Under Defeat HD

[AntiFritz]

Shmups released by Rising Star Games are all region locked.

Except DFK of course.

[Animaitor]

Didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know

[colour_thief]

Shmups released by Rising Star Games are all region locked.

Except DFK of course.

I fully realize you will know this, but just so anyone reading your comment to get misled:

Strictly speaking, DFK is not region free, just dual region NA/PAL. It's locked for JP.

[Jeneki]

Is the North America PS3 release exclusive to certain online retailers? I checked with a couple friendly-local-game-stores, none of them even have it in their system so they can't even order one for me.

Oh well, off to Amazon I go.

[drunkninja24]

Amazon Exclusive

[gct]

Now out of stock at Amazon.ca, not sure if they ever had it available. $45 version shipping from UK-based marketplace seller, I'm not sure it's the same edition.

Would anyone in the US be willing to order one and ship it up to Canada for me? I will pay $40 or another reasonable fee for shipping and your trouble.

[HydrogLox]

Now out of stock at Amazon.ca, not sure if they ever had it available.

With items like this you have order before release day - they seem to simply collect the pre-orders and then just before or on the release date they toss enough to cover the pre-orders in a "container" in the US and conduct them through customs - that ultimately is what the $10 "surcharge" is all about (cdn$39.99 vs us$29.99) . There is no intention to keep any stock "in country".

It seems that you could order it from amazon.com. However you would have to pay shipping and an export fee (customs + brokerage) which probably will add up to more than the $10 "surcharge" that was imposed by the amazon.ca pre-order.

It looks like amazon.ca will still let you order it - they just don't make any promises to when it will ship - again, probably because all of the stock is in the US.

[BulletMagnet]

Got my copy from Amazon today, but won't get a chance to play it 'til Sunday. In the meantime here's a short interview with a couple of the G.Rev and Rising Star guys.

[BazookaBen]

Got it in the mail today. Very fun old-school shooter.

Does anyone know if they made any other changes to the graphics besides a higher resolution? In other words, if I play this in tate and 480p on a 4:3 CRT, will it look pretty much identical to the arcade or dreamcast version?

One downside so far is a ton of slowdown in level 2, if this isn't present in the arcade version then I wish they would have fixed it.

[HydrogLox]

In other words, if I play this in tate and 480p on a 4:3 CRT, will it look pretty much identical to the arcade or dreamcast version?

No, see here. Under Defeat HD's selling point is the New Order mode - if you want arcade-perfect vertical mode stick to the Dreamcast version. Under Defeat HD's arcade mode is more or less a variation of the New Order mode - not the original Naomi arcade version.

[ciox]

Does anyone know if they made any other changes to the graphics besides a higher resolution?

Dynamic shadows everywhere, works well with the bosses.

[Op Intensify]

Posting here for one reason only: I think I have a defective disc (US PS3 ver.).

At the start of the 1-4/2-4 boss the music plays for a few seconds, then cuts out. It's replaced by intermittent glitchy static noises. This only happens with the New Order soundtrack. With the original soundtrack the boss music does not play, just the stage music.

This is unlikely to be an issue of my PS3, it was purchased new only a few months ago and has not had disc read errors. The disc is free of scratches.

I believe someone here in the past had a lot of trouble getting a replacement in the US for a defective Akai Katana disc that wouldn't even run. I hope I have more success, unless this is something that needs a patch to be fixed.

[BulletMagnet]

Tooled around with this a little bit, so it's Magnet-pression time, which you've all been waiting with bated breath for!

- I do have the DC version of this, but I haven't played it recently enough to directly compare it with the new HD edition, so for these impressions it's more or less looking at the latter "in a vacuum".

- For a game built on Dreamcast hardware those smoky explosions and such still look pretty darn good if you ask me...though this also means they can still make some enemies and their shots tough to see at times. Some manner of visual adjustment in this area (heck, just an option tweak, so purists could keep things as they were) would have been nice, as some projectiles are already hard to make out even when the atmosphere is clear. I do appreciate support for 16:10 mode, as my monitor can take advantage; as I was obviously playing on a widescreen monitor, I can't say anything about how it looks on a SD set, though the manual says that 4:3 and 5:4 modes are in there someplace.

- Having the DLC 'copters on disc is a nice bonus, though having to switch them via the main Options menu is a bit of an inconvenience, recalling the PS2 Ibara port...I imagine that was probably the only semi-hassle-free way they could have implemented them after the fact, though. On that note, it seems that the second chopper exchanges one set of advantages for another (more constant Option fire for less accuracy), but at first blush the third one strikes me as "same as the regular craft, plus homing missiles". Am I missing something, or is it really pretty much "the original, but better"?

- Again, I can't directly compare this to the original, but in line with Kiken's linked complaints enemy craft do seem to become "active" before you can see them; my Option can definitely lock on to the ships' guns in stage 2 before they appear, though I couldn't specifically speak to whether they also get their own shots off more quickly. I also don't seem to remember quite so much slowdown overall, but maybe my memory's hazy.

- Only spent a little time on New Order mode and didn't bother with twin-stick controls...so far, apart from a few switched-up enemy appearances it feels largely the same, though perhaps longer play will clue me in to more substantial differences. I don't mind the new soundtrack (especially since it can be switched out for the original if you prefer), though I do kinda miss the boss music.

- Didn't get to Stage 4 in my attempt so can't test Op's theory. Didn't do anything online either.

- Speaking of the soundtrack, the included music CD only has six tracks, but when it's a freebie included with a 30-buck game I can't really complain. The digital artbook is a 30-or-so-page PDF file, featuring mostly concept art of the two girls, plus the promised letter of appreciation from G.Rev's head honcho (who also jokes about how they spent time designing handguns for the heroines even though they never use them, among other things).

- I'm personally not too concerned with trophies, though they seem pretty straightforward - mostly just "beat level x" on each mode, plus a few relatively simple others tacked onto the end. Though it is a bit odd to see all their descriptions WRITTEN ENTIRELY IN CAPITAL LETTERS. On that note, the game takes a minute to load trophy data and create a save file when you first pop it in, but it doesn't install to the HD (or if it does, it does so darn fast); no real need to, I suppose, as there's not much load time to speak of.

- In-game the word "cannon" is spelled correctly. In the instruction manual it is not.

Anyways, I can't honestly say that Under Defeat was ever a personal favorite, but I'm still glad this managed to get here, especially in physical form; again, for half the price of most other new games it's tough to hate on Rising Star for bringing this over, even if it wouldn't have been my first choice.

[Op Intensify]

Did some testing with the New Order music glitch/defect.

I can only get it to occur on the first time I play the Stage 4 boss upon starting the game. Every time I quit to the PS3 menu and restart the game it happens again, but only once. Couldn't get the original soundtrack glitch to happen again.

So it's not horribly intrusive, but it is annoying and makes me worry about other problems with the game that I might not have encountered yet. Haven't played the Stage 5 boss yet.

[EmperorIng]

When I watch videos of New Order I am struck by how remarkably similar it is to the arcade mode - a few quick glances have not yielded any substantial differences. Some bigger UD-nuts than I would probably have more to say.

[genetik]

Now out of stock at Amazon.ca, not sure if they ever had it available.

With items like this you have order before release day - they seem to simply collect the pre-orders and then just before or on the release date they toss enough to cover the pre-orders in a "container" in the US and conduct them through customs - that ultimately is what the $10 "surcharge" is all about (cdn$39.99 vs us$29.99) . There is no intention to keep any stock "in country".

It seems that you could order it from amazon.com. However you would have to pay shipping and an export fee (customs + brokerage) which probably will add up to more than the $10 "surcharge" that was imposed by the amazon.ca pre-order.

It looks like amazon.ca will still let you order it - they just don't make any promises to when it will ship - again, probably because all of the stock is in the US.

You might as well order from Amazon.com. It's what I did. With import fees and shipping cost, it added up to $45. When .ca had it in stock it was at $39.99, so with taxes (in Quebec at least), it came to $46. On the plus side, when ordering at .com, they often refund you the import fee down the line if they actually didn't have to pay custom fees on it. (takes some time though, like many weeks).

[gct]

Thanks for the tip, genetik. At this time I think I may actually pass on this and stick with my Dreamcast LE. Maybe I will change my mind again later.

[R79]

Wow, just saw this for sale on Amazon UK. What a nice little Christmas treat! The DC game kinda shot out my current price range way too quick, so delighted with this. Do like a mil-themed shooter (Strikers, Garegga etc.)

[drunkninja24]

Are there issues with scores updating on the PSN leaderboards? I've got a score that should put me in the top 5 arcade rankings, but it doesn't seem to be showing up for some reason, though a friend of mine just played and had his score update there, which is #1 right now.

[Super Laydock]

Are there issues with scores updating on the PSN leaderboards? I've got a score that should put me in the top 5 arcade rankings, but it doesn't seem to be showing up for some reason, though a friend of mine just played and had his score update there, which is #1 right now.

All I know is that right after getting a submittable score and 'uploading' it, it doesn't show up right away.
When play the game again after having it shut down once, the score does show up where it's supposed to be.

check again!?


also if you both played using the same PSN account and he scored better, only his score wil show. Use different account to have both scores shown.

[Kiken]

Are there issues with scores updating on the PSN leaderboards? I've got a score that should put me in the top 5 arcade rankings, but it doesn't seem to be showing up for some reason, though a friend of mine just played and had his score update there, which is #1 right now.

And how are the US Arcade Mode score boards looking at the moment?

[drunkninja24]

Are there issues with scores updating on the PSN leaderboards? I've got a score that should put me in the top 5 arcade rankings, but it doesn't seem to be showing up for some reason, though a friend of mine just played and had his score update there, which is #1 right now.

And how are the US Arcade Mode score boards looking at the moment?

ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Jeneki]

A bit better, at least one score on stage 5 now. Thankfully the stage 4 boss is not too horrible, especially after that total asshole stage 3 boss.

[Animaitor]

Nice score Jeneki!

At least one of the players on that ranking is not American.

[drunkninja24]

Doesn't seem as if the leaderboards differentiate the ships at all. Got the #2 score using the RSG ship, just about 1000 pts shy of Jeneki's score lol.

Doesn't seem like a bad ship, definitely useful for taking out large enemy swarms.

[drunkninja24]

Gave the white chopper a run, is it just me, or holy shit does this thing suck?

There seems to be no way to get any 2x scores with it, and the wide fire is largely worthless with how little damage it does :/

[Jeneki]

The only thing I found interesting on the white chopper is with the rocket powerup. It fires them at a reasonable rate without much recharge. Other powerups I don't seem much extra benefit. But yea, no 2x multipliers ever. Screw that.

The fourth chopper, holy hell that's a powerhouse. The constant stream of missiles is tough. Not to mention it can hit stuff behind you such as the stage 3 boss, or kill tanks before the leave the bunker at the end of stage 1 for an effortless 100% kill rate. The extra missiles may be a bit of a detriment since they seem to do their own thing, making it easy to accidentally kill enemies needed for big 2x rocket-kills. May need some feedback from a high level player to know if this chopper has a lower scoring ceiling.

I'm just glad this game doesn't invalidate your entire run when PSN decides to randomly disconnect like a lot of 360 games do.

[Spyke]

Sorry if this has been covered already, but how do I change ships before playing (Xbox 360)?
Thanks,

Ant

Never mind - I worked it out! "Character Select".... duhh.....

[HydrogLox]

Now out of stock at Amazon.ca, not sure if they ever had it available.

You might as well order from Amazon.com.

amazon.ca just got around to cancelling my pre-order that I placed Nov. 4. Had to order it from amazon.com - ended being ~US$46.

[Kobayashi]

I got the American PSN version and I'm really enjoying the game!

I made a video of myself playing the first stage of Under Defeat HD (best watched in 1080p and full screen):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsNHAZQubKU