Love shmups, never 1cc'd a game

[Voxbox]

It sounds like most Cave games are harder than other bullet hell games?

I'd say that too, but in my opinion, there's few non-Cave games that I'd really call "bullet hell" / danmakus.

[ncp]

As for Cave games, if you are willing to consider a 1-loop clear a "1cc" then just stick with Dodonpachi since its first loop is pretty easy because of how many bombs you get... if you can just no-miss the first 3 levels, you get so many bombs you can just bomb your way through 4 5 and 6 for an easy clear. If you want an ALL, practice some Espgaluda.

[gs68]

People on here talking about 1CC Batrider and Ikaruga like it's easy?

Batrider's normal course IS easy. Really.
It's even easier than clearing MFBL Original.
On Ikaruga however i agree, it's anything but easy.
Plus you just HAVE to play it for score, and then it's 10 times harder.

1 CHAIN
1 CHAIN
2 CH--1 CHAIN
1 CHAIN
RAGEQUIT CHAIN

[njiska]

Try Mushihimesama futari, arrange mode in maniac or original, 1CC'd at the first try, and I can't even go further than the third level in 1.5 maniac with 1 credit (got the game for less than a week though).

Arrange mode is ridiculously easy though so it's a hollow win. I 1CC'd original on my first try and got to Larsa on one credit my first attempt at maniac. The nature of bullet reflection takes away the survival challenge so to me it doesn't count.

Like the original poster i've never 1CC'd a shmup either (why does that feel admitting you're a virgin?), but it's largely because life gets in the way. Anything is possible with practice and commitment, but when there's work, women and life involved sometimes it's just not possible. Hoping BL Original with Reco will be my first though. I can no miss the first two stages and fight the next boss when playing for score, so a 1CC is probably doable.

[Ruldra]

Okay, here's a small guide on how to 1cc any shmup:

1) Pick a game you like: The point of playing games is to have fun. If you're playing a game you don't enjoy, you'll just feel frustrated when it starts kicking your ass. You won't feel like putting in enough play time to learn and beat the game. More importantly, you won't have fun, which defeats the whole purpose of playing it.

2) Stick to it: Switching games every now and then is good to keep them fresh, but you won't make progress if you do two runs and then go play something else. Keep playing that game for a reasonable amount of time so you don't forget what you learned from your playing sessions.

3) Practice, practice, practice: The more hours you put in a game, the more you'll learn about its tricky parts, attack patterns and score system. You'll dodge attacks better and manipulate the score system more efficiently. So play the hell out of it!

And here's the most important, but overlooked step:

4) Study the game

Even if you play for hundreds of hours, you won't make much progress if you just play the game mindlessly and don't learn from your mistakes. Be observant. Are you dying repeatedly at the same part? Try to see what you're doing wrong. Try different approaches. Is that boss kicking your ass every time? Analyze his attacks. Look for gaps or safespots. Stop shooting at him and just keep dodging his attacks. Savestates and practice modes greatly helps you fix your mistakes.

Can't manage a specific part on your own? Well other people surely have done it. Watch their replays (youtube, nico, MARP, superplay.co.uk), read the guides they wrote on the strategy forum, start a thread asking for their help, log in to #shmups and ask them yourself. If you look hard enough you'll definitely find the help you need.

Studying your games and practicing will yield the best results.


Q: WTF that's too much work for a game. Do I really need to do all this?
A: No pain, no gain. Progress comes with effort, and this applies to every area in life, not just in games. If you just want to beat a game, obviously you won't need much effort. But if you want to get to the top of the hi-score tables, then you'll need to work for it. And guess what, victory feels much better when you worked your ass off for it.

[eebrozgi]

Almost signing in, just Guxt, BWR+ on normal and Salamander/Life Force on NES/Famicom (yes, both versions) if I recall correctly. Does the first loop of Cho Ren Sha 68k count as a clear?

[clp]

Try Mushihimesama futari, arrange mode in maniac or original, 1CC'd at the first try, and I can't even go further than the third level in 1.5 maniac with 1 credit (got the game for less than a week though).

Like the original poster i've never 1CC'd a shmup either (why does that feel admitting you're a virgin?), but it's largely because life gets in the way. Anything is possible with practice and commitment, but when there's work, women and life involved sometimes it's just not possible. Hoping BL Original with Reco will be my first though. I can no miss the first two stages and fight the next boss when playing for score, so a 1CC is probably doable.

this is such an overused and inaccurate excuse , it has nothing to do with how much time you have even 30 minutes focused on progressing at any game will eventually lead to a 1cc , its not the time you have its how you use it , Third strike has mentioned before he only plays whatever game hes on for 30 mins - 1 hr a day and look at his scores? .

[ED-057]

Try Darius Gaiden. With autofire. I 1cc'd it. 19XX could be doable. But yeah, shumps iz hard. I can dodge stuff but not consistantly enough to clear six or more stages. Hitboxes that are radically different than what the appearance of the object would suggest are another problem. Rank is another.

[BrightSuzaku]

I suggest Salamander 2. I tend to get really close with that, although dodging the final boss's bullets still require me some practice. The game itself is actually rather easy- easier than the original Salamander, actually!

I enjoy the game a lot, too, especially the vertically scrolling segments (yes, I love vertically-scrolling shooters a little more). XD

[NR777]

Not all shmups are impossibly hard: Blazing Lazers/Gunhed and Space Megaforce/Super Aleste are very easy clears on default settings. Harmful Park is also supposed to be extremely easy, but I've never played it. On the Bullet Hell side of things, Imperishable Night is a relatively easy clear on defaults.

To be honest though, simply going for the clear isn't where the fun really is. Figuring out the intricacies of the scoring systems and exploiting them for big points is what these games were designed around. I only play, on average, about an hour a day...and I can see my skill level increasing quite a bit. Saying you will never get better/clear a game because of limited time is a cop-out. Make the most out of the time you get to spend with a game, but most importantly, have fun!

[clp]

To be honest though, simply going for the clear isn't where the fun really is. Figuring out the intricacies of the scoring systems and exploiting them for big points is what these games were designed around. I only play, on average, about an hour a day...and I can see my skill level increasing quite a bit. Saying you will never get better/clear a game because of limited time is a cop-out. Make the most out of the time you get to spend with a game, but most importantly, have fun!

+1

[TrevHead (TVR)]

The only shmups ive 1cced are doujins apart from recca for the nes and although the games i have 1cced are not as hard as say a Cave shmup I did work hard in beating most of them. Infact the shmup i am most proud of 1ccing is Blue Wish Resurrection / BWR+ since that is the 1st shmup i played seriously when i first got into shmups about 4-5 months ago. Also due to me been a total noob with my shmupping skills BWR is the game ive worked the most at beating, often spending hours practicing a bosses bullet patterns.
So even though other ppl thinlk of my achievements as been nothing special i know that ive worked hard to beat em and have had alot of fun doing so. Which at the end of the day is why we play video games in the first place (if not should)

The comments on not having enough time to 1cc a shmup is ballux since im a gamer wholl genrally play a shmup in short sessions of 20 to 60 minutes. All that is needed is to do it nearlly everyday regulary. Youll be suprised how quickly you improve and memorise tha game if you do so

[Jockel]

Yeah its the fun that counts.
I don't consider myself a good player at all, but i could 1cc BWR+'s Hell mode on the first try

[Schrodinger's cat]

To be honest though, simply going for the clear isn't where the fun really is. Figuring out the intricacies of the scoring systems and exploiting them for big points is what these games were designed around. I only play, on average, about an hour a day...and I can see my skill level increasing quite a bit. Saying you will never get better/clear a game because of limited time is a cop-out. Make the most out of the time you get to spend with a game, but most importantly, have fun!

When I first started playing Dodonpachi, I wasn't very good at shooters at all and focused solely on surviving. It made the game a little more fun for me as a beginner, but as I got better I got a little bored of that so I started playing for score. It was annoying doing it this way because it feels like you're relearning the whole game from scratch instead of doing it right the first time around. I now try to score well from the beginning to avoid doing that for any new games that I start playing.

If people focus playing solely for survival, then a lot of shooters are going to start feeling monotonous after a while. I feel that trying to score well makes you a better player faster, which results in making games a whole lot more fun.

[NR777]

Hell, I'm still not very good at DDP. Getting a chaining route down with A-Type is a pain in the ass...though I prefer this ship because it promotes more aggressive play.

[EinhanderZwei]

OK guys, now you can congratulate me with my first 1CC!

And the game that receives the honor of being 'the first shmup 1CCd by EinhanderZwei' is...



Yeah, I know that it's difficulty is pants due to lifebar and transformation, and that it doesn't keep the score... But whatever, it's my first 1CC. I'm awesome

[njiska]

It sounds like most Cave games are harder than other bullet hell games?

I'd say that too, but in my opinion, there's few non-Cave games that I'd really call "bullet hell" / danmakus.

Touhou Project is the only thing that regularly comes to mind.

[ShmupSamurai]

Haven't really 1CC'd one too, almost got Thunder Force III through.

[icbluscrn]

i was in the same boat , i own hundreds (ok maybe about a hundred) of shmups but never really 1cc anything, then Mushi Futari for the 360 came along , not sure what mode it was auto bomb was on and i 1 life'd it and boy was i disappointed (after the excitement wore off) someone like me should never be able to 1 life new gen shmup. The other thing about shmups that i never spent the time figuring out was the scoring system. and games like futari forget about it. i gave it a good effort to figure it out but its too confusing. I just want to blow Shyte up.

[NR777]

i was in the same boat , i own hundreds (ok maybe about a hundred) of shmups but never really 1cc anything, then Mushi Futari for the 360 came along , not sure what mode it was auto bomb was on and i 1 life'd it and boy was i disappointed (after the excitement wore off) someone like me should never be able to 1 life new gen shmup. The other thing about shmups that i never spent the time figuring out was the scoring system. and games like futari forget about it. i gave it a good effort to figure it out but its too confusing. I just want to blow Shyte up.

Ummm...not meaning to be a dick or anything, but Novice Mode doesn't really count. Novice Mode was designed so anybody could clear it: not only is the base difficulty easy, auto-bomb is always active and you get double the bombs from bomb carriers...giving you effectively nine lives by default without counting bomb pickups or extends. I'm really not trying to piss in your cheerios, but clearing 1.5 or BL Original is more what I'd call a true 1cc. Novice Mode is essentially a set of training wheels meant to ease newcomers into the game, get people familiar with the scoring system, etc. 1.5 and BL will not be such pushovers, though BL is admittedly easier to clear.

[kennyrh]

If it's any consolation mate, I've been shmupping for 26 years and closest I've come to 1cc-ing anything was just this week when I hit Stage 6 on PC Engine Star Parodier.

In my case, I don't normally have the patience to repeatedly play one game - although I did give a lot of time to Raiden 2 on the PS1 and came nowhere near 1cc. So many shmups . . .so little time

In fact, I can't recall many games that I've played through to the end with unlimited credits. Maybe Varth in M.A.M.E and Blast Wind on Saturn.

My ambition is to 1cc Star Force in M.A.M.E. . . .old - but great

I just want to blow Shyte up.

I'm totally with you on that one . . .

[ShmupSamurai]

MMmmmm, Starforce...Soldier Blade's great-GREAT-grandaddy..yummy

[EinhanderZwei]

MMmmmm, Starforce...Soldier Blade's great-GREAT-grandaddy..yummy

I owned the NES one, it was pretty cool...

[ShmupSamurai]

I just happen to have a copy of Star Soldier on the Nes, still works too.

The Big Brain kept getting away though >_<

[clp]

i was in the same boat , i own hundreds (ok maybe about a hundred) of shmups but never really 1cc anything, then Mushi Futari for the 360 came along , not sure what mode it was auto bomb was on and i 1 life'd it and boy was i disappointed (after the excitement wore off) someone like me should never be able to 1 life new gen shmup. The other thing about shmups that i never spent the time figuring out was the scoring system. and games like futari forget about it. i gave it a good effort to figure it out but its too confusing. I just want to blow Shyte up.

[ShmupSamurai]

Not all shmups are impossibly hard: Blazing Lazers/Gunhed and Space Megaforce/Super Aleste are very easy clears on default settings.

If I die ONCE on Stage 5 in Blazing Lazers.....DAMN, I'm history. 80% of my BL runs end ethier there or Level 7.Those levels are just plain BRUTAL.

[NR777]

Not all shmups are impossibly hard: Blazing Lazers/Gunhed and Space Megaforce/Super Aleste are very easy clears on default settings.

If I die ONCE on Stage 5 in Blazing Lazers.....DAMN, I'm history. 80% of my BL runs end ethier there or Level 7.Those levels are just plain BRUTAL.

I don't think Blazing Lazers gets challenging until the Bubble stage...and even that isn't bad. Where you are completely fucked in the event of a death is the section right after the Battle Tank in Stage 9. That is the hardest part of the whole game.

[ShmupSamurai]

I don't think Blazing Lazers gets challenging until the Bubble stage...and even that isn't bad. Where you are completely fucked in the event of a death is the section right after the Battle Tank in Stage 9. That is the hardest part of the whole game.

Stage 5 is ridiculousy easy when I'm fully tooled up from Stages 1-4, but the moment I reach the part with the Easter Island heads, a stray shot from one ALWAYS finds a way to hit me, usually while I'm nippin' away from those bloodly missle arrays under the pryimids.

Get hit once, I lose all my stuff, wiggle around in vain like a dying cat trying dodge the now overflowing amout of projectiles, BAM I die, respawn and I STUCK with crap weapons in the middle of the Mexican Stand-Off all over again.

[Dragoforce]

I don't think Blazing Lazers gets challenging until the Bubble stage...and even that isn't bad. Where you are completely fucked in the event of a death is the section right after the Battle Tank in Stage 9. That is the hardest part of the whole game.

Blazing Lazers is probably the easiest shmup ever released for a console. I 1-lifed it on my first credit with quite a brutal hangover.

[ShmupSamurai]

Maybe I just rot at BL?