Apidya vs Project X

[ccovell]

...Apidya did not feel at all like a typical Euro shmup, more like a Japanese R-Type clone with enhanced elements.

Okay, I'll refine what I said (and get a bit more controversial? ) in saying that Apidya looks and feels like a typical German shmup: Fantastic graphics, great sound, and an unwillingness to leave R-Type alone and try an original shoot-em-up concept.

[ST Dragon]

There are quite a few Japanese Shooters with fantasy graphics as well, so I wouldn't say that’s a German/European stereotype.
One definite Euro Shump characteristic that plagued many AMIGA shooters, was the in-game shop which slowed down and ruined the gameplay, but thankfully that was something Apidya did not feature.

The only similarities Apidya has to R-Type, is it's Charge weapon and the annoying check points, other than that it's a very original shooter with many new and innovative features for it's time and I can't think of a shooter that resembled the insect world better other than maybe the recent Mushihimesama.

So for it’s time not many Japanese console Shooters could even touch Apidya in terms of quality for what it resembled.

[D]

Hybris!

\o/

Oh my freaking god. I forgot about the name of this game, but this one rocks and is probably the oldest Amiga shmup anyone has mentioned in this thread.
For me it's something like:
1 Apidya
2 Hybris (I'm sorry but this is the closest the Amiga ever came to a shmups that looks like it's running on arcade hardware)
Here's a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A7ngVe6 ... ed&search=

Battle Squadron looks OK, but becomes boring very soon, I don't know why though.
Still I stand by my statement that the amiga sucks. The only good thig about it is the music, which is the best music at that time available for any platform. better than arcade hardware or any other platform/console. Video game music fans should really look into Amiga music. Composers really went nuts.
Favorties:
Sly Spy (Data East)
Ghouls n Ghosts

[Shatterhand]

I've never played Hybris. Yeah, shame on me. I also only played Menace on the C64, which I think it was a lot different from the Amiga one and is usually regarded as a better game.

Apidya was made by an european team (Kaiko) that tried to make them look as japanese as they could. Unfortunately they only made 3 games - Gem'X(http://hol.abime.net/2714), Apidya and Super Gem'Z, the last one was never published AFAIK, though you can get it through other ways (http://hol.abime.net/2186)

Gem'X is one of the best puzzlers I ever played, and the music is just AWESOME AWESOME.

So for it’s time not many Japanese console Shooters could even touch Apidya in terms of quality for what it resembled.

QFT. Apidya and Space Manbow are the two most underrated shmups ever.

And I think the Amiga was an AMAZING piece of hardware, and it has a huge share of amazing games.

[Herr Schatten]

I've never played Hybris. Yeah, shame on me. I also only played Menace on the C64, which I think it was a lot different from the Amiga one and is usually regarded as a better game.

Hybris is a really nice clone of Terra Cresta. It has aged badly, but at the time it was released, it was quite impressive.

I think you're confusing Menace with its sequel Blood Money. The C64 version of Menace is a lot worse than the Amiga version, mainly due to a couple of really annoying bugs. Given that the original isn't stellar either, the C64 version is quite terrible. On the other hand, Blood Money on the C64 is much better than its Amiga counterpart and really enjoyable.

[Shatterhand]

Hmm.. maybe I am confusing them... I know I've played both Blood Money and Menace on C64, but I haven't played Menace on Amiga ... what's funny is that I never owned a C64, but I owned an Amiga for like 7 years

[louisg]

I'm just gonna necro-bump this topic to say that Apidya freakin' rocks. I think it's a lot more enjoyable than the standard R-Type/Gradius style game, it's got a lot in the way of clever designs, and it does a few smart things so that you don't get too screwed after dying.

Project X, on the other hand, is a slick but not-particularly-fun kick-in-the-balls. Play Gaiares instead; the art style is similar and it's got actual level designs!

[Blackbird]

I had to go check out Project X after spotting this thread. Found a Let's Play of it. The player sat on the menu for several minutes and listened to the menu theme, which was bucking awesome. After the awesome electronic music, I thought the game would be great... but then the game actually begins. Immediate disappointment. It looked like a weak knockoff of Gradius/Salamander with none of the thoughtfulness or balance of those games.

[Wonderbanana]

haha

The order of the games I listed isn't the most important. I believe many people will say Z-Out is better than Battle Squadron or Silkworm is better than R-Type 2, and that's ok.

But ALL of them are better than Project-X, and you can't deny it

And Apidya is the best shmup on the system. you also can't deny it



Now, a curiosity... is there anyone posting in this thread who's not european, besides me?

I thought Silkworm was great on the Amiga. Other than that my vote would go to Hybris, cracking little game that.

[antares]

Apidya has always been one of my favourite shmups. It feels like taken the best things out of R-Type and Gradius and combining them into something great.

Project X is just a euroshmup, as we would call it today. Nice graphics and music but lack of gameplay.

[louisg]

Apidya is almost flawless IMO. There are a couple things I don't like: The first world drags a little, and the sewer goes back to the first-world style no-collidable-scenery approach, which-- coupled with the somewhat uninspired backdrop-- kinda feels like the game is suddenly blandified. But most of the other art is fantastic. I love touches like that beetle that skitters along the water in the 2nd world, or the toy soldier in the sewer. The surreal between-level games are a nice touch, too. That game even made a dead rat look fantastic.

Anyway, yeah, I like this enough to think about giving Gradius II another go (and I've *never* been into Gradius or R-Type)! Though I think Apidya may be a better-balanced game.

What powerups do you like to use? I usually max out the 3rd one (the mild daggery spreadshot thing), then try and get a shield, then spend the rest of the time collecting drones.

[Herr Schatten]

What powerups do you like to use? I usually max out the 3rd one (the mild daggery spreadshot thing), then try and get a shield, then spend the rest of the time collecting drones.

Is that the green shot? It's certainly the most versatile weapon, and the one I use most often, too. The firing rate of the swirly thing is much too low, and the spread tends to be a little weak. You can get almost the same screen coverage with the green lightning and a couple of drones.