Damn, I've got the bug!
Arcade HD is okay. It's far from being a game bogged down by problems, but the refinements in 1.5 really do make it feel very obsolete. Perhaps they should have marketed the game as SDOJ 1.5, in a similar manner to how they knew they had destroyed the original AK with Shin, and sold the game based on that being the main mode.
Either way, SDOJ 360 is a really beautiful package. The upside to it being superior to the PCB is that, like AKS, I have absolutely no desire to ever fork out for the PCB, which is a plus for someone who generally goes after original arcade hardware.
Onto the thing then, just got another solid couple of hours across all modes and I'm in love with 1.5 - this is my type of Cave game. As MMSpork informed me that Ikeda had little to no programming input in DFK, I can only conclude that my assumption he was running out of steam is incorrect: 1.5 is so much balls to the wall fun it hurts.
Who are you guys finding most comfortable to play with? I wanted to go with Shuri, but in the end I find Hikari's speed and dynamic shot works best for me.
I managed to get to the stage 3 boss once, dragged in a 1.7Bil score, so I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. I got an extend on stage 3.
I've found myself warming up to the graphical style considerably (destroy smoothing!
) and can only imagine pumping it through an SLG3000 will make it even tastier. I even find the music pretty nice after a while.
The lag is pretty unacceptable, but even on a pad I've been getting used to it. I actually like the slightly weird bullets now! Gives the game a certain flavour that feels different from other Pachi's (and a little like Ketsui, to a degree), which is nice.
The stage 3 midboss is sex. Once you start to feel those patterns it becomes beautifully hectic. I am using bombs quite liberally to make headway, although I don't need to use any on the 1st stage.
I REALLY like 1.5's system. Feels so good to keep letting hypers go. I managed to get up to Rank 7 before having to knock it down with a bomb, crazy times.
Additionally, Novice is meant to be good but it was so easy (and my time limited) that I didn't look at it for more than a couple of minutes - but 360 is a
really terrific arrange. That's one of the best arrange modes I've played since maybe Yagawa's wacky ESPII.
As for recharging, it seems to come at good moments (around bosses and their destruction or certain phat popcorn swarms) so I can't see it being anywhere near as irritating and finicky as Deathsmiles is. And since you can loose Hypers whenever you want pretty much, it's not really much more complex as knowing when to hit the button.
Anyway, THIS is a Donpachi. If this had come right after DOJ, faith would probably have remained constant.
But yeah, I reckon it will be a few years until someone actually manages to beat this, and I doubt it will be on rank 35, hehe.
