Psyvariar;the complete edition. PAL.PS2.
It's got 'Medium unit' and 'Revision', 2 slightly different versions on it, Revision appears to be the latter version.
Both are good though....
ps. i've put a bid in for Gradius V, fingers crossed.
pps. Anyone got Gunbird se on PS2? Any good?
Psyvariar(PS2) vs Ikaruga(GC or DC)
-
TWITCHDOCTOR
- Posts: 1479
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:42 pm
- Location: South Texas USA
- Contact:
Psyvariar 2 reminds me of Ikaruga, but they're certainly not similar.
If you can only get one game, get Ikaruga, as I believe it to have more "lasting" appeal.
Both are good games, but I'm not a "die hard fan" of either due to their "unique-ness". In other words, I prefer a more straight foreward type shmup...something along the lines of what you would expect from Psikyo.
If you can only get one game, get Ikaruga, as I believe it to have more "lasting" appeal.
Both are good games, but I'm not a "die hard fan" of either due to their "unique-ness". In other words, I prefer a more straight foreward type shmup...something along the lines of what you would expect from Psikyo.
I don't think learning to "chain" in Ikaruga is nearly the nightmare it's sometimes made out to be. I get the idea some people download a few S++ videos on the net, convince themselves they can never play that way, and give up. That isn't the point though, and the game doesn't even ask you to perform at that level, certainly not initially.
The key is that the patterns have multiple solutions; obviously the ones being more "complete" demand a lot of practice and patience to execute consistently, but there are lower-level solutions that are much more accessible and sometimes made exciting through improvisation. It's no coincidence that the chain counter isn't based on a time constraint. The game is about picking and choosing- nab one chain here, one there, and if you accidently shot one white here, then go kill two white over there.
This is what really makes the level design so brilliant- that you can selectively exploit whatever parts you want, gradually adding to your repertoire. For me, this is why Ikaruga is the most richly rewarding shooter I've played, not because it's a "puzzle" game or a "memory test".
The key is that the patterns have multiple solutions; obviously the ones being more "complete" demand a lot of practice and patience to execute consistently, but there are lower-level solutions that are much more accessible and sometimes made exciting through improvisation. It's no coincidence that the chain counter isn't based on a time constraint. The game is about picking and choosing- nab one chain here, one there, and if you accidently shot one white here, then go kill two white over there.
This is what really makes the level design so brilliant- that you can selectively exploit whatever parts you want, gradually adding to your repertoire. For me, this is why Ikaruga is the most richly rewarding shooter I've played, not because it's a "puzzle" game or a "memory test".
That's a nice word on Ikaruga, WarpZone. It's good to have some verbose insight into these games! 
petrolhead, here's Psyvariar 2 for future reference:
http://nfg.2y.net/games/psyvariar2/
(Listen to the reviewer; Ignore the review and look at the pictures. The reviewer might not've understood enough about the game to formulate an accurate impression.)
If I said that I was focusing turning my focus into R-Type Final 257%, would you buy it?
Good luck on that Gradius V! By the way; Asking someone about shmups on this forum isn't exactly like asking someone in person. Here, it's more like asking someone what the definition of "apple" is, while holding a dictionary. -After asking about trains and pogo sticks and Silpheed. Just a thought.
petrolhead, here's Psyvariar 2 for future reference:
http://nfg.2y.net/games/psyvariar2/
(Listen to the reviewer; Ignore the review and look at the pictures. The reviewer might not've understood enough about the game to formulate an accurate impression.)
If I said that I was focusing turning my focus into R-Type Final 257%, would you buy it?
Good luck on that Gradius V! By the way; Asking someone about shmups on this forum isn't exactly like asking someone in person. Here, it's more like asking someone what the definition of "apple" is, while holding a dictionary. -After asking about trains and pogo sticks and Silpheed. Just a thought.
\\ /\/\ \
-
The Bullet Dodger
- Posts: 207
- Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:27 pm
- Location: Brentwood, CA
gingerj wrote:A) Why is it better?The Bullet Dodger wrote:No contest.
Ikaruga owns! It's way better than Psyvariar.
B) Are we talking Psyvarair 1 or 2 here?
A) Ummm......it's superior in visuals, gameplay, sound effects, music, challenge, bosses, backrounds, originality, etc.
B) Doesn't matter which Psyvariar is in question, does it? Don't get me wrong though. I still have love for the Psyvariars, but let's get serious here. So far, Ikaruga is the best shmup to be released after 2000.
I give up!The Bullet Dodger wrote:gingerj wrote:A) Why is it better?The Bullet Dodger wrote:No contest.
Ikaruga owns! It's way better than Psyvariar.
B) Are we talking Psyvarair 1 or 2 here?
A) Ummm......it's superior in visuals, gameplay, sound effects, music, challenge, bosses, backrounds, originality, etc.
B) Doesn't matter which Psyvariar is in question, does it? Don't get me wrong though. I still have love for the Psyvariars, but let's get serious here. So far, Ikaruga is the best shmup to be released after 2000.
At least for Bullet Dodger; A sensible decision.gingerj wrote:I give up!
What with Ikaruga being the best shmup released post-2000, and all.
That said, I actually just got done playing Psyvariar 2 on a whim (before visiting the forum), for way longer than I had planned to. Good, good stuff. It's like the shmup equivalent of taking a shower!
Ikaruga and Psyvariar 2 are like a twin helix--They're the best of their respective worlds. I suppose that I should play more of Ika before saying such, though. Still, it's my understanding that both have an unusual gameplay mechanic, both rely on understanding that mechanic for most enjoyment, and and both... erm... are vertical.
\\ /\/\ \
-
The Bullet Dodger
- Posts: 207
- Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:27 pm
- Location: Brentwood, CA
You know, it took me forever to beat Ikaruga. I beat Psyvariar 2 within a few days. It's a great shmup. I'm glad I bought it. BUT, when I first made it to the final level in Ikauga, ......wow 
. I have never been glued to the screen like that before in my life. That last level in Ikaruga is amazing. A true masterpiece.
. I have never been glued to the screen like that before in my life. That last level in Ikaruga is amazing. A true masterpiece.
Haha... sly. People really need to stop saying they beat this game. Who on the board has finished the 6 levels? I would bet less than 5.icepick wrote:I'm impressed that you were able to get to the final level in Psyvariar 2 (area 6, "Gluon") within a few days. You must've been an avid Psyvariar player beforehand.
If you like a deep & dramatic story with great atmosphere Ikaruga is better. It also has better graphics & awesome animation, but with only 5 levels & 2 weapons at your arsenal you wont be playing this for long.
Psyvariar 2 has no ingame story, similar power up system to Ikaruga & more levels. The graphics are mid-end 90's standards so don't expect anything like Ikaruga.
Psyvariar II was so short, it felt like a demo!
Psyvariar 2 has no ingame story, similar power up system to Ikaruga & more levels. The graphics are mid-end 90's standards so don't expect anything like Ikaruga.
Psyvariar II was so short, it felt like a demo!
-
TWITCHDOCTOR
- Posts: 1479
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:42 pm
- Location: South Texas USA
- Contact:
Rob wrote:Haha... sly. People really need to stop saying they beat this game. Who on the board has finished the 6 levels? I would bet less than 5.icepick wrote:I'm impressed that you were able to get to the final level in Psyvariar 2 (area 6, "Gluon") within a few days. You must've been an avid Psyvariar player beforehand.
Like I explained before...if you insert 1 credit(press start) and play through the game until you see the "end credits/staff roll" without using continues, well, thats a 1CC in my book. Maybe some here haven't reached the "extra" stage...Yes, its an "extra stage" because if it weren't, it would be there from the get-go. You have to play really well enough to be rewarded this extra stage. PLus, you'll get a higher score if you reach that far. Thats kinda like saying you haven't beat DoDonPachi until you've cleared BOTH loops. imo
It's not really an "extra" stage. It's Area 6, final stage. You just have to meet the requirement. It's not the first game to do this. In Einhander if you run out of time you don't get the final stage and a bad ending. In TF5 if you let the boss escape, you get the bad ending and an incomplete game. In Giga Wing 1 the final stage is also requirement dependent. For those who care about story: Gluon is the main enemy, and that is the final stage.
In a game with different versions of the stages based on performance, calling level 5 the end is like setting Strikers II to easy, clearing it and saying its finished. Not a clear on this forum I would think. After all, it's not like the game requires a superplay-caliber performance to get to the final stage. There's still a lot of room for optional score-based difficulty.
In a game with different versions of the stages based on performance, calling level 5 the end is like setting Strikers II to easy, clearing it and saying its finished. Not a clear on this forum I would think. After all, it's not like the game requires a superplay-caliber performance to get to the final stage. There's still a lot of room for optional score-based difficulty.
-
TWITCHDOCTOR
- Posts: 1479
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:42 pm
- Location: South Texas USA
- Contact:
Aaahh...its still a 1CC. I can live with the term "bad ending" though.
Einhander is a good example, but not GigaWing...you have to at least get to the last area without using continues...if you do, you won't get to see the stage 7 boss, not only that, 1CC means 1 credit clear, not a few continues. Using GigaWing to explain this "requirement" defeats the whole purpose.
In DoDonPachi, the game will end at the first loop, only if you don't meet the requirements for the second loop.
All these other games are quite tough, and I would hardly compare these "requirements", as playing Strikers 1945 on easy. I would expect a better comparison from you...maybe like saying you 1CC'd Ikaruga, but, yet you only played the "Trial Game". Still, BIG difference Ace!
Einhander is a good example, but not GigaWing...you have to at least get to the last area without using continues...if you do, you won't get to see the stage 7 boss, not only that, 1CC means 1 credit clear, not a few continues. Using GigaWing to explain this "requirement" defeats the whole purpose.
In DoDonPachi, the game will end at the first loop, only if you don't meet the requirements for the second loop.
All these other games are quite tough, and I would hardly compare these "requirements", as playing Strikers 1945 on easy. I would expect a better comparison from you...maybe like saying you 1CC'd Ikaruga, but, yet you only played the "Trial Game". Still, BIG difference Ace!
Rob wrote:It's almost like the whole board beat the game.
(Twitch, I don't think that any comments in this thread were directed, or even hinted at being directed at you... It's okay! Even this one.)
1CC - Psyvariar 2
Note: 1CC does not include all levels in game. Any similarity to clearing the entire game, playing as the developers intended, or eating a bunch of tacos is purely coincidental.
I mean that in the most adoring way.
Seriously! I'm hesitant to speak further on the subject because I don't want to give the Psyvariar series and its fans a bad name... but, really now. In any shooting game, one cannot see the final level if they're not ready. The issue with Psyvariar is that you can get through the game without exploiting the game system, but if this is the case, the game still doesn't allow the player to see the final level. You still have to play well to see it, and that shouldn't be different from any other game.
It's not for everybody... But if you want, and you try, then by the time that you see the final level, it'll more than likely be just as beautiful [to you] as Ikaruga's final level (which I haven't seen) is to many, because you'll understand. The only difference in this case is that Ika's final level will probably be beautiful to a wider audience, being that its general artistic qualities are probably through the roof and more readily appreciated.
Anyway, I've been thinking that anyone that likes Ikaruga will probably like Psyvariar 2, by way of logical reasoning. It takes the same amount of effort to learn and practice to play well enough to complete the game, though, which is what lots of people haven't discovered. It's also just as fun, when you're making use of the game system!
Maybe this can help them off to the right start...Rob wrote:Now go beat the game for real this time, guys.
(Rob, feel free to mention any corrections to this little exercise! You're probably much more experienced with the game than I. By the way, I have a sweet idea for a "double play" video of this game that we could make.Exercise: Reach Area 1-C
Objective: Level 35 by end of area 0.
Note: I list the shooting type method first, for those whom believe that they prefer this style of play. If this is you, then yes, you should try it first, but then try the buzz type. With hope, you'll notice that the shooting type is a much more vanilla experience, in comparison. Buzz type simply feels more "right," and while you'll need to work just as hard to get to the final level, it'll be much more fun and fulfilling. Shooting type's nice every now and then, but then again, there are lots of other games for straight shooting!
Method-
Shooting Type: Using Kei, begin rolling as soon as you start the stage for focused rapid fire. You don't need to wait for enemies to fire for buzz; You may simply fire at will. Achieve 100% destruction before the "Red Warrior" appears (you should be at level 15 or so, at this point). When you know it's coming, position yourself and time a bomb so that it detonates right as the sub-boss comes into play, causing it to explode once. Stay close and keep firing, and you'll end up filling the neutrino bar for invincibility--Move into its personal space when this happens, still spinning, still shooting, causing it to explode a couple more times. (Every time the warrior explodes, the neutrino changes color, and you want for this to be pale green as soon as possible.) Then, you must keep your fire on target for the remainder of the battle, and when the warrior begins its own rapid fire attack, you must move in close to continue shooting on target, which means that you'll also need to be chaining invincibility.to survive the incoming bullets. When it begins its blue orb final attack, you'll need to be at least at level 25. You may move in when invincible to buzz the source of the bullets while still shooting, and with luck/skill, you'll hit 35 before or shortly after it leaves.
Buzz Type: Using Yuhei, simply focus on buzzing (of course). Start rolling as soon as you begin the stage for maximum buzz, and for the most part, since this is the first level, you'll be able to simply chill on the bottom, moving ever so slightly. You'll be surprised at how little you'll need to move, until you get the hang of playing with this style. Don't worry about the destruction rate at this point; Simply milk each enemy for all of their bullets. After the last wave of enemies, move up to where the Red Warrior appears, and use a bomb (which is actually invincibility for buzz type) directly on top of it, as it comes into play. It'll explode once, and while it's doing this, continue rolling around on top of it to buzz and level up and cause it to explode a couple more times. (Again, you want the neutrino bar to go to pale green.) After this, you can either fall back and buzz as you please (and shoot), or you can come up with interesting ways of buzzing the source. In any case, be sure to buzz the rapid fire attack, and by the time that it starts the blue orb final attack, you should be at least at level 20. Move in when you're invincible, and buzz the stuffing out of the source, shooting as well, to level up like a madperson. You should hit 35 no problem; Maybe even 40 or more!
Conclusion: With area 1 now on "hard" route instead of normal, you'll have more enemies and bullets coming your way. You should be able to keep the "hard" versions coming by making use of these additional enemies and bullets. Focus on 100% destruction with Kei, and take the bosses out quickly, and you might make it to level 353 or above by the end of area 5. Truly the preferred way to play is with Yuhei, though... You get to experiment more, with buzzing new and interesting bullet patterns; You see more of these bullet patterns, instead of dispatching the enemies right away; The levels and boss battles last longer, and as mentioned, you seem to simply get more out of the game. Not to mention; Buzzing is fun, and you'll also probably level up significantly moreso than with shooting type.
)\\ /\/\ \
-
The Bullet Dodger
- Posts: 207
- Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:27 pm
- Location: Brentwood, CA
icepick wrote:I don't doubt it!The Bullet Dodger wrote:That last level in Ikaruga is amazing. A true masterpiece.
I'm impressed that you were able to get to the final level in Psyvariar 2 (area 6, "Gluon") within a few days. You must've been an avid Psyvariar player beforehand.
Not really man. You can call it beginners luck!
The game really isn't that hard, just as long as you keep moving and never stay still. Recently I've been going back to it, and it seems alot harder than before for some reason.-
incognoscente
- Posts: 927
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:33 pm
- Location: Georgia, USA
-
petrolhead
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:21 pm
gingerj wrote:Why aren't you going for Psyvariar 2: Ultimate Final on the PS2?!? The first title in the series isn't half of the game that the second is.
Because it's a bastad running NTSC games on PAL ps2's.
There does not appear to be an easy way of doing it(NO BOOT DISC'S).
I've got freeloader for the GC,cdx for DC.both work perfectly with NTSC.
PS2=nightmare.
If there is an easy way of playing ntsc on pal machines,then do tell me.
Wait you got a DC with DC-X so why aren't you just buying the DC version?petrolhead wrote:gingerj wrote:Why aren't you going for Psyvariar 2: Ultimate Final on the PS2?!? The first title in the series isn't half of the game that the second is.
Because it's a bastad running NTSC games on PAL ps2's.
There does not appear to be an easy way of doing it(NO BOOT DISC'S).
I've got freeloader for the GC,cdx for DC.both work perfectly with NTSC.
PS2=nightmare.
If there is an easy way of playing ntsc on pal machines,then do tell me.
Back to the topic I've tried going back to Ikaruga but it's just not clicking at all maybe its because I can't break 2million+ on ch1 anymore which is making me hate it, but since i've played other shooters it just seems so dull memorising enemy flight patterns. Say psyvariar 2 where teh buzz method just shreds the memorising of chains. The only thing going for Ikaruga are its obvious high production values. The backgrounds and sprites look stunning.