As for the random ground items, they have a purpose : if you collect more than around 97% of them, you can reveal a Milestone logo in stage 5 that is worth a million points and refills the life bar.
If you plan to get another port, consider that the Wii and DC versions do not have additionnal modes while the GC version has a mode where the multiplier cap is higher. Radirgy PreciouS also has an exclusive mode, with higher difficulty.
RegalSin wrote:
I think I have downloaded so much I am bored with downloading. No really I bored with downloading stuff I might consider moving to Canada or the pacific.
Fucking Space Giraffe. Still never managed more then 25 levels on a single credit. I can rack up nine lives pretty quickly but there are a handful of levels where I'll drop several in quick succession on every run. I'd like to play the PC version with the toned down visuals, but frustrating as I find it, it's one of my favourite games this gen. Minter has put some fine shit out in recent years between this, Gridrunner and Minotron.
Been playing the MD/Genesis version of Grind Stormer/V-V (in V-V mode). Only getting to 1-4 in a single credit thus far... I always seem to get smacked by the vapor trails on those swooping craft... or they push me into a corner and loads of zako then shower the screen with bullets that are all overlapping (which decimates a shield). I'm finding that from stage 1-3 onward you really have to preemptively destroy everything, otherwise the larger enemies just start cluttering up the screen. Also, rank shoots up really violently once you max out your weapon. Ended up credit feeding through stages 1-5 and 1-6 in order to practice patterns... I can see that an SCC of just loop 1 is going to take some serious effort.
Playing lots of Burning Dragon Plus since I rolled it on the quickening. Really nice and acessible game, the stages feel a bit long-ish and reuse a lot of attacks, oftenly superposing previous waves of enemies in order to bump the challenge, but the action is nearly nonstop so I don't usually have time to get bored with that. Will probably recommend it more in the future, the scoreboards on RS could use some activity.
Also tried out that Omega Fighter BareknuckleRoo brought up some days ago and it's indeed amazing for it's time. Picking the huge battleship apart throughout the stages feels good as hell.
Mostly been playing Battle Garegga. Was consistently getting to stage 6 while ignoring medaling and only really trying to push my score on the flamingos. But medaling is infinitely more fun & satisfying. Also been trying to figure out the 1-up on stage 3, though I haven’t been having much luck. Love how the game gives you so many different ways to approach it, easily my favorite shooter…
Aside from that, I recently acquired an official Sega Saturn s-video cable (had component hooked up before), so I’m going to start going through the collection to see which games stand out w/ the graphical upgrade. Definitely already noticing a difference.
Been grinding out Batrider Normal Course, gonna breakthrough with a C score in a matter of time. Battle Garegga on the side + a little bit of Mushihimesama Maniac in UME MESS. Good times.
STG Weekly!, 1cc's, twitch, XBL: DJ Aquazition The in-game papers prove that being the paperboy is actually a position of the greatest importance,
ranking alongside top elected officials for notoriety. -Ed Oscuro
The port came in today, and I've had lots of fun so far. The game feels less like a chore and more like a game, if that makes sense. In that, not only is it very straightforward and easy to get into, but the wealth of colors and unique enemies keep it like a fresh adventure, as opposed to a going-through-the-motions slog. I think the horizontal display and the 360-degree shooting helps out in this: enemies are always coming in from every side and you are forced to move all around the screen. The weapons are cool and the bosses (what I've seen) all have a unique and fun gimmick around them (whether it be laser axes, multiple assault vehicles, or a shoot-the-core style battle ship). The game feels very inspired, in terms of color palette and enemy design.
Continuing my MD ToaPlan kick, I switched over to playing Zero Wing. Started finally getting to stage 8 on a single credit.. but holy crap at the R-Type II levels of check-point bullshit (I swear, the final boss becomes impossible after you die due to the lack of speed-ups)!!
Pink Sweets 1.00 when I have plenty of free time (which at the moment is hardly ever); PS 1.00, Battle Garegga and Battle Bakraid focused savestate practice for half an hour to an hour max when I don't.
Speaking of Bakraid, had a little time for a short stream session the other day, and beat my Normal Course PB after four short mini-sessions worth of practice earlier in the week. Now I know the subtle tricks to full-chaining Naval and Desert, I don't see a problem wiping the current Normal and Advanced #1's off the top of the boards.
Had to go wash out my brain after La Petit Princesse with some manly Thunderforce VI. I wasn't all that impressed with this when I first bought it but it's growing on me. The awesome graphics are both a blessing and a curse though; I absolutely hate the weird camera angles the game takes at times.
Battle Garegga - trying for a mid rank, moderate score clear with golden bat (ditched green gain, while its so much fun playing that character, shit gets too intense too fast, golden bat has good balance)
DFK BL - trying for a B-Bomb(auto-off) clear, also getting used to strong mode for some balls to the walls action.
Played more MD Zero Wing last night and unfortunately, I figured out the recovery pattern for the final stage 8 check point.
My credit lasted 90 minutes and I still had extends in stock when I lost interest in continuously milking the boss (arrived at the check point with 1.2 million and turned off the console after breaking 4.9 million). Every time I was down to my last life, I'd earn 2 to 3 extends.
Batrider. Played it at a cab at a meet and was actually kinda enjoying it, but then I sat down and tried it more seriously and I remember why I hate the fuck out of it. Playing it well is like studying for a fucking exam - you have to pay attention to not dropping medals (it's heartbreaking to lose a medal offscreen), not dropping your 1UP, not getting a 1UP with maxed lives or you waste the 1UP, the st5 extend is a pain to reliably get without killing the boss early or (more often) not damaging it enough to kill it, it's easy to accidentally get a Shot/Option Special Level Up which then triggers yet another one of the st5 mechs to appear... When you're playing really well it's fun, but it feels like such a chore to actually get there.
It's fun to revisit occasionally because the shot types are diverse and the team system can be fun, but the game mechanics are so damn unforgiving, I can't be bothered to even try playing it seriously. It's incredibly strict, even compared to something like DDP chaining (where you can get both scoring extends even without being terribly fantastic at chaining). Fuck Yagawa, I keep trying to see if my tastes will change, but I can't stand all the convoluted nonsense.
Jyuji and Golden are also pretty bad, they're super weak straight shot characters, sad when the spread characters outdamage them reliably. Adam is actually surprisingly good because his wave shots pierce, and you can tighten them to fire mostly forwards by holding down, so he can be kind of like a pseudo-Gain (though he's slower and his bomb is a lot worse in damage/duration/scoring).
DDP, got to stage 2-4 twice tonight which I'm happy about. I'm still dying twice on the first loop though. I need to learn the stage 4 boss glitch if I want to make it any further
"I've had quite a few pcbs of Fire Shark over time, and none of them cost me over £30 - so it won't break the bank by any standards." ~Malc
TxK [Vita].
Wow.
Made it to stage 39 in Pure mode. Stages 37 to 39 are vicious, yikes. 39's bulls and yellow zap fuckers are a distressingly lethal combination.
and jeez, is this game long -- doing a full 1CC of this game in survival sounds like hell, haha
Come check out my website, I guess. Random stuff I've worked on over the last two decades.
This game makes me sad. It does everything right with the stage design and atmosphere, has 3 totally different ships to choose from, and then shits all over it by bringing the top 3 most terrible things about the Darius series back from the grave. You get a laughable 2 shot limit (forgivable) and checkpoints from Darius 1. And you get devastating, impossible recovery from Darius II (unforgivable). It's so so unfortunate that after all the steps forward they took in Twin with the mechanics, they threw it all out in the game with particularly good content. As a Darius fan I can get past the flaws, but it's obvious why it has such a bad reputation.
Darius Force's checkpoints and death penalties keep me from investing too heavily in the game. Love the atmosphere and boss fights, but two really bad flaws just bring the whole thing down. I'm playing Darius, not R-Type!
Twin would have been so much better if enemies actually shot at you once in a while (I think one boss towards the end shoots at you; can't remember). Who knows if that would have been far too much for the SNES CPU to handle though.
Playing a lot of Dimahoo lately. No serious goals in mind, just playing around with it to see how much I like it in case I try to 1cc or chase a high score later.
I really enjoy it. I love the fast dodging, the somewhat unpredictable boss patterns, the aesthetic, and the scoring system. I especially like that feeling when you complete a bunch of sets and start going for the high score as things get super intense. And the aesthetic is amazing, when I get to the dungeon in stage 4 with it's Beholders, Treasure Chests, and Mimics, it's like I'm really playing a D&D campaign in shmup form.
RegalSin wrote:Japan an almost perfect society always threatened by outsiders....................
Instead I am stuck in the America's where women rule with an iron crotch, and a man could get arrested for sitting behind a computer too long.
in pursuit of a decent .inp file for that ST I'll be writing over the Easter break.