Taito Legends 2

Bloodreign · Post by **Bloodreign** » Sat May 19, 2007 9:15 pm

Gamestop will eventually get tired of me calling, called them again today, since they had nothing yet, I told them I'd see them again Monday.

CecilMcW00t · Post by **CecilMcW00t** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:21 am

Yeah, I had a feeling that would happen, so I just ordered it online. I gave up looking for niche titles like this at EB.

Zeether · Post by **Zeether** » Sun May 20, 2007 6:59 pm

I heard the PC version has StarForce protection...that's not good, I've heard bad things about StarForce.

Veracity · Post by **Veracity** » Sun May 20, 2007 7:33 pm

ZeetherKID77 wrote:I heard the PC version has StarForce protection...that's not good, I've heard bad things about StarForce.

There's a lot of alarmist nonsense been spouted about StarForce, but amid all the FUD it does seem there may be legitimate concerns that it's intrusive malware even by current copy protection standards. If nothing else, the makers' acutely embarrassing public run-in with Stardock over its no-DRM policy confirmed they're staggeringly unprofessional.

Why let that stop you buying it, though? Just buy it and crack it. Insert obligatory lament that the industry's reached a state where people are less worried about the risks associated with installing cracks than DRM getting on their nerves or hosing their hardware.

I'm not advocating piracy, at all, but apologies if this suggestion is too close to doing so for site policy - please mod-edit/delete/ban as appropriate.

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Sun May 20, 2007 8:30 pm

If you own the game and drop a "No-CD patch" onto the game, it's not piracy. You're not stealing anything, you've legally paid for the game, and you're not giving the data to someone who hasn't paid its maker for it. All you're doing is saving the disc from being scuffed and scratched from constant use, and making things a bit more convenient for yourself by not having to grab the CD every single time you wanna play for a half hour.

If you grab the thing via torrent/download when it's still being sold and hasn't been given out for free by it's maker, and have to drop on a "No-CD patch" so you can play it, then it's piracy.

Koa Zo · Post by **Koa Zo** » Sun May 20, 2007 10:04 pm

CecilMcW00t wrote:I was able to pick up the NA version of Taito Legends 2 yesterday (it finally came out! =D).

Where did you purchase it?

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Sun May 20, 2007 10:32 pm

Koa Zo wrote:
CecilMcW00t wrote:I was able to pick up the NA version of Taito Legends 2 yesterday (it finally came out! =D).
Where did you purchase it?

Gamestop most likely. It's an exclusive EB/GS title now.

al138 · Post by **al138** » Sun May 20, 2007 11:33 pm

CecilMcW00t wrote:Yeah, I had a feeling that would happen, so I just ordered it online. I gave up looking for niche titles like this at EB.

I finally did the same. Got tired of being looked at like a dog bring shown a card trick every time I mentioned the game.

CecilMcW00t · Post by **CecilMcW00t** » Mon May 21, 2007 12:33 am

The Coop wrote:
Koa Zo wrote:
CecilMcW00t wrote:I was able to pick up the NA version of Taito Legends 2 yesterday (it finally came out! =D).
Where did you purchase it?
Gamestop most likely. It's an exclusive EB/GS title now.

Yep. Ordered it at ebgames.com

Milkgoat · Post by **Milkgoat** » Mon May 21, 2007 2:45 am

So how is it? I heard the PAL version plays some games like Darius Gaiden and Metal Black slow. Does the US version seem good?

CecilMcW00t · Post by **CecilMcW00t** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:54 am

The problems the PAL version had seem to be non-existant so far. It's really put together well. I just got done blasting through Metal Black with a buddy and it was smooth all the way through. Darius Gaiden doesn't suffer from slowdown problems either. Yay!

Reluctant Hero · Post by **Reluctant Hero** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:19 pm

My copy is on the way from Gamestop.com, it seems it had some shipping delays and didn't get ou tto UPS until saturday. Oh well, I'm just stoked I'm finally getting to a boat load of Saturn titles I never bought. Like Elevator Action Returns, Darius (both), and Metal Black.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:33 pm

CecilMcW00t wrote:The problems the PAL version had seem to be non-existant so far. It's really put together well. I just got done blasting through Metal Black with a buddy and it was smooth all the way through. Darius Gaiden doesn't suffer from slowdown problems either. Yay!

Sounds cool. Does the focus laser in Metal Black work like it should?

Bloodreign · Post by **Bloodreign** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:57 am

The Gamestop here finally got all of 2 copies in, snagged one of them. The lady behind the counter there knew I'd call (I was a persistent bastard the last week or so), and she was surprised that I showed up within 20 minutes to pick it up (along with Raiden 3, it was like finding buried treasure), she was amazed that I showed up within 20 minutes (gee it's about a 20 minute drive to that store location anyway barring heavy traffic O_O).

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:01 am

Got mine. Pretty weird collection with some real gems. I really don't get the point of the verticals ported here since without tate most of them are pretty worthless. G-Darius is the REAL reason for purchase here, and it runs as it should (no slowdown), restoring it to its rightful place as one of the top horizontals. Easily worth the $20 for that title alone.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:05 am

No TATE mode?

Pass.................

Is it me or Taito's best shmups were from the 1990s and up? Except for Space Invadiers, did Taito create any other good shmup?

Master of Weapon was terrible. Same goes for Mega Blast.

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:42 am

Still no copies anywhere around here. What are they shipping this thing by, tricycle?

bigbadboaz · Post by **bigbadboaz** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:15 am

Once y'all get your copies, I would appreciate it if anyone could confirm 1) proper digital joystick support is in the pack, and 2) the aforementioned Metal Black issue isn't present. Many thanks!

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:18 am

The Coop wrote:Still no copies anywhere around here. What are they shipping this thing by, tricycle?

That or by pogostick

CecilMcW00t · Post by **CecilMcW00t** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:31 am

bigbadboaz wrote:Once y'all get your copies, I would appreciate it if anyone could confirm 1) proper digital joystick support is in the pack, and 2) the aforementioned Metal Black issue isn't present. Many thanks!

1) Yes, digital joystick is supported.

2) The beam function works fine in Metal Black and there is no more slowdown than what was in the Taito Memories (if there was any I didn't notice).

Shearie · Post by **Shearie** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:23 am

Wasn't the slowdown problem only for the XBOX version of Legends 2? A forum post from one of the guys that works at Empire Interactive said they worked on all versions of Legends 1 and only the XBOX and PC versions of Legends 2 while Taito themselves worked on Legends 2 for PS2. The Empire guy also said that the games on their versions of the comp are emulated while Legends 2 for PS2 by Taito were ports.

Bloodreign · Post by **Bloodreign** » Tue May 22, 2007 7:10 am

There's a timer in the main menu, keeps track of how long you've played on the games up to a point, I wonder if this clock has any meaning, or is it just something they lazily forgot to remove.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:45 pm

Shearie wrote:Wasn't the slowdown problem only for the XBOX version of Legends 2? A forum post from one of the guys that works at Empire Interactive said they worked on all versions of Legends 1 and only the XBOX and PC versions of Legends 2 while Taito themselves worked on Legends 2 for PS2. The Empire guy also said that the games on their versions of the comp are emulated while Legends 2 for PS2 by Taito were ports.

The slowdown was only for the EU PS2 version. There are previous posts in this very topic that talk about it. The info about TL2 PS2 being done by Taito is correct, though. The forum post is linked in an earlier post in this topic too.

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:57 pm

Yes Pal shmups on PS2 taito legends 2 are 50Hz , even when set to 60hz, except for G darius.

Darius Gaiden on my pal PS2 is noticeably slower than my Saturn Version

Its all pretty dam good though!

bigbadboaz · Post by **bigbadboaz** » Tue May 22, 2007 5:12 pm

Thank you, Cecil. My copy is ordered.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Tue May 22, 2007 5:51 pm

One warning if you plan to get Taito Legends 2 for Puzzle Bobble 2. The US Taito Legends 2 uses the Bust A Move Again version with the Bubble Bobble Characters replaced by generic graphics. I still plan to get this, though. G Darius!

Shearie · Post by **Shearie** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:00 pm

The slowdown was only for the EU PS2 version. There are previous posts in this very topic that talk about it. The info about TL2 PS2 being done by Taito is correct, though. The forum post is linked in an earlier post in this topic too.

Ok. Haven't read through the whole topic so sorry for the redundancy.

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Wed May 23, 2007 2:12 am

These Taito compilations have to be some of most confusing games ever. It seems both the Taito Legends 2 (PAL) and (USA) versions are a little bit different.

Does any slowdown or other problems occur in the Taito Memories Compilations? Preferable Metal Black, Darius Gaiden, and G Darius.

Shearie · Post by **Shearie** » Wed May 23, 2007 2:23 am

Just got the game and you can definitely tell it was made by Taito since it has the exact same interface as the first Taito Memories game (the only one I ever played) instead of the crappy Legends one. First game I played was Darius Gaiden and from what I remember of the Saturn version I used to have all those years ago and the first Memories, it runs exactly the same. And yes, instead of Puzzle Bobble 2 (which it advertises on the box), it's Bust-A-Move Again instead. To sum up what I think of this game, best compilation ever!

Himuro · Post by **Himuro** » Wed May 23, 2007 3:05 am

I got the game. I'm having a blast. I'm not the biggest shmup fan here, that's for sure. I 'm not even that good at them, but I enjoy them enough to make me get this compilation.

I am pretty impressed with the ports they've done on G-Darius and Ray Storm. I have those for playstation and G-Darius in particular plays much smoother compared to that.

I'm encountering a ton of shmups I have never played before like Space Invaders 95 and Metal Black.

I find Space Invaders 95 taking up most of my time on the set. It's a real treat. Unfortunately, like I said before, I'm not the best shmup player so I am having trouble getting too far. I could use coins during the continue screen, but hey that's cheating. So far I can get to stage 4 without getting a game over on 3 credits. That's not so bad I guess. I'm getting better. Anyone have any strategies? I find the inability to move up and down a bit off putting when I'm being succumbed by enemy pellets left and right, and I tend to panic.