Each time a boss form is destroyed, the game pauses to load a sequence of text boiling down to little more than ("Just a little bit more.."). If you have an enemy captured and are carrying it over between forms, do NOT let go of the Anchor button during the cutscene! Also, don't let go of shot during the cutscenes either if you're expanding medals... use any other button to forward the text (I was tapping Bomb to get through them).

Outside of the constant interruptions.. there's a shit-ton of slowdown all over the place... and for some reason, it's particularly absurd with Faintear. Faintear goes from stupid fast when using her rensha to painfully slow when locking on. Also, her lock-on fire is much weaker than her rensha.

Oh, one other thing, in Story Mode Faintear gets an additional epilogue stage (titled Stage 0 in the game). None of the other characters play this level.

Images in the Gallery are unlocked by playing through Story Mode.
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Momijitsuki
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Post by Momijitsuki »

Elixir wrote:Yeah, $180 including shipping is just too much. I will probably play this more once I figure out what I'm doing with a 360 controller.
I just realized I'm one place above you on the Exelica Normal board on Xbox Live. :p
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Elixir
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Post by Elixir »

I'll bother with Excelica (and 360 shmups in general) once I get a fightpad, or something. The 360 pad is just irritating.
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Momijitsuki
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Post by Momijitsuki »

I agree. It's awkward and hurts my hand after a few minutes. It's not so bad now since I set my shot to the left trigger, my bomb to right trigger, and anchor to A, B, and X.
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professor ganson
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Post by professor ganson »

Maybe I missed it above, but I'd love an explanation for the crazy-high price for a PS2 port of a readily-available game.
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Post by agustusx »

professor ganson wrote:Maybe I missed it above, but I'd love an explanation for the crazy-high price for a PS2 port of a readily-available game.
ppl want the chibi doll
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Post by adversity1 »

Do people know about the strategy guide with lots of art that was recently published? Saw it in the book store the other day but didn't know if it was common knowledge.
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Kiken
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Post by Kiken »

adversity1 wrote:Do people know about the strategy guide with lots of art that was recently published? Saw it in the book store the other day but didn't know if it was common knowledge.
I believe that guide was released "alongside" the 360 port.


I plowed through arcade mode last night with Faintear. Gulti are listed in the credits as the main programmers/conversion team. 5pb are credited with all of the new audio.

The scoring seems to borrow more from the original NAOMI version (I noted that the multiplier gradually decreased with proximity when an enemy was thrown into a group), although the multiplier is not visible, unlike the DC version. Much like the 360 version, the stage 2 and 4 bosses can not be shot/anchored until after they've gone through a "look-I'm-a-boss" animation. The ridiculous slowdown seems to be universal (doesn't matter if the game is in yoko or tate) and makes dealing with the bosses much easier (the game really seems to struggle just to maintain 50% speed). The stage 5 boss features two forms (the original arcade and the second one that was added in the DC Story Mode), the second of which causes the framerate to plummet (25% speed here, it's like playing in zesshikai kakusei).

I have to wonder how comfortable Gulti are working with the PS2 hardware, cause there is an awful lot of polygon tearing with the background elements in the game. It's particularly bad during the stage 3 boss fight, where the high-speed cloud backdrop ends up tearing large vertical slits in the display (it sounds worse than it is, but I still find it rather annoying).
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Momijitsuki
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Post by Momijitsuki »

agustusx wrote:
professor ganson wrote:Maybe I missed it above, but I'd love an explanation for the crazy-high price for a PS2 port of a readily-available game.
ppl want the chibi doll
*nod*
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bucklemyshoe
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Post by bucklemyshoe »

if you're playing faint tear and her speed is too much i learned you can wiff an anchor shot and hold down the anchor button to reduce her movement to a more functional speed.
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