Magical Drop Miscellanies

[Acid King]

We don't really have a general thread for this series so I thought I'd start one. Magical Drop 3 hasn't left my cab for the past 6 months or so. I've been playing a few credits each day, mostly in Survival mode on Normal. I've decided to flip my monitor and put Battle Bakraid back in (It's been more than 4 years since it had a home in my Astro) but I'm determined to one credit clear Survival mode on Normal atleast once before I make the switch. Any experienced players here with tips? So far I've managed to make it to Level 19 which is nearly the end (assuming it's only 20 levels). but those kinds of runs are few and far between. One thing I have noticed is that the clown moves much faster in the attract screen than it does while I'm playing it. Is there a particular trick to speed him up or is it just a matter of tapping the stick really quickly?

Also, how are the other entries in the series? I'd be curious to pick up Magical Drop 2 if I could find it fo ra reasonable price, as well as add a unibios mod to my MVS so I could run them in Japanese. How easy is that to do and any recommendations for getting started?

[cools]

I've cleared it once. During a party, on a MAME cab with a Happ Perfect 360 stick.

[Fudoh]

speaking of it. What happened to MD 5 ? Has been announced for XBLA and PSN for ages and I even heard some updated news some month ago, but boy - can't be this hard to bring this out. The featured Ghost Loop characters and game modes seem like a nice addition and it's such a classic, that I can't imagine that they can screw up a HD port as long as they keep the mechanics tight.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Come to think of it, I could use the GBC one.

[BrianC]

I like MD3 quite a bit, though the version in the Data East Arcade Classics is this odd version where the characters speak in Spanish. Sounds like the same person doing the voice for half the characters too. Are the SNES and Saturn ports worth picking up? I still need to get a NGPC and the Magical Drop for that system. I'm not interested in the GBC one. It seems to be too toned down compared to other Magical Drop games.

[BulletMagnet]

speaking of it. What happened to MD 5 ? Has been announced for XBLA and PSN for ages and I even heard some updated news some month ago, but boy - can't be this hard to bring this out.

It came out on PC some months ago, but apparently it was very buggy, not sure if they ever got around to fixing it. Off the cuff I wouldn't hold my breath for appearances on other platforms, especially considering that this is one of the few (only?) projects Golgoth ever got around to actually releasing.

I like MD3 quite a bit, though the version in the Data East Arcade Classics is this odd version where the characters speak in Spanish. Sounds like the same person doing the voice for half the characters too. Are the SNES and Saturn ports worth picking up?

Yeah, I think it's the "international" version on the Data East collection, which is a bit weird. I have the Saturn port of MD3 and like it, though I'm not enough of a series connoisseur to speak authoritatively on it...I believe it's supposed to be considerably easier on defaults than the arcade version, though. IIRC the PS1 port has a couple of extra things (and a rare reprint with a few more extras), but again I can't speak from experience.

[Acid King]

What happened to MD 5 ?

There was a Magical Drop 4?

[BulletMagnet]

I guess Golgoth considered Magical Drop F as the fourth...or just screwed up the number.

[Ruldra]

I recall reading somewhere that Black Pierrot is unbeatable on a single credit in MC3, is that true? I did see someone beating him once but it was a tool-assisted run, the player was moving almost as fast as the CPU.

[Domino]

I really enjoy playing MDIII with the Empress and the Emperor. Empress if I feel like S&M when playing VS. while the Emperor I feel like semi-homo (and his BGM isn't helping one bit).

[Pretas]

Once you play Money Idol/Puzzle Exchanger, you will never want to play Magical Drop again.

[Domino]

Once you play Money Idol/Puzzle Exchanger, you will never want to play Magical Drop again.

That game is crap. I never understood why people think it is better than MD.

Actually you tell me why you like the game?

[Pretas]

The biggest reason is that unlike MD, Money Idol allows horizontal stacking for clears. This makes for less rigid and more interesting play. To balance this out, the number of matched coins needed to make a clear varies between coin types (going as high as 5), and it's quite difficult to get two of the mass-clearing special items together to activate them.

It's a game with a much higher skill ceiling than MD, that doesn't feel like simply another variation on Puzzle Bobble.

[Mero]

I recall reading somewhere that Black Pierrot is unbeatable on a single credit in MC3, is that true? I did see someone beating him once but it was a tool-assisted run, the player was moving almost as fast as the CPU.

Yeah, I think he's impossible to beat unless you use a continue.

[Cuilan]

Once you play Money Idol/Puzzle Exchanger, you will never want to play Magical Drop again.

This right here is the absolute truth.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Once you play Money Idol/Puzzle Exchanger, you will never want to play Magical Drop again.

This right here is the absolute truth.

Yes. This so much. I'm not much of a big puzzle player either, and when I was introduced to Idol Exchanger, I was hooked. It's also got very friendly chaining as you there's a window where as a match is being made that you can grab a totally different piece and throw it for a match, and it'll count towards the chain if you're quick enough. Really awesome game to watch at high levels of play.

[Domino]

Doesn't matter how many times I play MIE, I still found the game to be too slow for my pace. Magical Drop is like a puzzle game on crap. Characters designs are better in MD too.

[trap15]

I think the character design preference comes down to taste. They're both extremely "90s Japanese Popular" designs

Compare:




Personally, I prefer the idol designs

Additionally, WAIT A CHALLENGER.

[Jeneki]

I played a bit of Magical Drop V. It was a dollar or so on Steam last month.

Do I unlock more game modes and characters if I play it more? Right now it seems like a lackluster game with less content and less characters; the King of Fighters XII of Magical Drop. For the price I paid I really can't complain, but honestly I'll stick with 3.

[GaijinPunch]

Once you play Money Idol/Puzzle Exchanger, you will never want to play Magical Drop again.

Except that you will.

Who owns the rights to Magical Drop now? So miss Data East... all the memories...

[BulletMagnet]

Doesn't matter how many times I play MIE, I still found the game to be too slow for my pace.

I think this is what it comes down to for a lot of people; Idol requires a bit more planning and plays a bit slower, while Magical Drop is mostly about making split-second decisions and tossing pieces around as fast as you possibly can. Whichever style suits you better will probably determine which is your favorite.

[BrianC]

I watched some videos of Magical Drop F. For some reason, it has 6 columns of balls like the SNES and NGPC versions. It has very different designs for the characters and The World is actually wearing clothes. I heard that it is a remake of Magical Drop III, but it looks like it's more of a console only installment of the series since it has a lot of differences.

[Hagane]

Once you play Money Idol/Puzzle Exchanger, you will never want to play Magical Drop again.

Have you ever played MD3 against a skilled human being? That's where the game truly shines, matches are blazing fast at high level.

[BulletMagnet]

it looks like it's more of a console only installment of the series since it has a lot of differences.

That's definitely the most apt description of it, since it's very much its own animal compared to the arcade installments. It even has some sort of adventure-hybrid mode where you get items to use mid-match and that sort of thing.

[BIL]

The World is actually wearing clothes.

Wut?! :[ NAWWW

[Cuilan]

Have you ever played MD3 against a skilled human being? That's where the game truly shines, matches are blazing fast at high level.

MIE's deeper game mechanics make the pacing more "manageable". Some people prefer that combination, myself included.

[Skub]

if you're playing money idol exchanger more slowly than you play magical drop then ur just a scrub lmnao

[Cuilan]

if you're playing money idol exchanger more slowly than you play magical drop then ur just a scrub lmnao

MIE's very nature requires players to plan their moves far more in advance than in MD3 (thus resulting in a slower relative pace, all else being equal), and in versus mode the player who plans ahead better is more likely to beat one who focuses more on speed. Thus, if you're spamming pieces in money idol exchanger as quickly as in magical drop then ur just a Skrub lmnao

[Davey]

I recall reading somewhere that Black Pierrot is unbeatable on a single credit in MC3, is that true? I did see someone beating him once but it was a tool-assisted run, the player was moving almost as fast as the CPU.

Yeah, I think he's impossible to beat unless you use a continue.

I don't see how it's possible. Not only is Black Pierrot's pattern super brutal (he basically dumps everything on the sides), but he literally cheats. He can teleport, whereas human players can only move one column at a time. It takes a couple continues to get the rank down low enough that he doesn't teleport anymore.

The settings make a big difference, though. I was playing at the last Chicago shmup meet, and I wanted to show people how stupidly unfair Black Pierrot is. I didn't realize until a few games in that the machine was set to Level 2, so it was a lot easier than normal. Black Pierrot moved at a fast but humanly possible speed, and I actually ended up 1CCing it. But even on the default (Level 4), region settings make a difference. When I was playing regularly, I could always get to Black Pierrot on the MAME default, which is International I think (speaks in Spanish). When I switched it to Japanese, I would usually lose a close match to Empress instead.

This is the best Black Pierrot fight I've seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIoRKIEuRsQ
This was uploaded by SF2Guile, who I believe is lolabunny on GGPO. Easily the best player I've played against on there (not that there are many); he crushes me almost every time. Sure, he has the Quota cheat to avoiding losing that way, but it is on level 8, and he beats him while he's still teleporting, which is pretty awesome.

If anybody has any better replays, by all means, please share!

As for Magical Drop vs. Money Idol Exchanger, I don't think either one is inherently better than the other. MD is faster and more visceral, whereas MIE is more strategic. Although I fully admit I'm kind of talking out of my ass here, since I have far less experience with MIE. I saw a single-player replay that blew my mind once... dude was going pretty damn fast. I've never seen it myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if high level 1v1 MIE is a lot faster than people imagine.

[Skub]

if you're playing money idol exchanger more slowly than you play magical drop then ur just a scrub lmnao

MIE's very nature requires players to plan their moves far more in advance than in MD3 (thus resulting in a slower relative pace, all else being equal), and in versus mode the player who plans ahead better is more likely to beat one who focuses more on speed. Thus, if you're spamming pieces in money idol exchanger as quickly as in magical drop then ur just a Skrub lmnao

just because you need to plan your moves "far more in advance" than in magical drop doesn't mean you have to play more slowly

just get better at pattern recognition and play faster



get on my level