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i got it today by luck, played it, its fine and all, but i quite dont get what the hell im supposed to do.

ok, scratching is fine, but i dont get rolling.
what is it for? only to go faster and have the concentrated shot, or is it important for scoring?
and the roll button, is it just an easy mode forbidden in score tables for those that dont use a stick or is it a normal feature? i seem to do twice as much buzz if i use it.
so basicaly, wtf?

There are two opposite functions you perform with the Roll button:

Decrease ship speed compared to normal: Hold down Roll button

Increase ship speed compared to normal: Rhythmically and evenly tap Roll button about once per second

When you buzz while rolling you score higher and level up faster than when you buzz without rolling. Basically you need to be rolling constantly during play.

Expert players say they can score better using advanced fluid motions on a stick than using the roll button, so while a button to roll gives beginner Psy players (like myself) an advantage compared to frantically wiggling our Hori's, it should still be fine to combine hiscores with or without the roll button.

oh i see, thanks.

does anyone know the mechanic behind that?

and i noticed you shouldnt really shoot stuff in that game, i got mu best stage 1 run without shooting o_O

i wonder how much i should milk the bosses, there isnt a timer or anything, should i just count the number of patterns to know when he's going to runaway?

Have you seen the movies at the official Skonec HP? I happened to check them out a day or two ago (randomly enough... er, actually, I was looking for Homura!) and thought that they were weird but cool. I like the music, and the overall look of the game kind of makes me think back to the "good old days" of gaming. Kinda makes me want to play it!

Anyway, they are here. Check the "Screen Shots" portion of the site; There are six movies. I hope that it's not spoiling:

http://www.skonec.com/psyvariar/

I have no idea of how this person does it (and with lower-quality movies, it appears even more impressive). Watching them has been kind of half-spoiling and half-not for me, because I do not have Psyvariar but I do have Psyvariar 2, and they have pointed out some blatently obvious buzzing possibilities to me (within similar situations in Psyvariar 2). I look forward to trying them out.

The Psyvariar series does have a rather neat gameplay mechanic, once understood... I hope that we haven't seen the last.

impressive indeed..

seems the game is much more intense without the roll button.
anyway, this is the medium unit version, and i play the revision pretty much only.

the differences i noticed is that the medium unit seems a tad harder, that you can only scratch a bullet once and of course the graphical differences.

now im definitely interested in picking up psyvariar 2, but its a tad expensive, ill pick i up eventually one day.

what is the psyvariar ultimate final, anyway? is it worth getting over psy 2?

Psyvariar "Ultimate Final" is the PS2 port of Psyvariar 2: on the DC it was subtitled "The Will to Fabricate" and on the XBox it's "Extend Edition." AFAIK all the versions are relatively similar, though I could be wrong.

Psyvariar Ultimate Final (PS2) is Psyvariar 2 with an extra gallery option, a challenge mode, stage select, and a roll button, option to show boss life gauge, and a replay DVD with runs of boths types--buzz and shot. No progressive scan support and some of the glows (like on the rings Gluon spits out) and other effects are toned down. The graphics do their job, they just aren't as showy.

Psyvariar 2 The Will to Fabricate is the Dreamcast release with VGA support and more vibrant colors overall; no challenge mode, no stage select, no roll button. I don't think it has the gallery, but I don't have it to check. The Dreamcast version has the shortest load times of the three.

Psyvariar 2 Extend Edition is Psyvariar 2 on the Xbox--this should be the last choice. No VGA support (though it does support component), graphics are less sharp, does not have a roll button, no stage select. I'm not sure about the gallery option. It does offer the ability to view or upload replays via Xbox Live, but this can only be done for replays of the full game, not each Area.

Scoring system and levels are believed to be the same between the different versions.

Psyvariar 2 Ultimate Final would make a better introduction than the other two, though the purists (hardcore?) would likely prefer the Dreamcast release.


For one of the earlier posts: you probably won't get a world-record-level score without shooting anything, but generally there is no need for Quick Shots in these games (to borrow Raiden Fighters terms). More bullets is more buzz is more score. You can still take out enemies as they leave though. With practice you will find your optimal moment to take them down.

Psyvariar 2 is much more fun. And the DC version is great because there's no roll button...although I have the PS2 version as well since you really want a stage select to practice on the bullet patterns.

thanks a lot for the replies!

Indeed! Incognoscente, that was great. I knew only about the extras in the PS2 version, but your run-down gives all of the information that anyone would want, even when they don't know that they do.

I agree that for starting out, the PS2 edition seems very complete. However, I had noticed how quickly the DC version loads, but I thought that it was just me (or something). It's practically like everything's loaded already! The training modes and stage select would be nice, but truly, I hadn't wished that I had them, before I found out about the PS2 edition (although I still don't -- But, that's only because I stuck with the game and it happened to 'click').

I agree that it'd be nice to be able to have both, for good measure. But alas, no J-PS2 here, at least not yet. Nontheless, I'll be playing some Psyvariar 2 tomorrow.

Ganelon; You were speaking of Psyvariar 2 as opposed to Psyvariar, right? The sequel is truly much more fun? I'd buy the first for the soundtrack alone, I think.

(Particularly if it had a sound/BGM test, of course.)

Yeah, for me at least. Bullet patterns are more interesting. It looks better. No roll button. No paths to choose from, making it the same experience every time with a playthrough being slightly longer than the original (which admittedly had more variation). To be honest, I don't even remember the music to either of the games.

Hmm, I see. I appeal with your points, from what I've seen via the movies of Psyvariar, at least! I agree that one of the things that got me interested in the original, though, were the level names like "Forest" and "Cloudbank." Kinda reminded me of the Vectorman days, a little bit.

Well, I did follow the hype and buy the Psyvariar 2 OST... But, you've gotta admit that area 5's visuals and music going extremely well together, even if you don't remember what the music sounds like.


I know that it's simple, but, this clicked with me just now as I was reviewing the topic. Now, I'm excited to play.

Off-topic, "random thought" mention: Two-player Psyvariar (one buzz and one shooting?) would probably be enough to serve as a fairly efficient emetic, for anyone within a five-foot viewing distance of the screen.

Even the idea is enough to make me feel like puking.

In Psyvariar Complete Edition, how I put the game in TATE mode? I didn't even find an OPTION screen, let alone an option to tate the screen.

Is it possible ?

IIRC you need to push the Select button on the title screen to get to the options menu...something like that, there's definitely a menu and a tate option, though you're not the first to have trouble finding it.

Skip the intro in medium unit or revision, it should say press start button... now press select and press start to go into options