ps2 shmup availibility question

zro · Post by **zro** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:40 am

Hello! Please excuse me if this is a dumb question

I've just recently acquired the ability to have "free time". It has been a while since this has been possible.

I own DoJ for the PS2 but I'd like to get my hands on Mushihime Sama, Ibara, Gradius V, the Psikyo Collection with Dragon Blaze, and ESPGaluda. Where would be the best places to look out for these games (since Play-Asia seems to be out, forever) ?

Possibility percentage? 50% 70% maybe???

Thank you!

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:57 am

Ibara and Mushihimesama both got budget releases, so they can easily be had for around $30, not rare at all. Dragon Blaze can be found by itself or with the Psikyo Shooter Collection Volume 3, and isn't rare, but you will probably spend $50+ on it. Same with ESPgaluda (I think...), not rare, but it'll cost you $50-$70 or so. Might I also suggest Homura? Very solid shooter that also got a budget release, so is common and cheap.

ReKleSS · Post by **ReKleSS** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:46 am

Erm.... Ibara's budget release was cancelled. According to the Mushi Futari thread, ESPGaluda got a reprint - Arika seem to be selling it. Play-Asia have stock of ESPGaluda and Mushi at the moment. Gradius V should be easier to find, as it was released in all 3 regions.

ktownhero · Post by **ktownhero** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 3:43 pm

Play-asia wants 70 for espgaluda, but i just got a copy (w/ the superplay) for $44 shipped at wolfgames.com.

Nice to see that Mushi and Homura have best releases for only ~30 at play asia, I think I'll snag them both up!

al138 · Post by **al138** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 4:13 pm

For Ibara, you will likely need to lurk eBay to get a copy. Don't expect to pay less than $60 before shipping.

ESPGaluda, Mushi, & Homura (which is pretty good, BTW) should be fairly easy purchases at Playasia or Yesasia.com. If you liked DOJ, then ESP is definitely worth the purchase. I bought both at the same time last year, and I must say that I've spent three hours on ESP for every hour on DOJ. It's a great port of the same quality as DOJ.

(Warning: Don't expect the same great port quality with Mushi. Taito gave it a bare bones treatment with an annoying filtering effect that leaves you wishing for what might have been. It's still worth a $30 purchase, though.)

Gradius V is a tough call, though. I think I saw two used copies throughout last year at my local Gamestop/EB locations, so it could take a little patience and luck to find it domestically. Your best bet might be trying to import a NTSC-J Best of version, and Playasia has it right now for $35. Not great if you are a collector, but perfect for someone just wanting to play the game.

On a side note, if you are looking for a quality budget title that is pretty easy to get here in the US new or used, don't forget R-Type Final. It's certainly not Gradius V in quality, but it does stand alone as a decent title. I've seen used copies as low as $12.

Xexyz · Post by **Xexyz** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 4:39 pm

(Warning: Don't expect the same great port quality with Mushi. Cave gave it a bare bones treatment with an annoying filtering effect that leaves you wishing for what might have been. It's still worth a $30 purchase, though.)

Sorry to nitpick, but I had to fix this error. Taito gets a bad rep for their Cave published ports, but that's the thing, they only funded them. Cave did the PS2 port work themselves...

zro · Post by **zro** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:47 pm

Thanks guys.

Snagged Mushihime from YesAsia.com so far.. will keep you updated.

zro · Post by **zro** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:53 pm

Play-Asia's got this taito best listing of Ibara:

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-r-7 ... -1o8h.html

and it's a "preliminary". it doesn't have a release date but that leads me to believe that it will be released soon'ish?

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:01 pm

zro wrote:Play-and it's a "preliminary". it doesn't have a release date but that leads me to believe that it will be released soon'ish?

No, it will never be released. PA just felt like putting it as "tba" for some reason. It was cancelled by Taito, and Taito seems pretty much done with shmup ports thanks to their boss, Square-Enix.

zro · Post by **zro** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:06 pm

Thanks for the help guys! I am now gonna have Mushihime Sama & ESPGaluda. I've been keen on DoJ for about 2 and a half years now, I am needing something new and fresh. You guys seem to speak highly of Mushi and Galuda, so I am stoked to get them. I've played ESPGaluda once before but it wasn't for very long....

zro · Post by **zro** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:06 pm

TWE wrote:
zro wrote:Play-and it's a "preliminary". it doesn't have a release date but that leads me to believe that it will be released soon'ish?
No, it will never be released. PA just felt like putting it as "tba" for some reason. It was cancelled by Taito, and Taito seems pretty much done with shmup ports thanks to their boss, Square-Enix.

Dang

al138 · Post by **al138** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:14 am

Xexyz wrote:(Warning: Don't expect the same great port quality with Mushi. Cave gave it a bare bones treatment with an annoying filtering effect that leaves you wishing for what might have been. It's still worth a $30 purchase, though.)

Sorry to nitpick, but I had to fix this error. Taito gets a bad rep for their Cave published ports, but that's the thing, they only funded them. Cave did the PS2 port work themselves...

Oops! Well, thanks for the clarification. Bad...bad, Cave!

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:26 am

And yet, I still really love the game o_O Though, I also love Dodonpachi on the Saturn. I AM IMMUNE TO BAD PORTS!

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:32 am

Arvandor wrote:Though, I also love Dodonpachi on the Saturn. I AM IMMUNE TO BAD PORTS!

Bah, I've had to refute the whole "Saturn DDP port=bad" thing at least twice recently, I ain't doin' it again.

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:36 am

On a somewhat related note, which order should I get the following games?

DOJ
ESPGaluda
Homura
Mushihemasama

I plan to get them all so the ability to get them for a decent price supercedes which games are better.

Also, what about Shooting Love:Trizeal and Twinkle Star Spirits: la petite princess? I haven't heard much about them.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:43 am

BulletMagnet wrote:
Arvandor wrote:Though, I also love Dodonpachi on the Saturn. I AM IMMUNE TO BAD PORTS!
Bah, I've had to refute the whole "Saturn DDP port=bad" thing at least twice recently, I ain't doin' it again.

I'm just going off what others say =/ Like I said, I love it, so whatever. But then, I also love Mushihimesama, which apparently is also a bad port =P

Pirate: If you're worried about price, prioritize ESPgaluda and DOJ, as the other two have budget releases and will probably be able to be had for $30 for a long time. Besides, even if money wasn't an issue, and it was about quality, I'd still suggest ESP and DOJ first, then Mushi, then Homura.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:48 am

Arvandor wrote:I'm just going off what others say =/ Like I said, I love it, so whatever. But then, I also love Mushihimesama, which apparently is also a bad port =P

Methinks the problem is that some around here define "anything even slightly less than optimal" and "bad awful evil avoid" with the same set of terms.

Also, what about Shooting Love:Trizeal and Twinkle Star Spirits: la petite princess? I haven't heard much about them.

Haven't played Trizeal, but TSS:LPP comes recommended, especially if you don't have the first TSS on Saturn, DC, or NeoGeo: it's definitely one you want to have around when friends are over, as it's best played in 2P versus mode. Its budget release can also be had for about 30 bucks (around half of what any of the other versions go for, or less), so I'd say it's a good buy.

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:51 am

Yeah, thanks. That was my thought. Like I said. I fully plan to get all of them so it's entirely a choice of how to aquire all of them for the least amount of money. Now, though, which to get first? I'm assuming DOJ? Is it harder to come by?

zro · Post by **zro** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:41 pm

Well I have come to the conclusion that Ibara simply cannot be found on the internet.

Are there any Japan residents on shmups forums who would be able to locate a copy and accept payment for the game + shipping?

charlie chong · Post by **charlie chong** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:47 pm

there's a copy on v.g.i

http://www.videogameimports.com/get_gam ... oduct=7436

pretty expensive tho especially with the exchange rate!

zro · Post by **zro** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:59 pm

charlie chong wrote:there's a copy on v.g.i

http://www.videogameimports.com/get_gam ... oduct=7436

pretty expensive tho especially with the exchange rate!

where is the "order" button? do you know of any other sites that have it??

oh, and thank you!!!!
-----------------------

edit: nevermind.

I'd get it from there if they supported paypal

Know of any other sites??