Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

[endoKarb]

Still DOJ black

Almost entered the loop by way of the bomb requirement, but then I started getting mad nerves at the last boss and lost all my lives.

Still a pretty good run, NMNB all the way to stage 4, and full no miss of Stage 5 with the use of one bomb.
Stage 4 was pretty much a trainwreck; I'm still having all sort of problems with that stage. It's a matter of time I guess.

[Shepardus]

Savestate-practiced Black Heart II and Glow Squid so much that I forgot how to play the rest of the game. Having trouble getting beyond stage 3 now. Oh, and I still suck at BH2 and Glow Squid.

[Jonst]

^ keep at it guys!

Well, I've been messing about with a couple of games but still can't focus on anything in particular...

Esprade, still really fun to play and I hit stage 5 in a couple of hours but couldn't improve my score past 5.5 mil.
Insector x, md and ps2 versions. Pretty fun, nearly cleared md version but it's shit to recover just before the final boss if you lose a life and power ups
Gekirindan, again, pretty fun but I wish there were extends... (Are there any?)
Metal black, quite fun and quite tough. I'm obviously to used to cave stuff!

[Mero]

Gekirindan, again, pretty fun but I wish there were extends... (Are there any?)

There is an item based extend....... right near the end of the game. Kill the big pink midboss to get it.

[Stevens]

Stevens=cave...

What the hell right?

Metal black, quite fun and quite tough. I'm obviously to used to cave stuff!

I've watched some plays of Metal Black (awesome boss deaths!) since I would like to get into Border Down at some point and I know it's based on MB.

Also I suck suck SUCK at Border Down.

[Jonst]

Haha! Cave has you now!

It was cool to play other stuff for once, I struggled to adjust to anything that doesn't have a hit box though! I slowly started to get it, I made stage 3 of mb blind... Yeah, it's pretty tough but probably fairly do-able with enough practice and memorisation. I must say all the games I played recently felt really slow as in ship speed...

[Stevens]

I guess they do kind of have me now that I've found some games I enjoy.

I like SDOJ overall and it's fun to play, but I'm not the biggest fan of chaining and it's hard as fuck. Ill most likely try to tackle novice expert one day, but one DDP game is enough for me.

I obviously like AK and Mushi Futari well enough!

Which leaves me with Pork/Pink Sweets and Espgaluda 2.

From what I've read/watched I don't think Pink Sweets is for me at all,
Pork maybe though.

The day I bought Mushi Futari I almost bought Espgaluda 2 instead, but the recent top 25 made the decision for me. I had to see why so many people like it so much.

[Jonst]

^ good to hear!

Pork is really fun, but remember, it has a different feel as it's a yagawa game. I had a lot of fun learning to clear it, so can highly recommend it. Don't forget ddp daifukkatsu... It's a lot easier going than sdoj. Never mind the nay Sayers either, it's still a fun game (and a fairly easy clear) same goes for deathsmiles.

Esp 2 is a great game with lots of modes, and is pretty tough, it may well be more up your street than the others mentioned, but in time, check them all out. I think you went with the right games to start with though.

[endoKarb]

I guess they do kind of have me now that I've found some games I enjoy.

I like SDOJ overall and it's fun to play, but I'm not the biggest fan of chaining and it's hard as fuck. Ill most likely try to tackle novice expert one day, but one DDP game is enough for me.

Chaining doesn't really matter in SDOJ. Most of the score comes from survival and stage 5 scoring tricks.

[amdiggywhut]

Hyper Duel. Kind of addicted.

[Stevens]

I need a path for stage 5.

If you don't have a path for stage 5 you're gonna have a bad time.

[pokemon123]

pink sweets

tempted to pull a plank and call this game impossible haha.

(srs though this game is super hard,)

it's okay, my third favourite yagawa game so far.

[Stevens]

Under Defeat's 2nd loop.

Clearing the 2nd loop has been in the back of my head since I first cleared it last year. I had an idea what to expect at the time, but it was just so overwhelming. Rather than getting frustrated with it I moved on to other games and refined my business.

I went back to it tonight and reached 2-5. I think with a little work I can get it.

[LordHypnos]

I'm not sure why, but I find bullet herding in Under Defeat to be fairly difficult. That being said, I am making some progress, which is good. I can't seem to get past the third battleship, though, without bombing, and still lacking a decent boss plan.

Under Defeat's 2nd loop.

Clearing the 2nd loop has been in the back of my head since I first cleared it last year. I had an idea what to expect at the time, but it was just so overwhelming. Rather than getting frustrated with it I moved on to other games and refined my business.

I went back to it tonight and reached 2-5. I think with a little work I can get it.

I believe in you!

[Kollision]

Under Defeat's 2nd loop.

Clearing the 2nd loop has been in the back of my head since I first cleared it last year. I had an idea what to expect at the time, but it was just so overwhelming. Rather than getting frustrated with it I moved on to other games and refined my business.

I went back to it tonight and reached 2-5. I think with a little work I can get it.

I believe in you!

Yes, go for it!

[LordHypnos]

Played a bit of Eschatos, as well, and I've gotta say, as weird and disorienting as the perspective in Under Defeat is, stage 3 of Eschatos puts it to shame O_o

On the other hand, I figured out how to do stage practice in Eschatos (You can choose in game options which stage to start on), and consequently managed to make it through stages 1 and 2 without dying, Hurray! (or at least not dying more than like once or something) Really fun game!

[Stevens]

Thanks guys!

LH - It wasn't until this morning's coffee that I think I finally found a way to clear the battleship without bombing, but I haven't tested it yet. That said bomb if you need to!

I managed to beat boss 2-4 without bombing yesterday, which I found amusing because I've never beat the 1-4 boss without bombing.

Keep at it LH!

[LordHypnos]

Thanks guys!

LH - It wasn't until this morning's coffee that I think I finally found a way to clear the battleship without bombing, but I haven't tested it yet. That said bomb if you need to!

I managed to beat boss 2-4 without bombing yesterday, which I found amusing because I've never beat the 1-4 boss without bombing.

Keep at it LH!

Hahaha, thanks! That's good to know.

[Stevens]

3.5 hours with the second loop this morning. Made it to 2-4 on my first credit and then kind of bounced around practicing spots where my old route is not as efficient or spots where I would like to not bomb so I can use that sucker later.

Most of the time it's because there is something spitting revenge bullets.

I started on 2-2.

The opening of the stage is still o.k up until the part where the tanks roll off the carriers. I had to come up with a better way to deal with the tanks, followed by the 2 docked battleships. Then I needed a slightly better plan when dealing with the small battleship because the tower spits bullets in my face. I solved that by changing the order in which I rocket the tower and the 2 cannons.

The rest of the stage is o.k right up until the boss. I was able to no miss it a few times only bombing once, which is the same spot I bomb on the first loop. I was so pleased with this minor victory I saved the replay. I wish they let you save full runs...too bad.

Stage 3 is pretty much the same because NO REVENGE BULLETS. HA!

Stage 4. Right before the boss there is a spot with 7 cannons, in the past I would bomb and send a rocket at the large one. I came up with something that allows me to get past it without bombing, but also I fail to destroy the large cannon.

After that I practiced the boss to make sure my strat still works. It does, but the size of the weak spot in the spotlight seems to be a little smaller. Instead of turning the turret and getting into position while I'm firing, I turn it, stop firing, and then get in front of it. From there I noticed every time (provided I it's at the right angle for the rocket to hit) the spotlight went out there was the same pattern of enemy bullets on the screen. Definitely makes things a little easier.

Sorry for the wordy post!

[Jonst]

Damn stevens, a 2 all ud clear would be ridiculous! No doubt you will pull it off, I salute you. I know this will only be a matter of time!... I could only dream of a 1 all

[CStarFlare]

Got to Yuyuko's final spellcard in PCB Lunatic.

No missed up to the stage 4 midboss, which is basically a dream run for me - then I took four hits before the boss fight was over (usually a 1-death section for me). Many deaths with three bombs in stock.

I'm so angry at myself.

[LordHypnos]

Well, I finally managed to make it to stage 3 again in UD, and this time I managed to make it all the way to the boss, which is pretty cool. Took a few bombs, but I still ended up dying with bombs in stock, so not that many. I think my strategy for stage 2 is pretty decent with the exception of having to use a few bombs, and the boss. The window on damaging that final turret as you move along the side is very small, and there's a ton of bullets you need to deal with. Also just keep failing to notice the bullets that end up killing me. Also some of the enemies definitely fire when barely visible on the side of the screen which is problematic.

[Shepardus]

Cycling between Battle Bakraid and Progear no Arashi. Getting 100k medals is so satisfying, unfortunately I suck too much to get them very often. Cancelling long strings of bullets in Progear is also very satisfying. And Nail is cute. So is Rivet (don't care much for Chain), but Nail's more useful in gameplay and her relationship bars fill up so fast when paired with Bolt (which is nice even if it's more for the cuteness than any significant gameplay mechanic). I also like how Progear forces you to move around the whole screen to survive, not many shmups I've played really encourage that (for survival play at least) as much as Progear does. There are some interesting bullet patterns too, kind of like a predecessor to Ketsui with the way many boss patterns curve around.

[Stevens]

Played a quick credit while waiting for company - Made it to the flying tanks.

Then continued a bunch practicing the last boss.

[LordHypnos]

So, I've been playing a bit of Triggerheart Exelica alongside Under Defeat and Eschatos, and I'm liking the tractor beam thing a lot, though I'm far from getting a complete grasp on it.

Also, I remembered why I stopped playing Aero Chimera before. It's because I have to either deal with a lot of lag (vertical sync on) or very inconsistant framerate that's usually 50fps (slow) and speeds up a bunch frequently (vertical sync off). Maybe I'll try running it into the PC monitor to see if the lag is less noticeable. Damn my shitty laptop!

[Bonus!]

I'm still playing Kokuga. According to the Nintendo 3DS stats, I've put in over 20 hours already. It's becoming one of my favorite shmups, to be honest. I've cleared quite a few routes, several at 'hard', and one (B-C-Final2) on 'ultimate'. I'm not quite up for the 'boss' routes, but I'll keep grinding away at the other difficulty settings.

[Kollision]

Image Fight on Saturn.
Awful TATE mode, where I can't see the whole screen at all. Plus the B button is very unresponsive. You need to stop shooting if you want to safely switch speeds.
But the game is fun nonetheless. A vertical R-Type will always be, I guess.

[ACSeraph]

So, I've been playing a bit of Triggerheart Exelica...

The game that got me seriously into the genre. I never get tired of space wrastlin'. Make sure to play auto-swing-off or the game loses the majority of its appeal imo. Arcade version ain't got no auto-swing anyhow.

I really haven't been playing anything at all lately, I need to find something to focus on and pull myself back into the fray.

[LordHypnos]

So, I've been playing a bit of Triggerheart Exelica...

I never get tired of space wrastlin'. Make sure to play auto-swing-off or the game loses the majority of its appeal imo.

Will make sure to try this.

[Stompp]

So, I've been playing a bit of Triggerheart Exelica...

The game that got me seriously into the genre. I never get tired of space wrastlin'. Make sure to play auto-swing-off or the game loses the majority of its appeal imo. Arcade version ain't got no auto-swing anyhow.

I really haven't been playing anything at all lately, I need to find something to focus on and pull myself back into the fray.

Thanks for the reminder. I used to play it on the Naomi and got it on XBLA a while back but forgot all about it. Time to take it for a spin