New Member and question.

[Needmoarbombs]

I was digging through some things in storage and came across a box that I've brought back from Japan almost 15 years ago. It was a collection of import games that I managed to bring home (lost a lot more) after I ended my tour. Pleasantly surprised to see that the majority of my schmup collection made it home. The nostalgia of seeing those games hit me hard and so I started looking online for schmup resources which eventually lead me to this site. My love for schmup games started in the 8 bit era Gradius (konami code and that volcano stage!). When I was stationed in Japan I started buying sega saturn and ps1 titles.

There was one schmup game that I played on an arcade machine in bootcamp that has stuck with me throughout these years. I can't remember the title, all I remember of it was you pick through multiple pilots (ala sonic wings). It had a very japanese fantasy scifi feel to it like samurai/ninja stuff. The biggest detail I could remember is that whenever you blow up enemy ships or core enemy ship parts, your bonus multiplier shows up as gold treasures, like jewelry, gold statues, artifacts and big golden swords. I was hoping someone in the forum have played the same game and can recall the title.

Looking forward to reading the threads and doing some schmup meets!

[NTSC-J]

Sounds like Dimahoo/Great Mahou Daisakusen.

[Needmoarbombs]

Thanks, after looking at the screenshots and videos, it is indeed Dimahoo. Now, how to obtain it...

[z0mbie90]

Google

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Welcome Needmoarbombs to the shmups.org forum,

You've come to the right place for your shmups needs whether it be console-based, PC-based or arcade-based. This is definitely the right forum for them.

Here's the inside scoop on how to obtain your very own CPS2 Dimahoo game setup -- that'd be getting ahold of either an Japanese candy cab (or a Dynamo upright arcade game cabinet) or supergun setup and buying a Capcom CPS2 A + B board set of Dimahoo. Playing those cool arcade shmup PCBs is the best route/way to play 'em (aside from emulation with Mame, Mame32, ShmupMame, etc.).

I recall the first time I bought a supegun setup blind not knowing anything about the arcade PCB hobby. As it stands, it's a very cool hobby to get into, indeed, if you want to be able to play your favorite arcade shmups from the "golden age/silver age/bronze age" of the arcade era. You can still play your favorite arcade PCBs from the golden age era but with the correct adapters to standard Jamma format & you're good to go in that respective department.

The typical arcade Jamma PCB (like how a Capcom CPS2 A + B board set of Dimahoo is comprised of) is (akin to hooking up an ATX motherboard to a PSU) and hooked up to a supergun or dedicated upright or cocktail-table styled arcade cabinet (that's setup for standard Jamma) + powering it up. Easy as pie.

It's that prices for some of these classic Cave Co. Ltd.'s arcade shmup PCBs like Don Pachi, DoDonpachi, ESP.ra.de., Dangun Feveron/Fever SOS, Progear No Arashi, etc. have gone up in price over the years. Back in the early 2000s, it was easier and cheaper on the wallet/purse to get ahold of such Cave PCBs back in those days. Nowadays, plan on spending in the three to four figure range for such highly desired Cave PCBs these days. It's a given in this day of age.

Here's an ebay auction for a CPS2 Dimahoo "B" board (assuming if spending your hard-earned money isn't an issue & you absolutely want it right now): http://www.ebay.com/itm/Capcom-Cps2-sys ... Swz71ZV6~L

All you'd need is a CPS2 "A" motherboard (either a USA or Japan region one will suffice just fine) + a supergun = priceless memories.

Here's a Japanese supergun setup that'd be perfect for your needs (the only small issue is with the plastic piece of the power cord receptacle): http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sigma-Raijin-Ja ... SwN6JZABG1

If you get ahold of a USA region CPS2 "A" motherboard, all CPS2 based games will play with all-English language setttngs (whereas if you use a Japanese region CPS2 "A" motherboard, it'll be in Japanese with the operator's submenu screen setup). I'd recommend getting a USA region CPS2 "A" board and it'll be easier to use in the long run.

On the average, a used CPS2 "B" Dimahoo board by itself sells for between $180.00 to $350.00 for a complete A + B board set here on the Trading section of shmups.org. It also depends if if the "B" Dimahoo board has been phoenixed or not as well. A typical non-phoenixed Dimahoo board will need to have the on-board suicide battery replaced (on the average every four to five years -- "knock on wood" if it stretches into the sixth year) whereas if you have a phoenixed B board of Dimahoo, then your worries of "the dreaded CPS2 suicide battery" issue goes away.

Some other CPS2 based arcade shmup titles worth owning/playing are:

Capcom/Takumi's Mars Matrix - Hyper Solid Shooting
Capcom/Takumi's GigaWing
Capcom/Cave's Progear No Arashi (if you boot this particular CPS2 "B" board with a USA region "A" motherboard, the main title screen will simply say "Progear" -- ending stories & end credits are entirely presented in English)
Capcom's 19XX - War Against Destiny
Capcom's 1944 - The Loop Master

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Arcade PCB search Pro Tip: If you want to search for used arcade Jamma PCBs for sale on Craigslist and on eBay: your best bet is to type in the keywords of "arcade jamma PCB and/or arcade logic board" which'll net some cool end results. Good luck on your search for Dimahoo and other old-school arcade shmup PCBs. Once you get bitten by the "arcade shmup PCB bug", there's no going back. ^_~
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PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BareKnuckleRoo]

snip

*claps* Bravo. Love this response.

[Bananamatic]

lmao just use mame

[donluca]

lmao just use mame

^this.

When and if the time comes, you can start thinking about getting a cab and all that stuff.

It generally goes down this way (or at least it did for me):

• MAME on your PC with keyboard/gamepad
• Dedicated MAME machine with GroovyMAME and a CRT, plus an arcade stick
• PCBs with a supergun on your CRT
• Arcade Cab

It all depends on how passionate you are about arcade games and how deep your pockets are.

[Doctor Butler]

Welcome!

And I second the MAME Cab idea.

[colour_thief]

Schoot 'Em Up

[Sumez]

I'm surprised it took two days for someone to react to that.

[Needmoarbombs]

Thank you for the informative response PC engine fan! And yeah I think the Mame route would be fine for nowuntil I get more cash and an actual space to place some cabinets in.

I've honestly been out of the loop as far as playing schmups (rl, work, swtor mmo). The last shooter I played was Ikaruga on xbox arcade years ago. I did managed to snag a copy of Darius Burst from Limited run games and that kinda made me want to start collecting shooters again.

[Gamer707b]

Like someone already said, it does depend on your passion and your wallet. 2 very important things. I personally have always had an affection for consoles. I love to think my console can play a picture perfect version of an arcade game. I enjoy collecting console games when I can buy them. Saturn is my personal favorite for such games. Mame is good if you're cool with emulation and don't care about physical. Obviously the cheapest route, so it depends on you my friend. Cabs, pcbs wouldnt work for me financially.Way to big an investment. Even expensive console games seem cheap compared to buying Pcbs. Id rather pay my mortgage and continue to have a house. Lol. BTW, THANK YOU for your service and God bless.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Glad to help you out, Needmoarbombs. I started out with arcade emulation (with trying some arcade shmup roms to see how they fared out & figuring out if getting the actual arcade PCB later on as a worthwhile addition or not), then it was getting my feet delving into the arcade shmup PCB hobby with a lone supergun setup and finally graduating to a bona fide Japanese candy cab.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~