Milestone release 'Karous' - Arcade 2006 / Dreamcast 2007

Tigershark · Post by **Tigershark** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:04 pm

Edit: Posted comment for wrong game. Doh.

chtimi-CLA · Post by **chtimi-CLA** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:32 pm

This one too is going to be ported on DC?

Dann · Post by **Dann** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:33 pm

corect. in 2 days, actually

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 2:45 am

Dann wrote:corect. in 2 days, actually

well ... i guess you mean its gonna be released in 2 days... porting it in 2 days its kinda impossible?

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:36 am

I have been looking closely at Karous, and i think it could ver well be a welcome surprise. I think this is the best shmup you will see of the big three for DC in 07. I love the dark theme, also quoting what Dann said saying Milestone running out of ideas, i would have to disagree. I think it a fresh idea, and kudos to a young dev. willing to still support this nich genre

Kron · Post by **Kron** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:10 pm

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:26 pm

What's the disc with the Trizeal ship on the cover?

genetik · Post by **genetik** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:41 pm

Herr Schatten wrote:What's the disc with the Trizeal ship on the cover?

That's the freebie Yakumo (from Segagagadomain) included with the game.

Michaelm · Post by **Michaelm** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:50 pm

What does Yakumo mean ?

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:04 pm

NCSX are expecting their shipment in today... so I should have my copy tomorrow, along with Monster World Collection.

Now MileStone just need to release the game's soundtrack.

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:19 pm

Rajirugi/Radilgy for Radio Allergy and Karasu/Karous for Crows?

The good folks at Milestone really have a knack for awful transliterations.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:59 pm

Ceph wrote:Rajirugi/Radilgy for Radio Allergy

Rajirugi = Rajio Arerugi
Radirgy = Radio Allergy

It's a bizarre concatonation of the two words (which in Japanese are loan words) to form a new one.

Ceph wrote: Karasu/Karous for Crows

Karasu/Karous/Crows is a really weird attempt to create a word that bridges pronounciation between the Japanese and English term for this specific species of bird.

These aren't transliterations so much as attempts at creating new words.

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:48 am

Very nice game, im diggin it so far

gavin19 · Post by **gavin19** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:01 am

Yeah, nice little shooter. Very similar in many ways to Radilgy, as has been pointed out. If the palette was more colourful it would be almost identical. Still have little or no clue about the multipliers/power-ups etc, just wanted to get playing it. Made stage 3 boss on first go though, which considering I'm a below-average shmupper is kind of worrying. Enjoying it nonetheless. First play score - 22806910 - Level 57. Couldn't figure out how to use the 'wave reflect' shown in the pre-game demo either.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:03 am

g19 wrote:If the palette was more colourful it would be almost identical.

Speaking of which, how is the bullet visibility, with the limited palette? This is my biggest concern about this game...

gavin19 · Post by **gavin19** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:30 am

BulletMagnet wrote:
g19 wrote:If the palette was more colourful it would be almost identical.
Speaking of which, how is the bullet visibility, with the limited palette? This is my biggest concern about this game...

I honestly had no problems discerning between backgrounds and bullets despite the various shades of grey used. Didn't stop me getting killed a few times though

Dann · Post by **Dann** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:54 am

g19 wrote:Yeah, nice little shooter. Very similar in many ways to Radilgy, as has been pointed out. If the palette was more colourful it would be almost identical. Still have little or no clue about the multipliers/power-ups etc, just wanted to get playing it. Made stage 3 boss on first go though, which considering I'm a below-average shmupper is kind of worrying. Enjoying it nonetheless. First play score - 22806910 - Level 57. Couldn't figure out how to use the 'wave reflect' shown in the pre-game demo either.

what do you mean by wave reflect? if you're talking about the red circle that recharges via the blue vertical bar on the left, that's your DFS barrier system. when your DFS is activated you are invincible, and can kill enemies or absord bullets. any experience chips you gain (from enemies killed or bullets absorbed) will go to different weapons depending on which buttons are held when you are in the DFS. hold nothing and the XP will go to your shield, hold A and it will go to your shot, hold B and it will go to your sword, or hold A+B to divide the XP between your shot and sword.

gavin19 · Post by **gavin19** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:00 am

Dann wrote:what do you mean by wave reflect? if you're talking about the red circle that recharges via the blue vertical bar on the left, that's your DFS barrier system. when your DFS is activated you are invincible, and can kill enemies or absord bullets. any experience chips you gain (from enemies killed or bullets absorbed) will go to different weapons depending on which buttons are held when you are in the DFS. hold nothing and the XP will go to your shield, hold A and it will go to your shot, hold B and it will go to your sword, or hold A+B to divide the XP between your shot and sword.

Thanks for the info about the DFS, that cleared that up for me. About the wave attack, it reminds me of the Radilgy mid-boss waves in appearance. In the demo it shows two rows of enemy ships converging on your ship. As the bullets from them near the ship it emits a broken wave, travelling outward, which cancels all bullets in it's path and then goes on to destroy a new batch of ships which appear at the top of the screen.

Dann · Post by **Dann** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:07 am

g19 wrote:
Thanks for the info about the DFS, that cleared that up for me. About the wave attack, it reminds me of the Radilgy mid-boss waves in appearance. In the demo it shows two rows of enemy ships converging on your ship. As the bullets from them near the ship it emits a broken wave, travelling outward, which cancels all bullets in it's path and then goes on to destroy a new batch of ships which appear at the top of the screen.

i saw exactly what you were talking about. At exactly 21 seconds into the video there was that wave attack. As close as I can tell that's what happens when you have an extremely upgraded shield. His shield level is at 67 there, and it just leveled up. Since I found playing with a shield pretty boring, i never got my shield up that high; hence that could be a normal occurance when your shield is at that level, or that only heppens each time you version up. version up is, I believe, different from a level up, but i don't know at what levels you version up.

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:12 am

The more i play, the more im liking it. The graphics are real nice and it plays well and has deep gameplay. This is not Radirgy and should not be compared to it as critics have. The only thing in common is cell shading. Much better theme IMO, and very refreshing. Things were getting dull since UD. Gotta go to Danns review for more tips and more in depth gameplay explanation

Dann · Post by **Dann** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:21 am

lawnspic wrote:The more i play, the more im liking it. The graphics are real nice and it plays well and has deep gameplay. This is not Radirgy and should not be compared to it as critics have. The only thing in common is cell shading.

..and the sword, shield, email, all-encompassing barrier and a lot of enemy design.

Ayanami · Post by **Ayanami** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:08 am

Interesting game. I got it and I must say leveling your weapons is a pain in the ass. The shot levels so quickly but sword takes for ever. I am sure I am doing something wrong though. I don't know if I would recomend it over Radirgy or Exelica though.

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:33 am

Dann wrote:
lawnspic wrote:The more i play, the more im liking it. The graphics are real nice and it plays well and has deep gameplay. This is not Radirgy and should not be compared to it as critics have. The only thing in common is cell shading.

..and the sword, shield, email, all-encompassing barrier and a lot of enemy design.

Your spot on with that Dann, i just love the art direction so much it feels like a new game. It might be alot like Radirgy with a goth paint job but i like it a hell of alot more.

Dann · Post by **Dann** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:36 am

i realized i left out explaining a item in my video review. the second item down on the left is a general XP item that gives a set amount of xp to your sword, shield, or shot depending on the color.

http://www.mile-stone.co.jp/product/krs ... _sys03.jpg

gavin19 · Post by **gavin19** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:13 pm

Would it be too soon to start a hi-score thread for this one yet? I'm keen to see what other people's scores are for this one. Still can't pass the 3rd stage boss but I have been able to treble my scores from yesterday. Now I'm getting around 120 million or so with Level 90+. I can maintain the scores thread it if need be.

skink · Post by **skink** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:41 pm

I've had this and THE sitting on my desk at work all day. Such teasing. I can't wait to get home and start playing these.

I'm glad to see some positive initial reviews.

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:03 pm

Is there any news of this being ported to the Gamecube like other Milestone releases?

Hi folks, btw.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:16 pm

I think Milestone said it was making a "shooting game" for the Wii, but hasn't confirmed what it is yet. No news I'm aware of as far as the GC is concerned.

(PS - Welcome.

)

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:19 pm

g19 wrote:Would it be too soon to start a hi-score thread for this one yet?

Nah! The game is out, so it´s definitely the appropriate moment to start a High-Score thread.
The game should be on it´s way atm. I will post my scores as soon as I have had some time with it!

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:20 pm

Well, either way, that sounds pretty interesting. Cheers!