Milestone release 'Karous' - Arcade 2006 / Dreamcast 2007

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:26 am

I really like Exelica's music. It DOES sound like cheesey techno, and has a 16 or 32 bit quality to it, but it's very catchy, and gets me into the mood of the game very effectively. I don't even mind listening to it on it's own, so I find it to be quite good.

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:46 am

So how much have people here levelled up by the end of st1? The demo shows the guy in st2 with all his weapons up to 60-- there's no way to power up that quickly, is there?

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 3:20 am

my best is 48 by the start of the 1st boss, although it's usually 42 or 43. Level 180 by level 2? I don't think so.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:20 am

GaijinPunch wrote:my best is 48 by the start of the 1st boss, although it's usually 42 or 43. Level 180 by level 2? I don't think so.

48 is my max for the end of stage 1 as well. I think the all 60 thing is just for the Attract Mode as it's demonstrating all 3 weapons at max attack format.

Dann · Post by **Dann** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:25 am

does anyone know what the highest level possible is?

zakk · Post by **zakk** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:44 am

Kiken wrote:
GaijinPunch wrote:my best is 48 by the start of the 1st boss, although it's usually 42 or 43. Level 180 by level 2? I don't think so.
48 is my max for the end of stage 1 as well. I think the all 60 thing is just for the Attract Mode as it's demonstrating all 3 weapons at max attack format.

How's that spread across your 3 weapons? Or did you mean 48 each?

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:53 am

zakk wrote:
Kiken wrote:
GaijinPunch wrote:my best is 48 by the start of the 1st boss, although it's usually 42 or 43. Level 180 by level 2? I don't think so.
48 is my max for the end of stage 1 as well. I think the all 60 thing is just for the Attract Mode as it's demonstrating all 3 weapons at max attack format.
How's that spread across your 3 weapons? Or did you mean 48 each?

No, 48 total.

Shot ~15
Sword ~20
Shield ~18

That was on a really good run though... normally I'm closer to 40 total (especially on Hard Mode where the weapons level up more slowly). To score really well, you need to focus on leveling up Sword, since it's absurdly powerful and most of the enemies are really susceptible to it.

RyanDG · Post by **RyanDG** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:31 pm

I know sales really don't matter to many people - but after rumored first day sales of only 200 units, Karous is said to have sold 3K its first week.

For the rumored last DC title (like pretty much every other release before it), I'm not quite sure what to think about those numebrs...

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:43 pm

RyanDG wrote:I know sales really don't matter to many people - but after rumored first day sales of only 200 units, Karous is said to have sold 3K its first week.

For the rumored last DC title (like pretty much every other release before it), I'm not quite sure what to think about those numebrs...

The rumoured first day sales that I read were 2000, not 200. And considering that Radirgy on DC only had a 4000 piece print run, I'd assume that Karous had an equally small run. So 3000 is a solid 75%. That's not bad at all for such a small production item.

I honestly think they should have done a split between a regular version and an LE that included the OST (and perhaps some custom remixes) of 3000 and 2000 pieces respectfully.

Reluctant Hero · Post by **Reluctant Hero** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:53 pm

Kiken wrote:
RyanDG wrote:I know sales really don't matter to many people - but after rumored first day sales of only 200 units, Karous is said to have sold 3K its first week.

For the rumored last DC title (like pretty much every other release before it), I'm not quite sure what to think about those numebrs...
The rumoured first day sales that I read were 2000, not 200. And considering that Radirgy on DC only had a 4000 piece print run, I'd assume that Karous had an equally small run. So 3000 is a solid 75%. That's not bad at all for such a small production item.

I honestly think they should have done a split between a regular version and an LE that included the OST (and perhaps some custom remixes) of 3000 and 2000 pieces respectfully.

I guess in the end, Karous and THE did well with their print runs. I hope this convinces Sega that Naomi/GD-ROM production is still a viable option and that they allow production to continue. With some luck we may get Exzeal and Broken Thunder as the REAL final official Dreamcast games.

RyanDG · Post by **RyanDG** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:14 pm

I stand corrected on the first day sales... I'll blame the source of my translation. :D

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:14 pm

So, should I put together a replay of Easy Mode (for the time being) to give an idea of how to play the game? From what I've read and seen on other forums, there seems to be a lot of confusion about how to utilize effective scoring tactics.

zlk · Post by **zlk** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:01 pm

Yes you should kiken. A trizeal replay would also be nice....

angrycoder · Post by **angrycoder** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:04 pm

Yes please Kiken, I made a post a few hours ago in the HS score thread. I would really like some score tips. I did about 10 complete runs this morning in easy mode, all averaging around ~450 mill. I see yours and g19's score are 100-200 million higher than that. I am pretty much at a loss as to what I could do to better my score.

I guess I just don't have a deep enough understanding of the scoring system to exploit it properly. This is basically what I've been doing:

1. Kill as much stuff and cancel as many bullets as possible to level up weapons as quickly . Usually I focus on leveling up my sword, the shot is generally 10 levels behind, while the shield lags way behind in the single digits. I don't know if I should be focusing on leveling up all the weapons evenly. Do lower level weapons level up faster than the higher ones? If not, i guess there isn't much point in attempting to even out the leveling.

2. Wipe out every wave possible to generate the blue score powerups. Don't collect the blue icons until they have been whacked with the sword enough times to generate more points

3. Since there doesn't seem to be an extra life bonus, at least in easy mode, waste all my extra lives on the last boss to generate extra blue score powerups.

4. Try to kill the bosses as slowly as possible without letting them time out - done to maximize bullet cancelling and weapon levels.

Question for you, is it even possible to destroy the steath bomber type ships that appear in waves of 3? I think they show up 2-4 times in easy mode, and I've never been able to kill a single one. Is there some trick to killing them and do they award uber bonus points?

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:10 pm

Well, it took a whole year for Radilgy to sell out; let's see how long it will take for the entire print run of Karous to sell.

Trigger Heart Exelica Limited Edition on the other hand is already sold out at NCSX, only weeks after its release. From what I've been told the LE is also sold out in stores in Tokyo. That's probably a good indication as to which new release people prefer.

qatmix · Post by **qatmix** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:34 pm

I want the soundtrack for this game, its great.

Im still very peeved about the lack of High score saving!! How could that happen?

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:43 pm

qatmix wrote:I want the soundtrack for this game, its great.

Im still very peeved about the lack of High score saving!! How could that happen?

Maybe they used the same beta testers as the programmers of Last Hope

PS.
Does that mean you can't earn additional credits in Karous?

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:45 pm

angrycoder wrote:1. Kill as much stuff and cancel as many bullets as possible to level up weapons as quickly . Usually I focus on leveling up my sword, the shot is generally 10 levels behind, while the shield lags way behind in the single digits. I don't know if I should be focusing on leveling up all the weapons evenly. Do lower level weapons level up faster than the higher ones? If not, i guess there isn't much point in attempting to even out the leveling.

Leveling up Sword through attacking should be a priority. Leveling up Shield by using the power-ups (swat them until they turn into the orange shield icons) should be a focus early on.

By the end of level 3, Sword should be at least at level 50 and Shield should be somewhere around 45 or more.

Shot is going to level up one way or another so don't pay too much attention to it.

angrycoder wrote: Question for you, is it even possible to destroy the steath bomber type ships that appear in waves of 3? I think they show up 2-4 times in easy mode, and I've never been able to kill a single one. Is there some trick to killing them and do they award uber bonus points?

It's possible to destroy everything in the game.... assuming you're using the right weapon.

The enemies in question should flash orange when attacked with either shot or sword. Guess what? That's a hint to let you know what that enemy is weak against (in this case, Shield... park you shield on top of them to destroy them). So be sure to pay close attention to what colour an enemy or a certain part of an enemy flashes when it's attacked. That's to inform you what it's weak against.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:51 pm

zlk wrote:A trizeal replay would also be nice....

Well, there is already a DVD for this.

I'll try to capture a successful run though (I really have consistency problems in stages 4 and 5).

Ceph wrote: Does that mean you can't earn additional credits in Karous?

Since the game does save general config data, I would assume that it would keep track of earned credits (I've never continued while playing and some games only award additional credits for credit-feeding... not time spent playing). However, given that this is certainly their easiest title, I don't think placing a limit on the credits is really that bad.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 11:09 pm

I've found the best place to level up the shield is the second form of stage 2 boss. When he shoots all that shit, just sit there. Rightas the first one hits you, go into DFS but don't shoot or swing your sword. Go to the right arm, absorbing the next wave, and then the left arm absorbing the next. Rinse->Repeat. You can get a couple of levels per cycle.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:45 am

Kiken wrote:given that this is certainly their easiest title, I don't think placing a limit on the credits is really that bad.

Wait wait... Karous is easier than Radirgy? o_O

Kiel · Post by **Kiel** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:08 am

Arvandor wrote:
Kiken wrote:given that this is certainly their easiest title, I don't think placing a limit on the credits is really that bad.
Wait wait... Karous is easier than Radirgy? o_O

Oh yes, very much so.

I really need an OST to this game.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:41 am

Wow... That's pretty scary. I haven't put a lot of time into Radirgy, so I've only been able to get to the stage 4 boss, but it's one of the easier shooters I've played, that's for sure.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 4:22 am

GaijinPunch wrote:I've found the best place to level up the shield is the second form of stage 2 boss. When he shoots all that shit, just sit there. Rightas the first one hits you, go into DFS but don't shoot or swing your sword. Go to the right arm, absorbing the next wave, and then the left arm absorbing the next. Rinse->Repeat. You can get a couple of levels per cycle.

The stage 3 mid-boss is also an excellent place to level up the Shield.

Post by **system11** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:14 am

Warming up to this one now - it's quite nice really, although the main sprite is a little confused looking. Not an instant bite like Exelica, but definitely worth some of my time and money.

NTSC-J · Post by **NTSC-J** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:38 am

I haven't seen any records posted in Arcadia yet but at HEY the highest score for Hard mode is around 10 billion. I don't remember the EXP level though.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:55 pm

NTSC-J wrote:I haven't seen any records posted in Arcadia yet but at HEY the highest score for Hard mode is around 10 billion. I don't remember the EXP level though.

They might be seriously abusing the item juggling nonsense. It's much tougher to start in Karous than it is in Radirgy.

Of course, it might also be possible to milk the TLB.

NTSC-J · Post by **NTSC-J** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 7:43 am

Dann wrote:does anyone know what the highest level possible is?

It would appear it maxes out at 300.

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 7:54 am

Kiken wrote: The stage 3 mid-boss is also an excellent place to level up the Shield.

Ha, that's what I've been using him for.

hermosaguy · Post by **hermosaguy** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:13 pm

I gotta say, I'm taking a serious liking to this game. My only complaint is I think I might need another credit (though an extra 2 wont hurt) to finish it. The game just gets too damn hard near the end.