Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

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Blinge
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Blinge »

Progear is godlike

Esp.rade is trash 8) Dunno, just feels horrible to me, always has.
The ost is meh too, apart from the high school theme!
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Bananamatic
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Bananamatic »

Xyga wrote:if you don't give a crap about its flaws nor ranking in score boards there's good times to have with it
"it's good if you ignore the bad parts"
you could say the same about nazi germany
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monouchi
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by monouchi »

I mostly play survival but imo its a great game regarding the art, music, bullet patterns etc.
The boss music really has me going and some levels has some great variation in enemy encounters.
The scoring system is very fun too, especially when you get the x16 rain.

I do come back to it to practice for a no miss run.
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Xyga
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Xyga »

Bananamatic wrote:
Xyga wrote:if you don't give a crap about its flaws nor ranking in score boards there's good times to have with it
"it's good if you ignore the bad parts"
you could say the same about nazi germany
you're up for the WR of stupid comments now?
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Bananamatic
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Bananamatic »

I don't understand why people need to defend a game from criticism (sometimes by not even making a counterargument, rather by telling people to ignore it)
you're still allowed to like and play it
it's a game, it's not going to get offended if you say some aspects of it suck and turn off a significant part of the audience

"It's perfectly fine to not want to add a competitive aspect to these games and rather enjoy them on a survival level"
you could make the argument about every aspect of every game
"not every game needs to cater to people who like boss fights, just enjoy the stages"
"not every game needs easy modes, enjoy the difficulty instead"
the result is that less people will play it and then you're wondering why it's not as popular
adding a sensible scoring system doesn't detract from the survival aspect in any way, it just turns off people who enjoy playing for score

same way people defend bad writing by "just turn your brain off bro"
the result is that people who don't enjoy turning their brain off won't like it
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Sumez
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Sumez »

Bananamatic wrote:I don't understand why people need to defend a game from criticism (sometimes by not even making a counterargument, rather by telling people to ignore it)
you're still allowed to like and play it
This is entirely true, and it goes both ways.
No one is claiming that the boss milking isn't bad. People are claiming that it doesn't ruin the game. One aspect of the game isn't every aspect of the game. If you are focusing entirely on score maximizing you're allowed to not bother with that game, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of good reasons to like it. It's not a "just turn your brain off" argument.

I honestly don't care that you don't like the game personally, which you have a fine reason for. What I'm reacting to is arguments like this, which implies either that the boss milking is a be-all and-all thing, or that the game doesn't have any other qualities (which I think it obviously has):
Shepardus wrote:What do people actually like about ESP Ra.De, besides apologizing for the boss milking?
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Rue
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Rue »

I don't understand why people need to defend a game from criticism (sometimes by not even making a counterargument, rather by telling people to ignore it)
you're still allowed to like and play it
I want to point fingers at fan autism, but I think people just want to express how much they like something and why they like it. When someone comes along with an opposing opinion, it detracts from their enjoyment, and as a result they try to defend and justify the thing they enjoy because they don't want to believe that they have shit taste. The problem is that, on the internet, everything needs to be turned into a debate about objective truth instead of an expression of opinion. While it does generate decent discussion from time to time, develops individual tastes, and gives people a slightly increased appreciation for a thing, people mistake typical banter for ultra serious discussion with a winning side and a losing side.

From what I see, your criticism about milking activated a few almonds and made people think that you're claiming an entire game is awful due to the milking alone.
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Sumez »

That was indeed a claim that has been made several times in this thread already, though.
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by chum »

Esprade is a great game with some serious fucking problems

1. Jank movement
2. Slowdown up the ass
3. Arguably the boss milking, but it actually takes a lot of skill and it being in the game is fair to me. I don't think it's bad on its own personally but with how jank the game is it's not as good as it should've been

Hitbox location is stupid but you can get used to it
IDK, does anyone else sometimes find the mechanics confusing? like you think you understand them but then you start missing X16s and wonder why
Final pattern the game is fucking shit

But more positively let's look at what makes the game great

1. Aesthetics and game feel is the best CAVE has done alongside Guwange. Fucking great artwork and beautiful bullet hell. Super atmospheric final boss with wow-factor
2. Lots of fun boss patterns to dodge, especially the stage 4 boss
3. Scoring system makes for good gameplay on stage portions
4. One of the catchiest boss themes out there suits the game perfectly

Not one of CAVE's best games but even with its issues it's definitely a good game that I like
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Xyga »

Rue wrote:From what I see, your criticism about milking activated a few almonds and made people think that you're claiming an entire game is awful due to the milking alone.
No it's his usual, it's really what he thinks. One thing's wrong? It's all shit. It's banana, yet another would-be Judge Dredd of video gaming.
If we listened to people like him there would be only a handful of games worth playing in this world, those they command are good period. The rest of the games and people playing those can go to the gas chamber and the oven.

If you think people who appreciate a game like ESPrade don't understand its limits and just enjoy it for what it's worth, and if you shit on their taste, then fuck you whoever you are, your own taste's certainly shit.
There are games worth only for a joy ride and that click with people for various reasons, and a great variety of genres and levels up to games that are demanding and ideal for competition.
The constant bashing of those who DARE to enjoy the former by those who only look a the latter is fucking tiring, exhausting at lenght.
Looking for nazi mentalities in the world of video games? look at the latter, not the former.
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Some-Mist
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Some-Mist »

Bananamatic wrote: "It's perfectly fine to not want to add a competitive aspect to these games and rather enjoy them on a survival level"
you could make the argument about every aspect of every game
"not every game needs to cater to people who like boss fights, just enjoy the stages"
"not every game needs easy modes, enjoy the difficulty instead"
the result is that less people will play it and then you're wondering why it's not as popular
adding a sensible scoring system doesn't detract from the survival aspect in any way, it just turns off people who enjoy playing for score
I should probably duck out because I'm not even sure how to address this - I don't feel like you're disagreeing with me? But the one thing I want to point out is that if boss milking is so horrible that it turns off people playing for score, why were/are kamui and other folks still playing Garegga competitively within the last 5 years?

I don't like boss milking, but it's fun to poke holes
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Sumez »

I think there's a very obvious difference between Esprade milking and Garegga milking...
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Blinge »

Bananamatic wrote:I don't understand why people need to defend a game from criticism
Hah. Well for my part I can't help but take game/media/art I love and graft it onto my soul so when someone criticises it, they're criticising me. >_<
I know it's dumb.
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by Shepardus »

Sumez wrote:I honestly don't care that you don't like the game personally, which you have a fine reason for. What I'm reacting to is arguments like this, which implies either that the boss milking is a be-all and-all thing, or that the game doesn't have any other qualities (which I think it obviously has):
Shepardus wrote:What do people actually like about ESP Ra.De, besides apologizing for the boss milking?
Not a rhetorical question. I wasn't trying to imply that there are no other qualities, I was just asking because nobody was really talking about the game besides the milking and I wanted to hear people bring something new to the table. For what it's worth, I do like the aesthetic, if not much else.
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by PROMETHEUS »

i definitely enjoyed discovering and playing Esprade, I think it's not as "complete" and polished as some of the others, but it has on top of the nice music and aesthetics it has some cool gameplay and different nice patterns, i still like it
i dont know how to compare esprade's milking to garegga, but esprade's milking doesnt seem fun, Its probably more simple and repetitive, it just seems like a big flaw in the game, overlooked the points given by the weak shots of second attack
i think something i like in esprade is that many attacks are not impossible to manage without much memorization
i heard that a reason why the collision sometimes feel weird in esprade is because the bullets have a slightly curvy trajectory (??)
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ave
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by ave »

Things I like about Esprade:
- breathtaking art style
- very satisfying score system
- excellent music, especially the boss theme
- very balanced stage design, short and sweet
- a super epic final boss design with its different steps and evolutions

Things I don't like about Esprade:
- scoring can sometimes be a little inconsistent because of how the bubbles damage enemies
- the way the bomb refills feels a bit off... this was imporved in Espgaluda
- milking, obviously. I only do this on stage 1 boss, so I don't care much... but it's still a flaw
- hitbox definitely felt off for a long time, but now I got used to it
PROMETHEUS wrote:i dont know how to compare esprade's milking to garegga, but esprade's milking doesnt seem fun, Its probably more simple and repetitive, it just seems like a big flaw in the game, overlooked the points given by the weak shots of second attack
I think that's exactly right. The boss milking is very tedious but with the exception of the first boss, isn't all that easy to do and high risk, especially in stage 4. As I mentioned before and as others have said, it's what Esprade is often known for, but it's really also not all that important either. Like saying you shouldn't buy a Mercedes because their engine is factory-limited to 250kph... I mean, outside of Germany, who goes that fast anyways??
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by finisherr »

To be clear. Casually scoring in Ketsui if super fun. Love getting those 5 chips. However, getting a "good" score is what I didn't enjoy. I found myself trying to copy high-scoring runs, playing small sections of the game over and over. Just wasn't fun anymore.

My approach to playing shmups usually involves mostly full runs. I learn a little bit with each run and have fun every time I play. Nothing about it feels like work or tedious. Sometimes I'll do stage practice but that's only if i'm feeling really stuck and want to get passed something particularly challenging for me. One example of this was NMNB the stage 4 boss of SDOJ. I needed to practice that mid-boss (and a lot), to find a solution for clearing it without bombs, or hyper. It's just more fun for me to not taking scoring seriously and play the game with survival in mind.

In that case, ESP Ra.De is great. It's fun getting bigger chips. Survival play is fun. However, you won't find me milking bosses or any of that. The artwork, stage design, and flow is just good for a Cave game. Also, the fact that the game does't rely on some kind of dumb shielding or slowdown mechanic like the two Galuda games and Akai Katana is good IMO.
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by d0s »

esprade is the best looking (artstyle wise) cave game ever imo. I could never get used to the way it plays though, something about it puts me off from wanting to play it for a long time. it's really cool casually though, it just never fully clicks with me like other cave games where I feel one with the ship and I think it's something to do with the controls
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by el_rika »

It has probably the most slowdown of all (old) Cave games. Starting with level 3, regardless of the character you choose, it is a constant battle with the slowdown. You have to actually incorporate it into your strategies and muscle memory.
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by copy-paster »

Quite surprised no one talked about the secret cruel ending, one of most downer endings there!

Also can anyone show the player hitbox on all characters? The placement seems uncertain to me.
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by STGAlmond »

copy-paster wrote:Quite surprised no one talked about the secret cruel ending, one of most downer endings there!

Also can anyone show the player hitbox on all characters? The placement seems uncertain to me.
Someone asked on the previous page. There is a thread about just that.

viewtopic.php?t=6133
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Re: Is ESPRade the forgotten Cave underdog?

Post by jugemscloud »

do the hit boxes not shift a pixel or two in the direction of your movement, or compress when moving. i think that happens in donpachi as well

its the most pedestrian of caves releases, i had a pcb for a bit and its the only game I've sold that I've never really regretted it, having played it again last month (very briefly :roll:) it not something i intend to ever return to; the level structure/pacing is particularly weak and the only sort of oomph the game has is when you get decent medal drops which is too easy to manipulate and doesn't even require skill with JD. the first 4 stages are cool and the last two/ending just seems rushed.

for my money theres more thrills in looking at the pictures in otogi matsuri than the visuals in esprade
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