I've been to hell and back, and other Makaimura Miscellanies

[samspot]

Thanks! I finally got the first loop cleared on the JP version yesterday. A 1cc of the first loop seems a lot more doable but I think after that I’d rather work the second game than try to completely 1cc 2 loops.

[scrilla4rella]

Okay, I'm sold on Resurrection. Can anyone tell me how it runs on the Switch? wondering if getting it on PC is better. Being portable would be nice.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Okay, I'm sold on Resurrection. Can anyone tell me how it runs on the Switch? wondering if getting it on PC is better. Being portable would be nice.

Only having played the Switch version, it doesn't have any framedrops or visible issues. I wouldn't be surprised if the PC version is smoother in some way but the Switch version at least is perfectly fine.

[scrilla4rella]

exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you!

[Sumez]

EDIT: Ugh, missed the last page of posts when I wrote the post below

I think the original Ghosts n Goblins can be quite enjoyable to learn to beat with credit feeding, due to the checkpoints as mentioned.

The game is pretty easy to learn up to stage 5, but those last two stages is where it gets tough, and you get no mid-stage checkpoints at that point. So even with infinite lives, making it through one of them is an achievement regardless. However, I recommend you play the Japan "G" revision as it's the latest version of the game with the least amount of BS. The biggest issue is the Satan bosses which can be nearly impossible to defeat on most of the international revisions, and not in a fun way. The double unicorn encounter on stage 6 is less of an issue since there's an armor upgrade immediately after it, but it's still bullshit.

For Ghouls/Daimakaimura it's different. You gotta credit feed to learn the game, but the it is really all about that 2-ALL clear, since a single loop is easier to fluke than two.

[samspot]

After playing revision G for a while it’s not bad at all. No part of it feels too difficult on its own and the challenge is stringing it all together. I am impressed with the design of the red demons. Their patterns still elude me somewhat if I don’t get the quick kill. Their “AI” is brilliantly combined with spawns and other enemies. These guys are responsible for most of my deaths.

I really like playing on Switch Arcade Stadium. The rewind is great for practicing red demon strats. Times challenge is good for measuring slow improvement without counting credits, and score is there for the real runs. They also keep detailed stats on how many 1cc, credits used, etc.

I play docked with a wireless m30 controller and don’t really notice a difference in lag compared to wired on mister with a CRT. I’m not super sensitive to lag but I would have expected to have more difficulty swapping between versions if it was bad.

I got resurrection thinking I would be ready from playing the original. But even Squire difficulty is way harder than the original game. Big props to Capcom for leaning all the way in on difficulty.

[Sumez]

After playing revision G for a while it’s not bad at all. No part of it feels too difficult on its own and the challenge is stringing it all together. I am impressed with the design of the red demons. Their patterns still elude me somewhat if I don’t get the quick kill. Their “AI” is brilliantly combined with spawns and other enemies. These guys are responsible for most of my deaths.

You probably know this, but the one consistent trick for dealing with them, is waiting till they stand on the ground for a bit and start walking back and forth. During this time, they won't dodge shots and can be killed fast with quick successive shots. Fire a bit too early, and they'll fly up instead and break their pattern.
Often (almost always on later stages) they'll initiate this stage with a single bullet fired in your direction however.

But even Squire difficulty is way harder than the original game. Big props to Capcom for leaning all the way in on difficulty.

You got infinite lives. Play Legend difficulty, and don't even consider the lower ones. It might sound crazy first a first playthrough, but trust me, you'll thank me later

[MJR]

I love makaimura / ghosts’n’goblins. Been playing on it a lot on arcade stadium. I can get to end of lvl 6 on jp version, but thats it. Is the arcade stadium version revision G?

I have been able to find only one solution for red arreimers that actually work every time. Walk straight at them, and shoot with rapid fire. Feels like cheating though.

It’s also pointless playing with any other weapon than knife for most of the game. 2nd loop needs that particular weapon, but I think its different on jp/international version.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

The knife is definitely the best weapon for the bulk of the game (at least on the first loop) but I don't think it's as dominant as it is in later entries. The lance really isn't much weaker, and the cross's ability to destroy enemy shots is actually really useful against arremers in loop 2 because of their more aggressive shooting; I tend to just take the cross in stage 4 and stick with it all the way up through the end of the second loop.

[Sumez]

Yeah, especially abusing the shot frequency cancelling trick (alternating shot/move taps), the lance can fire really fast in the first game, and become really powerful.

That said, I don't think the knife is super dominant in Dai either. It's definitely the best weapon (until you get the psycho canon. I know speedrunners stick to the knife on the second loop, but I prefer the psycho all the way through), but both the lance and discus are honestly nearly as useful. You won't feel gimped with either of them.

Super GnG is the one game where you absolutely want the knife as soon as possible, and never use anything else until you're forced to.

[samspot]

I finally 1cc'd Makaimura Japan Rev G!

I had initially decided to stop working on it after getting the first loop on one credit, but I kept coming back for 1-run-a-day and I really enjoyed it. This game is magical in that almost every day I noticed some improvement to my play. The Capcom collection on Switch ended up being my favorite way to play, as the stats tracking was nice and the Timed Challenge was great for seeing those incremental improvements. I did some savestate/rewind practice on a few tough spots, but mostly just did full credit-fed runs trying to bring my time down.

In total I spent probably 30 hours with the game, 25 of that on Switch. I'm looking forward to doing Dai next, but maybe its time to play Resurrection a bit more.

Thanks everyone who talked strats and love for the game in this thread. I wouldn't have gotten into this game except that you really piqued my interest.

Spoiler

[BIL]

I finally 1cc'd Makaimura Japan Rev G!

Congrats! Wonderful writeup too! This thread is always such a gem.

[samspot]

I finally 1cc'd Makaimura Japan Rev G!

Congrats! Wonderful writeup too! This thread is always such a gem.

Thanks! I'm curious if anyone here enjoys the NES GnG game. I played just a bit but the movement feels much worse compared to the arcade version.

[BIL]

I finally 1cc'd Makaimura Japan Rev G!

Congrats! Wonderful writeup too! This thread is always such a gem.

Thanks! I'm curious if anyone here enjoys the NES GnG game. I played just a bit but the movement feels much worse compared to the arcade version.

Hm. Was by Micronics, who never had the best rep. (Professor Sumez explains The Science Behind TEH SUCC)

I can't remember the last time I played it tbh. Micronics could, at their absolute zenith, be kinda likeable. 1942+Ikari are godawful, and indeed, playing Capcom and SNK's own 1943+Guevara immediately after, I can glimpse the face of God himself in the unfathomable cosmic expanse between their respective stations.

However, I think FC Kyuukyoku Tiger is quite respectable, pardon some dings. I seem to recall other trusted peeps noting FC Makaimura isn't entirely awful, either, though I've never seen it mentioned among the console's world-class scrolling action library.

Good time to link the forum's OFFICIAL Micronics Appreciate Thread!

[Sima Tuna]

NES GnG is pretty broken. Performance is terrible, physics wonky even by original makaimura standards, interactions between objects don't seem to always work right and the ladder glitch is even worse here. At least, that's what I think I remember from the last time I played it. I have nes GnG on my 3ds and that's where I played it. It's a very ugly game compared to the arcade version and it runs poorly. I'm not an expert on GnG but I did play this a fair amount before I had easy portable access to the other GnG games. There's just no reason to play it if you have any other GnG game you could play instead.

[Sumez]

NES GnG feels extremely terrible to me. The only people I've met speaking favorably of it are people with nostalgia for that version, who never played the arcade version.

I think a lot of the reputation of the first Ghosts n Goblins comes from how prevalent that version of the game was in the US specifically. I never really saw people speaking about the NES version around here.

[Arino]

Years ago I managed to 1CC (2-ALL) Cho Makaimura (SFC) on default difficulty. I loved it, it was so much fun, I love the double jump and didn't mind the slowdowns. Just like with so many other games after the 1CC I wanted to go for a no miss or highest difficulty, but I wanted to play something else for a change first and then never got back to the game.

Still haven't learned the other games of the series either.

[samspot]

The original game plays and sounds great on CAS, so I thought I’d play Dai there. But it feels laggy and the sound is muffled compared to MiSTer. I don’t have a way to test lag.

I played some more of Rez. It’s brutal, much harder than the classic games.