Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

[Shepardus]

Yes. Have fun timing your kill with Assault.

[soprano1]

Sorry if this has been answered before, but is there any difference between Darius Force and Super Nova on SFC/SNES, or is it just localisation?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Were unlockable ships/stages in Cave shmups ever unlockable without a code input? I know in Mushihimesama you unlocked Ultra by 1CCing a certain number of times (with Maniac being worth more?), but what about in Deathsmiles? Were Follet and Rosa as well as the Canyon stage unlockable without the codes? What about Strong Mode in DFK 1.5?

[BrianC]

Why was the ground changed from red to green in Rev A of the Famicom Sqoon? My JP cart and the US version has the red ground, but the Rev A version changed it to green.

[Ruldra]

What's the general opinion of Raiden III? I might buy it on the next Steam sale but I have no idea if the game is actually good or not.

[Vludi]

What's the general opinion of Raiden III? I might buy it on the next Steam sale but I have no idea if the game is actually good or not.

It's solid imo, plays pretty faithful to the original games (for better or worse considering it's a 2005 game). The hitbox is smaller and routing isn't as strict so overall it's more forgiving than 1 and 2.

[trap15]

I like it more than 4 and 5, but it doesn't hold a candle to 1,2,DX.

[Squire Grooktook]

I hate the slow move speed.

People sometimes say 1-2dx have similar speeds, but it always felt worse to me. Maybe its just my imagination.

[Ruldra]

I like it more than 4 and 5.

Really? I always thought 4 was better than 3 in every regard, or at least that's what I was told.

[trap15]

Just tastes. RD4 feels more "modern" which isn't a plus for me, so I prefer 3

[EmperorIng]

Some of Raiden IV's boss patterns feel reminiscent of Psikyo games, given their high speed and the need to sort of tap a direction and hope for the best.

[M.Knight]

I hate the slow move speed.

People sometimes say 1-2dx have similar speeds, but it always felt worse to me. Maybe its just my imagination.

Nah, it's not just you. I feel exactly the same.

[Vludi]

Some of Raiden IV's boss patterns feel reminiscent of Psikyo games, given their high speed and the need to sort of tap a direction and hope for the best.

Same with Raiden III, some patterns are very Psikyo-ish which I appreciate.

About the ship speed it's a bit annoying at first but I got used to it after a while, it works just fine for the game.

[Ruldra]

Another question, is there rank differences between red/blue ships in Raiden 3/4/5?

[Squire Grooktook]

Some of Raiden IV's boss patterns feel reminiscent of Psikyo games, given their high speed and the need to sort of tap a direction and hope for the best.

I dunno, raiden 3-4 feel like they fail where Psikyo succeeds in terms of fast patterns.

With psikyo you generally have to do a lot of macro dodging because of the large hitbox, and the patterns are designed so that it's generally more rewarding to sweep things in a specific way than to make microscopic movements to the left and right, which is what most of my experience in r3-4 have been. I find the fast movements a lot more exciting and clever then that kind of infinitesimal micro-dodging. Not to say there aren't aimed tap dodges in Psikyo, or that there isn't macro patterns in R3/4, but it feels like it has a much smarter balance overall in Psikyo.

Of course this is just my experience of first loop clears with Strikers and Dragon Blaze talking (admittedly I've gone to the second loop of DB a lot). And I haven't cleared r3 or r4 so my analysis could be totally wrong.

I don't dislike Raiden 4 though. Not a masterpiece by any means, but has some decent level design and pacing. 3 I generally don't bother with because I play these games to feel hyper, not like a snail.

And there's my ramble for the day~

[phase3]

Anyone else notice a very slight input delay on Giga Wing for the Dreamcast? After playing the game on an authentic CPS2 board, I feel there is something a bit off in the reaction times I'm getting on the DC version.

EDIT: For clarity

[Perikles]

Sorry if this has been answered before, but is there any difference between Darius Force and Super Nova on SFC/SNES, or is it just localisation?

I'm fairly certain they're identical outside of miniscule changes in the narrative - if there are gameplay-related differences, they must be negligible.


Got two questions myself:

1. How do you properly pointblank in Kyuukyoku Tiger/Twin Cobra? This seems like a daft question, but I find it's a really tricky matter. I ended up ignoring it when I played Twin Cobra, for the more demanding KT I would like to take out the fourth and ninth boss in an efficient manner, though. The idea is plausible enough: get close and let 'er rip. However, more often than not you fire at a surprisingly low frequency when you're on top of an enemy, other times it works as intended. Is it a matter of finding just the right pixel? Should you have a specific autofire rate? Should you refrain from shooting before finding the aforementioned pixel? I've gotten the ideal pointblank rate even though I fired without abandon before and didn't actively try to sit perfectly centered while I failed to get it to work despite my best efforts. What's the secret?

2. Is there a more convenient build of MAME 0.178? It runs Gradius IV astoundingly well from what I've quickly tested so far, but it lacks custom buttons to my knowledge (which is bad for the type I like to play with in Gradius IV). I can't even find how you record .inps/videos thanks to the hideous layout. Would be neat to have at least an adequate tool to practice Gradius IV a bit more, I got some small frame drops and probably wouldn't use it for full runs as a result, but it should be a huge improvement over the tiny PSP screen to exercise the second loop in the future.

[Mortificator]

I haven't played Gradius IV in MAME, but the PS2 port has stage and loop select. It's unlocked by 1CCing the game, though you can set the difficulty to easiest and lives to max and the clear will still count.

[Perikles]

I'm aware of the PS2 stage select and have unlocked it since I cleared the first loop, but it's not quite satisfying for a few reasons:

- You're not allowed to continue on the final stage, even when selecting it via the stage select. This makes it really inconvenient to efficiently practice some of the hardest parts/checkpoints in the game.

- Due to the dynamic rank system you really can't replicate a realistic simulation via the stage select since you're always going to start with comparatively tame enemies instead of having accumulated rank over time.

- The Konami code is restricted to one use per beaten stage which makes experimenting with a fully upgraded ship somewhat limited, especially if you immediately jump into later stages.


It's obviously still a lot better than nothing, but I naturally would like to get the most efficient practice tools for higher loops if at all possible.

[atheistgod1999]

How is beating Crimzon Clover easier than beating the Yellow Devil without cheating?

[Shepardus]

I don't think anyone said it is. I haven't played any Megaman games much, but Crimzon Clover: World Ignition is pretty darn difficult on the Arcade difficulty (Novice is much easier, both Original and Boost modes).

[atheistgod1999]

I don't think anyone said it is.

I figured it was because people said how hard the Yellow Devil was, when everyone here can 1-ALL Crimzon Clover in their sleep, I'm guessing.

[Shepardus]

People can probably 1CC (the game doesn't have loops so a 1-ALL is a 1CC) the Novice modes in their sleep (I think Bananamatic even cleared Novice Boost with a steering wheel), but the Arcade modes are far more difficult and relatively few people have cleared those. They're more difficult than most CAVE 1CCs in my opinion.

[Stevens]

I was just wondering why Progear and Mars Matrix were on CPS 2 instead of 3.

Cost?

[tomwhite2004]

I was just wondering why Progear and Mars Matrix were on CPS 2 instead of 3.

Cost?

I read that Capcon considered CPS3 too buggy and difficult to work with efficiently (will try and find the source) Street Fighter 3 sold badly so makes sense to go with CPS2 which already had widespread distribution.

God, can you imagine how incredible progear would have looked if it was on better hardware, drool......

[Stevens]

Thanks Tommy.

It's a shame 3 had so few games made for it. If I was independently wealthy I'd front the cash to have both games remade on that board.

And MM would be sprite based.

[Vludi]

CPS-2 was more than powerful to handle shmups, no need for monstrous hardware like a Model 3 or something like that.

[OmegaFlareX]

And MM would be sprite based.

Pre-rendered sprites are still sprites. I think the term you're looking for is "pixel art" or something?

I'd like to see how the Cave PGM games would look remade on CPS2 (with pixel art *drool*).

[neorichieb1971]

Whats the best Strikers 1945 package on PS1 or PS2?

I want the TATE mode.

Thanks.

[Stevens]

CPS-2 was more than powerful to handle shmups, no need for monstrous hardware like a Model 3 or something like that.

CPS 2 is great for shooters, but a 2 D hand drawn shooter with 3rd Strike quality artwork doesn't interest you in the least?

I think the term you're looking for is "pixel art" or something?

I'd like to see how the Cave PGM games would look remade on CPS2 (with pixel art *drool*).

How about 2-D hand drawn? But yeah, that shit would be insane.