Next Cave iPhone port is Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu

[Thjodbjorn]

In 20 years shmups will be different and may be designed around control devices we can't even imagine. They will be best played on those devices. Games designed around an arcade joystick are still designed around an arcade joystick no matter what the future brings. You can prefer whatever control device you like, just don't think you are getting the same experience as was originally intended, because the controller matters a lot. You also don't have to care about what the developers originally designed the game for. I don't think "better" was the word I should have used. Some people think a glossy print of Starry Night looks "better" than the real painting even though glossy paper didn't exist when van gogh painted it. I'm just saying "different than the original experience from which it is based". DDP is a classic, must play shmup. The iPhone version can never replace the real experience. It does offer modern advantages, but you're not getting the 100% real thing when the controls change and the visuals shrink.

Ya... I like to type a lot about shmups. Deal wit it yo.

I definitely sympathize with this line of thinking, and I would say I agree. It is important to note that both games HAVE modes that are designed for the touch screen interface. DDP's is good, but I really thought Espgaluda 2's was brilliant. While DDP's would probably work decently using a pad or a stick, Galuda's would be very difficult to impliment on a non-touch screen.

[Frederik]

-the decades of Shmups created before that day will be best played on a joystick
-Cave games that exist now will always be better on a joystick

Not necessarily. Shmups are not like fighting games; keyboard or pad use can easily beat joysticks into the ground, and joysticks can do the same to keyboard or pad.

I agree, though that definitely isn´t a popular opinion around here. I understand the appeal of staying as true as possible to the real thing - actual PCBs in actual arcade cabs, with clicky sticks and clicky buttons. These things are too expensive and bulky to me, though. I only ever once played an actual shmup in an arcade (Raiden II somewhere in London), and the screen just seemed so gigantic to me that I just didn´t know where to look.

I didn´t grow up in arcades. I grew up with Gameboy and SNES. I don´t play CAVE games on a giant CRT with a stick in a smoky japanese arcade - I play them at home, on an un-TATEd LCD screen with a Saturn pad. I´m already removed from "the proper way" these games are being played. I still love shmups.

Mario 64 DS, for instance, was a terrible way of playing the game. The d-pad controls were choppy and inaccurate, and replacing the analogue with the touchscreen was annoying and cramp inducing. Ketsui DS was quite a compromise as well - a vert game forced to a horizontal screen, with the shitty DS pad... Racing games on the iPhone: Steering by turning the entire screen, gas and brakes without any analogue control - terrible solution imho as well. Gran Turismo on the PSP - ugh. Tetris on the iPhone? Terrible idea. These are some of many examples of how games suffer from the lack of proper, suitable controls.

But in the case of the iOS ports, people are really gushing over the controls everywhere. I think it´s commendable that CAVE came up with a completely new solution to the "no buttons" problem instead of just slapping a virtual stick in there (I get headaches even mentioning this).

If there is one genre that depended on digital control and actually works with a different control scheme it´s shmups. It´s about moving an avatar freely around a 2D plane, being able to do very precise small moves as well as big evasive moves. I played a couple of cheap flash games (some game where you had to avoid getting hit by rectangles or something) with mouse control. I played them with my Wacom tablet (much more precise and natural control) and loved it simply because it was so much fun to zip around the screen like that.
Back then I really wanted to try out this type of direct control with actual, well-made shmups, and well, now that they arrived I´m really itching to try it out!

Of course you can´t compare the iOS ports to the actual games. You play one with a microswitched stick ín your hand on a big CRT screen, and the other one by rolling your thumb on a flat little slab. There´s no doubt that the arcade PCBs are the most "authentic" experience. But that doesn´t change the fact that I´m specifically looking forward to getting an iPod Touch and play these games with the new controls.

I think what CAVE really did well is take the original games and turn it into a new experience that´s ideal for a portable platform. I´d much rather play the games with a fine-tuned capacitive touch input than on a shitty d-pad like the DS one (or, god forbid, the PSP one). I was really skeptical (as I´m sure most of us were) when Espgaluda II first got announced, and they could have fucked these games up really bad, but in fact they get very impressive review scores on almost every site I looked.

Why do I love playing handhelds at home? No idea. I just do. Getting to play CAVE games on a handheld is simply a dream come true for me, even more than finally getting to play Ketsui and Radiant Silvergun. I don´t care if it isn´t the true, hardcore way to play them. I know it isn´t, but I don´t care. These ports cater exactly to my taste, and I´m glad that they seem to have turned out so well. Can´t wait to actually play them!

...
And Hair, I respect your opinion. I´m not really sure though that top players on these boards, like Prometheus, who recently did a fantastic DDP run in MAME and on a keyboard doesn´t play the game "it´s supposed to be played". He is (like I am) a savestate enthusiast. Being able to train a single segment over and over certainly is a huge advantage over playing the PCB. Another field of debate is emulation vs original games - some prefer it being as true as possible, others prefer the comfort and convenience of emulation.

Many types of playing and enjoying these games can coexist. My most active thread has been the "Ketsui DS" discussion; I´m just crazy about portable shmups. I´m happy we´re not as elitist as some people say we are. It just gets nasty when some people claim that their way is the only true one, just because they dumped more money and time into their hobby than other people did. To me, the newbies playing DDP on a laptop turned sideways can enjoy the genre as well as the guys with 8 Astrocity cabs in their homes and the PCBs stacked next to them. Different strokes for different folks!

And yeah, I like to type a lot about shmups as well

[Hair]

Good post. I do sometimes prefer to kick back with a d-pad rather than sit with an arcade stick (harder to use while laying in bed). The Saturn d-pad is great, it's like the square gate of d-pads. Like I said in my last post, I shouldn't have said "better". But an arcade stick and d-pad are two different experiences. Playing DDP with a d-pad just isn't "same" as an arcade stick. Of course you should use whichever you prefer.

I am not a cab or PCB junkie (maybe one day) and I think a good screen/monitor and stick/buttons is just as good as a cab... better actually (*ducks*). But there you are getting the right control hardware (especially if it is the right brand if not only the right type of gate).

[kernow]

What the hell are they doing with this port? Every update every few weeks seems to add and then remove features. There must have been an obvious problem with the fact they put screen flip in for iPad (so the speaker would be at the top), and they removed it for auto rotate, and now a week or two later they have removed that and put the flip screen back in as an option. wtf! Maybe do some testing before shoving them out so quickly?

[Frederik]

No idea, as long as it´s perfect when I get my iPod!

Couple of questions while this thread is bumped:

-How does the level practice work? Does it unlock when you reach the respective stage in 1 credit (which shouldn´t be too hard to do)? And it includes the loop stages, right? Can you also practice the bosses separately?

-Does it have replay saving? I assume not, but it still would be very cool to have

-How does the scorekeeping work? I have never had a online-leaderboard console before (yeah, I basically skipped an entire console generation), is there still a proper offline score screen somewhere? I prefer to just compete with myself most of the time

[cools]

What the hell are they doing with this port? Every update every few weeks seems to add and then remove features. There must have been an obvious problem with the fact they put screen flip in for iPad (so the speaker would be at the top), and they removed it for auto rotate, and now a week or two later they have removed that and put the flip screen back in as an option. wtf! Maybe do some testing before shoving them out so quickly?

DFK 1.5756463532 version.

[Yodajr]

BTY, anyone have the list of the 47 achievement of the game ?

[AliceMargatroid]

Thank you for your support! - Start up the game. - 100p
Arcade Mode challenget - Start a game in Arcade Mode. - 5p
Hyper Activated - Use a Hyper Counter or a Hyper Cannon. - 5p
Bombaaaa! - Use a Bomb. - 5p
Baby Steps - Earn 100,000,000 in Arcade Mode - 10p
The conflicted Daughter - Defeat Element Daughter "A.I." - 10p
Learning to Chain - Earn 1,000,000,000 in Arcade Mode - 20p
To change the future - Deafet Element Daughter "Next EXY" - 10p
Death cannon - Taken out by a large enemy laser - 5p
Miss bright and cheerful - Defeat Element Daughter "Perfect" - 10p
Blissful Death - Get hit with your Hyper Gauge at MAX - 5p
She once protected us... - Defeat Element Daughter "Ray'n" - 10p
So many stars - Collect 10000 stars in total - 10p
Multiplier x3 - Connect 1000 HITs in Arcade Mode - 10p
Merciless Huntress - Defear Element Daughter "Shooty" - 10p
Type-B: ARCADE MODE CLEAR - Guess what? - 20p (I think 1-ALL is enough to unlock this one)
iPhone Mode challenger - Start a game in iPhone Mode - 5p
Maximum Menace - Increase your M gauge to MAX in Menace Mode - 5p
Hyper Cannon power-up - Fire a Hyper Cannon at Level 2 (Not Stage 2) - 5p
Lambs for the Slaughter - Increase your S Gauge to MAX in Slaughter Mode - 5p
Utter Destruction - Fire a Hyper Cannon at Level 3 - 5p
Hyper Rotation - Turn your Hyper Cannon more than 10 times at once - 5p
Hidden 2008 Tokyo - Discover the hidden route in Stage 1 - 25p
The Hidden road of fate - Discover the hidden route in Stage 2 - 25p
Blinking lights of a Hidden Future spread across the night Sky - Discover the hidden route in Stage 3 - 25p
A Hidden world darkens - Discover the hidden route in Stage 4 - 25p
A Hidden battle for the Future - Discore the hidden route in Stage 5 - 25p
Aggressive Mathematics - Raise the Multiplier to 999 in iPhone Mode - 10p
S and M Neophyte - Earn 50,000,000 points in iPhone Mode
Type-C Arcade Mode Clear - 20p
Insect collector - Collect 100 bee items in total - 10p
I will face them full force - Enter the Open 2nd Game Loop (Tsuujou) - 30p
Second Extend - Earn 10,000,000,000 points in Arcade Mode - 70p
Tager for the weak points of the f**kin Machine - Defeat "Golden Disaster" - 20p
Power and Endurance - Earn 100,000,000 points in iPhone Mode - 20p
Type-B: iPhone Mode CLEAR - 20p
Type-C: iPhone Mode CLEAR - 20p
With great humility and gratitude! - Enter the Hidden 2nd Game Loop (Ura) - 50p
Multiplier x5 - Connect 5000 HITs in Arcade Mode - 20p
Bullet Cancelling Maniac - Cancel a total of 100,000 bullets using the Hyper Counter or the Hyper Cannon - 10p
Multiplier x6 - Connect 9999 Hits in Arcade Mode - 50p
Type-A: Arcade Mode Clear - 20p
Type-A: iPhone Mode Clear - 20p
Dodonpachi Squadron New... *this part is missing* - Clear all modes with all ships - 45p

Those three I haven't achived yet:
SECRET - Defeat Hibachi (probably because 100p) - 100p < This doesn't work if you defeat Hibachi with continues/in Practice
Secret - 50p (This could be getting 1,000,000,000 in iPhone Mode, but I won't do that because I hate that mode)
Secret - 5p ( No idea, maybe getting all achievements? )

I mostly play Arcade Mode because iPhone Mode makes getting into Ura easier (You only need all bees) and I really don't like the scoring system in iPhone Mode.

[Treasurance]

The secret ones you're missing are:

"Destruction and Fortitude" (50 points)
Earn 500.000.000 points in iPhone mode
Uhh...yeah.

"Nice find" (5 points)
Discover the game's hidden Background Music
To get this, pause the game & shake your iDevice until you hear a sound, then resume the game and get ready for awesome

"Do your best you have ever done" (100 points)
Defeat Hibachi (no continues)
Just do an Arcade Normal mode Ura 2-ALL. Surprisingly easy.

[AliceMargatroid]

"Nice find" (5 points)
Discover the game's hidden Background Music
To get this, pause the game & shake your iDevice until you hear a sound, then resume the game and get ready for awesome

I thought I already did that.

"Do your best you have ever done" (100 points)
Defeat Hibachi (no continues)
Just do an Arcade Normal mode Ura 2-ALL. Surprisingly easy.

Everytime I try I am missing a bee or two or I lose two lives :3 (I usually play this either when I am almost falling asleep or when I just woke up)

[pentarou]

Bringing this thread back from the grave:

http://www.cave.co.jp/news/20120309daihukkatsu/

HD version coming on March 15th

Initial price 900 JPY, regular price 1200 JPY, not sure how they'll be pricing it in USD

Edit: Now with video.

[spadgy]

Another press release form Cave just landed in my inbox. Not much information, but it's in Englisg:

CAVE Interactive Co., Ltd. (located in Tokyo, CEO: Masahito Ito, JASDAQ Stock Code: 3760) is proud to announce that the latest release, “Dodonpachi Resurrection HD” will be available for download for iPhone/iPad 2 on App Store across the world on March 15, 2012.


A legendary manic shooter and a popular game on iPhone/iPod touch,
“Dodonpachi Resurrection” returns in HD!
Experience the storm of bullets in high-def!
Will you be able to defeat the merciless killing machine Hibachi!?

App Store (Retail version): http://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/id488666118?mt=8&ls=1
App Store (Lite version): http://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/id490008837?mt=8&ls=1


-　“Dodonpachi Resurrection”
“Dodonpachi Resurrection" is a sequel of our popular manic shooter “Dodonpachi Blissful Death”, an arcade game first released in 2008.
Without altering the basic structure of the original title, the series’ latest features tougher enemies and new counter weapons much to fans’ delight.

In celebration of the release of
“Dodonpachi Resurrection HD”
*For a special price of $10.99 for 4 days only!*

To celebrate the release of “Dodonpachi Resurrection HD”, the title along with an already popular title on App Store, “Espgaluda II HD (full version)” will both be on sale for a limited period of 4 days only!
For 4 days from March 15, 2012 to March 18, 2012,
The titles, normally sold for $13.99,
will be on sale for a special price of $10.99!

[astroid]

DoDonPachi Resurrection HD is available now!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dodonpac ... 66118?mt=8

Also ESPGALUDA II HD now works on iPhone4! Not on iPod4 cause memory issues...
http://itunes.apple.com/app/id450426150?mt=8

[raiod]

DDP HD and Espgaluda 2 HD are really great on Ipad2! But don't buy them if you only have an iphone 4! The framerate is really choppy compared to the non HD version.

[MochaFrappes]

Im getting it on IOS on my iPad 2. Another shmup to add to my list!

[brentsg]

Im getting it on IOS on my iPad 2. Another shmup to add to my list!

Welcome to 2012.

[Strider77]

Ewwwwww, iphone or "i" thing in general.

[Udderdude]

I love playing iPorts on my iWhatever.

The iPod Touch 5th gen is awesome. Don't know if I'd like an iPhone, though. Lack of multitasking would really kill it for me if I tried to use it as more than a portable games/media player.

[BrianC]

I love playing iPorts on my iWhatever.

The iPod Touch 5th gen is awesome. Don't know if I'd like an iPhone, though. Lack of multitasking would really kill it for me if I tried to use it as more than a portable games/media player.

It perplexes me how some of Cave's games aren't compatible with the iPod Touch 5.

[Udderdude]

Who knows? It's better than the situation with Android, where anything past version 4.4 causes CAVE's ports to crash (force close) on launch ..

[astroid]

Game is on sale today! Its only $1.99

[Oniros]

https://twitter.com/cavegames/status/11 ... 2926882821

[Mills]

I'm guessing this is what I just viewed earlier
https://youtu.be/vNnloxf8kNY