XII Stag WTF?

This is the main shmups forum. Chat about shmups in here - keep it on-topic please!
Post Reply
User avatar
dpful
Posts: 1205
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:19 pm
Location: SLC, UT, US
Contact:

XII Stag WTF?

Post by dpful »

I hadn't played XII stag for a very long time...

AMAZING graphics, very cool style.
Great music and sounds.
Great looking bullets and explosions, etc.

Wierdest gameplay ever (in a bad way).
Long sections of holding still why strings of enemies fly into your butt, followed be strings of enemies where you wiggle back and forth, followed by sections with super fast snipes while you're suposed to left and right combos (very hard on the wrist!) that must begin with a direct (no diagonals) movement towards the enemy, who is usually not destroyed all the way, and then shoots you.

What the hell were they thinking?
Man I wish they would have kept everthing good about the game and then just let me shoot stuff. The game really looks good. I mean, it seems the game is made to play just once- and then credit feed at that! I would never want to sit through the first levels and let enemies fly into my butt twice in a row, just to memorise a later level.

At least I got to shoot some nice lungs at the end (wtf?). At the head of every great conquering military is a bio level- that's how they make all those tanks

*edit
Considering the credits, what can you expect from a game made by four people. (sure wouldn't expect it to look so great :? )

*another edit
Man, I was just researching Exzeal and found this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNbSMfHsdaE That left and right stuff looks BORING
clp

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by clp »

if they had just made a autospin feature present on the arcade original it woulda been a wicked game but seriously if you cant figure out in about 2 minutes when enemies are coming from behind you are retarded , they dont even come fast .
User avatar
Kollision
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:48 am
Location: BRA
Contact:

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by Kollision »

I think the graphics in XII Stag are superior to Trizeal's (at least in the PS2 version).
It's kind of fun after you get a hold of how to keep your chain going, and also when you find out some of the secrets. That asteroid stage is a nightmare.
User avatar
BIL
Posts: 20289
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: COLONY

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by BIL »

I wish there were more ground stages. The air ones bore me to death, but the side attack / reverse gear of doom make the ground ones play like a brawling Raiden. I love tearing into packs of tanks and helicopters while bullets are flying everywhere.
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by spadgy »

I really want to love all the Triangle Service games, because I like their oddness and their Raiden feel (and apparent relation to Seibu games), and I warm to Triangle Service as the little guys. I really do enjoy their games, but they just feel like fun oddities rather than something really special to commit to.

I wish Triangle Service would just nail the basic 90s shooter template of shoot and dodge (their ground levels) first, and forget about doing anything 'innovative' or atypical until their work is more refined.
Riot Zone
Posts: 69
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2009 5:19 am

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by Riot Zone »

Anybody ever 1 credit this game? I'm starting to think it might be impossible? (wish you could start with 5 or 6 ships too) Game does have some nice Graphics!
User avatar
Ghegs
Posts: 5075
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 6:18 am
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by Ghegs »

Riot Zone wrote:Anybody ever 1 credit this game?
Sure, even people on these very forums.
No matter how good a game is, somebody will always hate it. No matter how bad a game is, somebody will always love it.

My videos
User avatar
Herr Schatten
Posts: 3287
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:14 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by Herr Schatten »

spadgy wrote:I wish Triangle Service would just nail the basic 90s shooter template of shoot and dodge (their ground levels) first, and forget about doing anything 'innovative' or atypical until their work is more refined.
I think this is what they did with Trizeal.
User avatar
Gespenst
Posts: 778
Joined: Sun May 03, 2009 10:32 am
Location: The Wandering Sea

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by Gespenst »

dpful wrote:I hadn't played XII stag for a very long time...

AMAZING graphics, very cool style.
Great music and sounds.
Great looking bullets and explosions, etc.

Wierdest gameplay ever (in a bad way).
Long sections of holding still why strings of enemies fly into your butt, followed be strings of enemies where you wiggle back and forth, followed by sections with super fast snipes while you're suposed to left and right combos (very hard on the wrist!) that must begin with a direct (no diagonals) movement towards the enemy, who is usually not destroyed all the way, and then shoots you.

What the hell were they thinking?
Man I wish they would have kept everthing good about the game and then just let me shoot stuff. The game really looks good. I mean, it seems the game is made to play just once- and then credit feed at that! I would never want to sit through the first levels and let enemies fly into my butt twice in a row, just to memorise a later level.

At least I got to shoot some nice lungs at the end (wtf?). At the head of every great conquering military is a bio level- that's how they make all those tanks

*edit
Considering the credits, what can you expect from a game made by four people. (sure wouldn't expect it to look so great :? )

*another edit
Man, I was just researching Exzeal and found this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNbSMfHsdaE That left and right stuff looks BORING
Stage 8 = Har har. Blasting everything in a place resembling inside someone's body.
BTW, I haven't seen any option to turn on auto side attack in MAME (is there's any?)
The MAME version only need the BGM and it's perfect. (no BGM there so the action could be boring...for me)
Yeah, this shump is awesome.
Kollision wrote:I think the graphics in XII Stag are superior to Trizeal's (at least in the PS2 version).
It's kind of fun after you get a hold of how to keep your chain going, and also when you find out some of the secrets. That asteroid stage is a nightmare.
Trizeal could be much better if it uses XII Stag graphics. (yet the XII Stag ships in Trizeal looks worse compared to the original sprites)
BTW, anybody have tried XII Stag Limited?
clp

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by clp »

Riot Zone wrote:Anybody ever 1 credit this game? I'm starting to think it might be impossible? (wish you could start with 5 or 6 ships too) Game does have some nice Graphics!
aye i have on that run i lost both lives stupidly by level 3 and 1 life credited the rest of the game.
User avatar
sven666
Posts: 4544
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:04 am
Location: sweden
Contact:

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by sven666 »

dpful wrote:I hadn't played XII stag for a very long time...

AMAZING graphics, very cool style.
Great music and sounds.

Wierdest gameplay ever (in a bad way).
couldnt agree more, i think all three games from triangle had promise but they screwed them up with overly complicated and annoying scoring gimmicks.

personally i only play for score (cant help it) so i had an impossible time enjoying any of these games.
the destruction of everything, is the beginning of something new. your whole world is on fire, and soon, you'll be too..
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by spadgy »

Herr Schatten wrote:
spadgy wrote:I wish Triangle Service would just nail the basic 90s shooter template of shoot and dodge (their ground levels) first, and forget about doing anything 'innovative' or atypical until their work is more refined.
I think this is what they did with Trizeal.
Yes you're right to an extent (in my mis, but they didn't quite 'nail' it, and it still feels like it has slightly gimmicky scoring

When they did a shooter with a gimmick (XII Stag), Triangle Service got some basic shooting stages right and messed up the gimmick, but when they did Trizeal without anything desperately 'innovative', the level of the basic shooting sections seemed to drop off in quality a little.
clp

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by clp »

i have to say trizeal for me is a better game playing with the xiistag ship (which defaults auto spin ) it feels more in depth with strategy the medal chaining comes to life and has a percentage to bomb refilling based on what medals you get , which all leads to milking strategy being balanced with bomb stock for end of level bonus . So yeah trizeal with xii stag graphics and ship with auto spin default woulda been the perfect game for me .
User avatar
Herr Schatten
Posts: 3287
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:14 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by Herr Schatten »

spadgy wrote:it still feels like it has slightly gimmicky scoring
What's gimmicky about chaining medals?
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by spadgy »

Herr Schatten wrote:
spadgy wrote:it still feels like it has slightly gimmicky scoring
What's gimmicky about chaining medals?
Yeah - Gimmicky isn't the right word - it's just slightly clumsy perhaps. I'm finding it hard to explain, but it feels slightly ungainly.
lgb
Posts: 2179
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2007 2:12 pm

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by lgb »

dpful wrote:just let me shoot stuff
this got old, that's why

also touhou is made by one person and the occasional aid for some art and somehow looks better than 90% of doujins!!
User avatar
Shatterhand
Posts: 4102
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:01 am
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Contact:

Re: XII Stag WTF?

Post by Shatterhand »

I began playing XII Stag yesterday. So far reached level 5 in 1 credit.

I personally think the GFX on the game is very weak, the music is genericly boring and the SFX is very annoying, but...

... I think the game is awesome. The score system is kinda... crazy indeed, first level for example, you have to just stay still for like 95% of the time at the same spot and rack up the points... but after the 1st level ,all the levels have lots of little secrets that may improve your score a lot... since yesterday, I keep finding stuff on level 2 (The first 2 big white ships that appear side by side, they have lots of little pieces that can be destroyed for extra points before destroying the main ship... or how about...the big robots that appear after the swarm of ships coming down on the screen, there are usually only 2 of those robots, but if you kill them fast you can make show up to 5 robots)

there's some memorizing to do it, but there's also room for improvisation, and if you make a mistake you don't COMPLETELY FUCK UP your score, which is a good thing in my book.

I think the score system gives a good riskXreward gameplay on the game... you can try to play safe and just shoot stuff, or you can try to "side attack" everything... or maybe find a good balance on both. I know I've managed to chain level 2 entirely up until the last form of the boss (which I believe it's impossible to chain anyway), but actually pulling this off without dying is still kinda hard to me... also triggering the red boss here instead of the blue one sometimes means I'll lose a life on it.

And there's also scoring coming from bombs... each bullet absorbed by your bomb may be worth up to 1000 points, and it can make a difference in your score if used properly.

I believe that if you go for the 1CC, the game is pretty easy to finish, but if you go for the hi-score, you have a real fun and long-lasting game on your hands.

Also, I am pretty sure playing on PS2 is an advantage because of the autospin. Maybe I wouldn't like it that much if I had to keep waggling a stick at that rate for like 85% of the game :)
Image
Post Reply