Ketsui Death Label

[bcass]

Shit, people still order stuff from YesAsia? Haha. Much respect to the people with that kind of patience.

For UK citizens, they're actualy pretty essential as they dispatch UK orders from within the UK. I've never had a YesAsia order take longer than a PlayAsia order, and because they dispatch within the UK, there is never any import duties to pay.

[moonblood]

I already know I will never be able to clear it

Yeah I know, me too, this unfortunetaly kind of makes me feel I'm already 'done' with the game I knew what I was buying and its still fun, but you know. Oh well, bring on the 360 port

[Frederik]

I still have an Action Replay module lying around somewhere, I might actually abuse this on Extra mode sometime to see what awaits me later on

[Guardians Knight]

are yesasia really u.k. based and reliable (to uk customers at least)?! ive looked around their site a few times but never bothered to order - thinking that they were a shady hk outfit.

on topic:

have you tried the practise mode to learn the patterns to deal with certain shit bosses throw at you?

i find my main frustration is what i call 'joypad deaths' i.e. a death caused by the sub standard joypad of the ds compared to my normal choice - the saturn pad. i know there was a discussion about the shit d-pad on the ds here previously, was there any conclusions as to finding a unit with a nice dpad?

[iatneH]

are yesasia really u.k. based and reliable (to uk customers at least)?! ive looked around their site a few times but never bothered to order - thinking that they were a shady hk outfit.

I primarily buy from yesasia these days, IMO they are comparable to play-asia for their gaming items (except specialty hardware), and are much better than anyone else when it comes to other Asian media (books, photos, videos, music). They will also make a good effort to source some extremely obscure items as long as they are listed for sale on the website.

The main office is in HK, and they have various shipping offices around the world, that's how in UK and Canada and some other countries you get your packages delivered domestically. I suppose this is the reason why shipments take a long time to get delivered, since they are basically being shipped twice - but you will not have to pay duties which I think is worth the wait.

I cannot praise their business enough. I frequently add items to my orders after placing the initial order, and customer service always replies within a day. I had a package lost in the mail once, and even though it probably was not their fault, I was given a full refund which I used to purchase the same item again. Top seller in my book.

Here is a sort of approximate cost comparison for a Canadian buying from play-asia vs yesasia

Code: Select all

            play-asia           yesasia
---------------------------------------
Game         $50                  $50
Coupon      -$5                  -$0
Shipping     $7                   $0
Duties       $18                  $0
---------------------------------------
Total        $70                  $50
Delivery    2 weeks              3 weeks
            LOSER                WINNER

It makes even more of a difference when buying high-value (=high duties), large (=high shipping) items such as import consoles. The base price is only marginally higher, but it is more than made up for when you count the free shipping and lack of import duties. Often, they have promotions for free DHL shipping on consoles too. I bought my PSP with that promo, it came in a week and didn't have to pay the extra $80+ that I would have had to pay had I bought from play-asia.

For the record, yesasia has not paid me any money to say this. I've just already paid too much money to Canada customs for my orders from P-A to bother ordering from them unless there are really no other options.

Back on topic... I wasn't able to beat Hard A on my first try :(

[bcass]

was there any conclusions as to finding a unit with a nice dpad?

Yes, don't buy a DS Lite, but an original 'fat' DS.

[Frederik]

http://www.dsfanboy.com/2008/11/07/nint ... essioning/

The DSi's D-Pad is "clicky" like the original DS, and unlike the DS Lite's "mushy" pad. After a few hours playing several games with the system, based on no quantifiable evidence whatsoever, we decided that the DSi's directional pad is indeed "better" than the DS Lite's.

This plus a bigger screen makes me actually want to buy one. You know, when it comes to PAL countries in like, a thousand years. I wasn´t expecting Nintendo to change the dpad at all. I´m not sure whether or not you can trust a source called "DSfanboy", but when I hear the words "clicky instead of mushy" I´m convinced.

[TLB]

Wait, shit, am I gonna get nailed with duties for standard P-A shipping to the US? $62 was enough, Jesus...

[iatneH]

I don't think the US customs is as money-hungry as Canadian, if Elixir thinks P-A is a decent place for buying things. I don't think many US forum members have complaints against P-A, you'll probably be fine.

[TodayIsForgotten]

HOW TO HAVE FUN WITH KETSUI DS

1. Turn off auto bomb

2. Play Very Hard mode or Doom mode only

3. Repeat

and a magnifying glass. My eyes were bugging out trying to play doom. The hard modes i had no issues with but fuck. The screen is too tiny for this. Then not to mention the crap-poor d-pad on the lite. But, it is really fun, when just bullet dodging.

[TLB]

I don't think the US customs is as money-hungry as Canadian, if Elixir thinks P-A is a decent place for buying things. I don't think many US forum members have complaints against P-A, you'll probably be fine.

Cool, thanks =)

[henry dark]

HOW TO HAVE FUN WITH KETSUI DS

1. Turn off auto bomb

2. Play Very Hard mode or Doom mode only

3. Repeat

and a magnifying glass. My eyes were bugging out trying to play doom. The hard modes i had no issues with but fuck. The screen is too tiny for this. Then not to mention the crap-poor d-pad on the lite. But, it is really fun, when just bullet dodging.

If it wasn't for extra mode, I don't think DL mode would even be worth the time to play. The equipment they give you to play it on simply isn't up to it.

[nash87]

I think it plays fine on the original ds, but the dslites dpad just doesn't cut it. I've never had a "dpad death" on the original ds, different story on the dslite

[PPA]

I finally unlocked and tried DL today.

It is just insane. how am I supposed to dodge the bulets in this mode? I really cant say

[Jockel]

Wait until you unlock extra mode =)

[PPA]

Wait until you unlock extra mode =)

Is there a timer of sort? Like number of Doom runs / Death Label runs or something?

By the way, if anyone have a link of a good DL replay I'd really appreciate...

[Jockel]

.. i didn't mean that literally.
Just improve until you beat the Death Label.
Can take some time, but once you learned all the patterns it's not THAT hard (well of course the last 2 bosses still are)

[PPA]

.. i didn't mean that literally.
Just improve until you beat the Death Label.
Can take some time, but once you learned all the patterns it's not THAT hard (well of course the last 2 bosses still are)

Oh I see, hope to find a video somewhere

[Frederik]

Here you go dude:

Sphinx - Death Label
Trafalgar - Death Label
Cinderella Amber - Death Label
Death Label Clear
Doom Mode Clear

They're all nicovideo links.

Here´s the DL video via Hatena if you don´t have a Nico registration:
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/video/niconico/sm5140270
(Swap the video number with the other ones posted to see them there, too).

A good rule of thumb would be to have at least seven or eight lives left when you get to Evaccaneer. He will set you back a couple of lives, and then Doom will need even more. I bombed through pretty much every form of Doom, aside from the "line" pattern at the beginning. Since you can´t hurt the last form when you bomb, you´ll have to try to get as many shots at him as possible between bombing and dying. In general, I would HIGHLY recommend practicing Evaccaneer in Training mode to try to get through there with losing as little lives as possible.

And in case you don´t know yet, you can skip Cinderellas first form by pushing L+R at the same time, which will likely preserve one or two lives too. The way I see it, Death Lable mode is all about saving lives in the early parts to have as many lives and bombs as possible later on.

And NEVER try to dodge a pattern you´re not at least 90% sure you can dodge. Bomb instead. The exception would be your last bomb when you have autobomb active (which you should here), since it doesn´t use up more than one bomb when you get hit.

[Icarus]

A good rule of thumb would be to have at least seven or eight lives left when you get to Evaccaneer. He will set you back a couple of lives, and then Doom will need even more. I bombed through pretty much every form of Doom, aside from the "line" pattern at the beginning. Since you can´t hurt the last form when you bomb, you´ll have to try to get as many shots at him as possible between bombing and dying. In general, I would HIGHLY recommend practicing Evaccaneer in Training mode to try to get through there with losing as little lives as possible.

Evaccaneer one-miss finish, by me.
http://bigcore.rsdio.com/icarus/other/k ... eB_icr.avi
Doom is the one that takes the most lives.

[Frederik]

Nice!

I kinda thought of the safe(r) spot way up there at the beginning, but I never managed to actually pull it off, I guess I went there to early and the aimed shots kept hitting me I guess this is what separates mediocre players from the really good ones: Not only dodging stuff, but figuring out pattern mechanics. I especially like the bullet hoarding on the big arches right after the initial pattern. In general I keep just trying to dodge everything instead of looking for strategies more closely...

[PPA]

Here you go dude:

Sphinx - Death Label
Trafalgar - Death Label
Cinderella Amber - Death Label
Death Label Clear
Doom Mode Clear

They're all nicovideo links.

Here´s the DL video via Hatena if you don´t have a Nico registration:
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/video/niconico/sm5140270
(Swap the video number with the other ones posted to see them there, too).

[..]

And in case you don´t know yet, you can skip Cinderellas first form by pushing L+R at the same time, which will likely preserve one or two lives too. The way I see it, Death Label mode is all about saving lives in the early parts to have as many lives and bombs as possible later on.

TY

Is this cinderella amber rule true also for other modes?
I have to push L+R at the beginning of the "stage" and keep them pressed?

[Icarus]

I kinda thought of the safe(r) spot way up there at the beginning, but I never managed to actually pull it off, I guess I went there to early and the aimed shots kept hitting me.

I thought the safespot was right at the top-center of the screen at first, and amusingly, it was at one point, but Evaccaneer has to be quite low down the screen for that to work, because you can actually crash into the boss. The best places for this to work is jammed right into the top corners - you can't get any closer to the boss.

Also, when you get to the top-corner, you have to watch the turrets that fire the aimed shots carefully - they alternate fire, so when the nearest one is firing, tap up (or down, depending on your position) to dodge the aimed shots.

The first pattern of the second form (wide blue/red spreads) is still tricky to dodge - I suspect the best way to deal with this is to switch to Shot and use the extra speed to lead the spreads around the screen. Still experimenting with that and the final form at the moment.

I guess this is what separates mediocre players from the really good ones: Not only dodging stuff, but figuring out pattern mechanics. I especially like the bullet hoarding on the big arches right after the initial pattern.
In general I keep just trying to dodge everything instead of looking for strategies more closely...

It's just simple observation and experimentation, a process I've always used in every play.
It isn't hard to learn, and does improve your play greatly.

By the way, those arches are aimed (the red spread is fixed) - you don't even need to hoard them if you can get into the gap for the first one, but I lead them around so I can get into position for the next pattern.

Is this cinderella amber rule true also for other modes?
I have to push L+R at the beginning of the "stage" and keep them pressed?

Correct, but it is very detrimental to your score. There is a very good but very hard way of dealing with the first attack pattern that can drive the multiplier up by several thousand each time - I've had mine up to about 14k total so far, and I suspect you can get even more with some accurate play. If you're looking to survive, however, take the easy way out.

[PPA]

Correct, but it is very detrimental to your score. There is a very good but very hard way of dealing with the first attack pattern that can drive the multiplier up by several thousand each time - I've had mine up to about 14k total so far, and I suspect you can get even more with some accurate play. If you're looking to survive, however, take the easy way out.

I guess you are talking about the "stay close, dodge left right" right where the bullets spawn right? Lot of big chips that way.

Tbh that pattern isnt really difficult to dodge, altough I used to dodge it "from the distance" thus getting few or no chips.

I'll practice the "stay close" tactic in my next runs

[Icarus]

I guess you are talking about the "stay close, dodge left right" right where the bullets spawn right? Lot of big chips that way.

Correct.
http://bigcore.rsdio.com/icarus/other/k ... nm_icr.avi
I lack consistency, and therefore can only manage to do this properly once out of every four or five plays. Most of it is just getting the right rhythm.

[PPA]

I guess you are talking about the "stay close, dodge left right" right where the bullets spawn right? Lot of big chips that way.

Correct.
http://bigcore.rsdio.com/icarus/other/k ... nm_icr.avi
I lack consistency, and therefore can only manage to do this properly once out of every four or five plays. Most of it is just getting the right rhythm.

Yeah, absolutely true. When I am very concentrated its like Im going with the flow, literally moving rhytmically within the bullets pattern. I dont even watch the bullets coming, its like a ship-dance.

[Elixir]

Shipping $7

Ouch, it's only $3.40 USD to NZ. I feel bad now.

I've yet to find someone in Japan who doesn't charge out the ass for EMS, though.

[Frederik]

Evac Report #24 is interesting. It shows a clip of the arcade version stage 2, right before Gem&Ini, where the player seems to bomb a powerup carrier at the very bottom of the screen. The (what I assume to be) released (but not exploding) bomb keeps bouncing between the left and the right side of the screen and the ship keeps being invincible due to that.

IKD then keeps talking to one of the games characters and holds his head in his hand. Maybe he´s ashamed that this is a bug in the game?

Also, after being a bit burnt out on this game the scoring is starting to grow on me. But man, the Vinogradov really bumps down your multiplier if you kill the small ships and the main ships parts with the lock on shot

[Icarus]

Evac Report #24 is interesting. It shows a clip of the arcade version stage 2, right before Gem&Ini, where the player seems to bomb a powerup carrier at the very bottom of the screen. The (what I assume to be) released (but not exploding) bomb keeps bouncing between the left and the right side of the screen and the ship keeps being invincible due to that.

IKD then keeps talking to one of the games characters and holds his head in his hand. Maybe he´s ashamed that this is a bug in the game?

Yes, Ketsui had some issues with bugs that have been documented in the past on this forum - bomb explosions staying on screen or shooting off in weird directions, the Demonstration screen glitching/freezing, enemies and bosses doing weird stuff, the music in stage1-5/2-5 playing in slow motion, etc.

MMM and others more experienced with this game should be able to tell you more.

Also, after being a bit burnt out on this game the scoring is starting to grow on me. But man, the Vinogradov really bumps down your multiplier if you kill the small ships and the main ships parts with the lock on shot

That's why you use your Shot on everything bar the main target point of the boss. ^_-
Experts will use Lock to drive up the multiplier, then switch to Shot to destroy each target. Tricky, but worth it if done correctly.

[TodayIsForgotten]

I dont know, but my eyes just cant focus in on the ds playing this game. Granted, I do not play much on the DS and with time would probably get use to it. Not sure if there was a transition period for others, but man is it frustrating. At times it seems like bullets are just blurry. Then i have the issue do i play 2 inches from the screen or 1 foot. If i could play this on a 20" and up screen/monitor it would be much much easier. I breezed through the hards but the 2nd form of doom the bullets might as well be invisible.