Manic shooters

metsfan · Post by **metsfan** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:11 pm

i just played imperishable night. I played lunatic mode (because anything less would be cheating) and HOLY GOD that game is hard. Only thign is after 2 levels it quit which says to me that it was a demo. I got it from the link posted above. where can i buy/download the full version of the game?

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:51 pm

paletweb.com and himeyashop.com have it, iirc. One of my faves. The same guy who made Imperishable Night also made another favorite of mine, Perfect Cherry Blossom, try that too (his other games are good also, but those two come most highly recommended).

Shikigami 2 and Psyvariar Complete are ones to get for the US PS2.

Actually none of the Psyvariars were ever released in the US...Psy Complete did make it to Europe though.

I haven't played the game much but how is it gimmicky?

It does take a lot of stuff from other shooters (chaining, sword weapon, etc.), though I personally still enjoy it. There's a split opinion about it around here, I guess you've got to try it for yourself.

Post by **Icarus** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:52 pm

BulletMagnet wrote:Actually none of the Psyvariars were ever released in the US...Psy Complete did make it to Europe though.

Really? What a shame. ^_-
And it goes for about £5 here, as well.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:56 pm

BulletMagnet wrote:split opinion

90% in favor of "crap"/10% tolerate.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:58 pm

Yeah, Europe's gotten quite a few shmups on the PS2 that the US hasn't (Homura, Raiden III, Dragon Blaze, etc.). I'd be surprised if we got half a dozen total...offhand the only ones I can think of are Silpheed, R-Type Final, Gradius V, and the Shikis (the first one in uber-mangled MLF form)...

90% in favor of "crap"/10% tolerate.

Sounds more like the local opinion of BioMetal to me.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:25 pm

BulletMagnet wrote:
90% in favor of "crap"/10% tolerate.
Sounds more like the local opinion of BioMetal to me.

What the. 10% worship. 80% confusion at opening notes. 10% misguided hate.

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:31 pm

DoDonpachi
Giga Wing
Batsugun

These three are essential manic shmups.

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:39 pm

Rob wrote:
BulletMagnet wrote:
90% in favor of "crap"/10% tolerate.
Sounds more like the local opinion of BioMetal to me.
What the. 10% worship. 80% confusion at opening notes. 10% misguided hate.

I got Bio Metal (US) because of your praise. While the weapons certainly could pack more oomph, it's not so bad a shooter. However, the horrible soundtrack turned my affair with it into a coitus interruptus. Maybe I'll get the JP version one day.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:44 pm

Ceph wrote:While the weapons certainly could pack more oomph,

Yeah, they are definitely lacking as a primary weapon. The game requires thinking of them as secondary, unless you want to make it really challenging. If they were any stronger the game would be broken, because the GAM shield is a very strong attack and defense. I go with the laser since it's the strongest and helps in a few areas (almost Gradius narrow, but the shield attack can cover the rest of the screen). Other than that I recommend utilizing the shield for nearly everything.

And mute. Definitely.

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:04 pm

The Touhou series, despite it keeping hundreds of projectiles on screen at a time, is one of the most sedate series of games I have ever played, and the scoring system isn't as much risk oriented as much as how well you can fit in a moving 3 pixel hole.

If you want a game that makes you run for your life as well as not being too difficult about it (ie, the rank control and bombing methods are instead refinement techniques instead of things you do to keep the game from hating you) try out Armed Police Batrider Normal Course.

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:31 pm

I am a sucker for freeware. If you are looking for something free and easy on the hard drive try some of Kenta Cho's stuff. Most of it qualifies as "Bullet Hell" or "Manic", although I tend to use the terms a bit loosely and interchangeably.

rRootage
Noiz2sa
Parsec 47
...in that order.

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html

JJG · Post by **JJG** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:52 pm

Bullet Magnet wrote:It does take a lot of stuff from other shooters (chaining, sword weapon, etc.), though I personally still enjoy it. There's a split opinion about it around here, I guess you've got to try it for yourself.

If that's what he meant by gimmicky then I'd have to disagree with the use of the word. Gimmicky would mean that there's either some way to cheat or it's impossible to go through it without dying etc.

What I've gotten from playing it a little is it's a hard game with not so great graphics and a cool electro soundtrack. The main complaint I hear about the game is its graphics but I mean who really cares about graphics.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:00 pm

JJG wrote: If that's what he meant by gimmicky then I'd have to disagree with the use of the word. Gimmicky would mean that there's either some way to cheat or it's impossible to go through it without dying etc.

+1 for including "gimmick" in unofficial shmup glossary.

Here's my illuminating post on gimmick. So Chaos Field = gimmick hell = tons of crap thrown together.

JJG · Post by **JJG** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:15 pm

You can dislike a game simply because it borrows from previous games or you can look past that and give it a chance. I'm not defending Chaos Field or saying it advances the genre in any way but I do find it fun to play from time to time.

I guess I don't like the word gimmick because it makes the game sound cheap. A lot of times a game will introduce a new mechanic but not in a way that makes it fun or useful, and then another game will come along and use it successfully.

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:17 pm

At least when Seibu stole some of Garegga's "gimmicks" for Raiden Fighters they made a significantly different game out of it

dai jou bu · Post by **dai jou bu** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:49 am

BulletMagnet wrote:paletweb.com and himeyashop.com have it, iirc. One of my faves. The same guy who made Imperishable Night also made another favorite of mine, Perfect Cherry Blossom, try that too (his other games are good also, but those two come most highly recommended).

Personally, I'd recommend getting Imperishable Night because of how polished it is and if you're new to danmaku/maniac games (if you're seasoned, you might as well stick to Perfect Cherry Blossom instead). Also get Shoot the Bullet if you're tired of this style within the genre and want to try something new.