Japan shooting scene

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:52 pm

Well i've just come back from Japan and i'm so glad i went. When i went into HEY! arcade i was amazed by some the skills that i witnessed there.

It was really great being able to play some of the shooters that i've never had the chance to play yet : Raiden III, Trizeal, Gigawing Generations, Mushihimesama etc, however it felt incredibly intimidating as well.

Example : there was a guy playing Mushihimesama on Ultra and he got to the beginning of Level 3 in one credit! This was projected onto a screen, with about 20 people watching. I wanted to play once he finished but was nervous about making a tit of myself, which of course i did. I still love that game though.
"Retro shooting" games are FAR more popular there than i thought, and i guess it really opened my eyes. It also made me wan't to get a lot better at these games.
Well my game haul ended up being :
1. Blast Wind (Sat)
2. Imperishble Night. (PC)
3. Perfect Cherry Blossom. (PC)
4. Sexy Parodius
5. Metal Black. (Sat)
6. Ketsui. (pcb)
7. Dangun Feveron. (pcb)
8. Insanity DVD The madness of Battle Garrega.
9. Chaos Field (DC)
So I've got plenty to get started with. It was a real experience that i'll never forget.

Style-0 · Post by **Style-0** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:55 pm

oh man, now i'm jealous

any comments on Raiden III?

and congrats, nice stuff you bought!

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP · Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:08 pm

i respect your shmup haul..you didnt pick up 20 shmups from japan and expected to put the same amount of time in each shmup..Your game haul looks very pretty..especially the Dangun Feveron PCB!

IlMrm · Post by **IlMrm** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 9:17 pm

Nice haul.

Did you get them all in Akihabara?

I wished I lived at HEY!. It would be cool to work there at the shooter floor, since the cashier/info place is right by all the new games. And all you do is pretty much pick up and empty the ashtrays. So they hooked up Mushi to the big screen, man that must be impressive. When I was there in October they hooked up Ketsui to it. There are definitely skilled folks there, and what a pleasure it is to watch them.

zyloj · Post by **zyloj** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:02 pm

I'd like to know something about Trizeal. There are rumours about a dreamcast release in April...

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 4:10 am

To answer some questions. Yes i got all those game at Akhibarra. Raiden III played extremely well and looked fantastic, and I for one cannot wait for this title to get a port.

I thought Trizeal was quite poor to be honest, which is a bit of a dissapointment as I quite enjoyed XII Stag. The graphics looked scrapy and the gameplay and "feel" of the game was just a bit crap. Probably won't pick up the DC port.

I really wish i had the opportunity to play Ibara though. Jesus that game looks stunning.

Raidenfighter Kirkov · Thu Jan 27, 2005 4:49 pm

[quote="ord"]To answer some questions. Yes i got all those game at Akhibarra. Raiden III played extremely well and looked fantastic, and I for one cannot wait for this title to get a port.

quote]

Thank you very much for the information !

Can you tell us a little bit more about the bosses ?

Have you seen the spider tank endboss ?

Greetings
RFK

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 1:41 pm

Ahh, if only arcades all over Japan were like the HEY! center. The shmup fans might gather there, but outside of Tokyo... good luck finding someone else who recognizes the name "Cave" or "Raizing"

Ahh well, at least my local arcade still has Mushihime-sama. I can drown my sorrows away it in if necessary.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 4:29 pm

Cthulhu wrote:Ahh, if only arcades all over Japan were like the HEY! center. The shmup fans might gather there....

Guess we all should have some pilgrimage some time then!

Would be great if a lot of us could gather there at the same time to play some co-op shmupping at HEY! Gajin shmupo's invasion!

greg · Post by **greg** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 7:26 pm

I don't suppose you were able to meet up with any of the forum members living in Japan? I had posted pics of my shmuppin' day with EightOne and Yamo Skrap on the old forum, but unfortunately that thread is long gone.

Did you take many pictures of your trip, gaming or otherwise?

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 8:13 pm

greg wrote:I don't suppose you were able to meet up with any of the forum members living in Japan? I had posted pics of my shmuppin' day with EightOne and Yamo Skrap on the old forum, but unfortunately that thread is long gone.

Did you take many pictures of your trip, gaming or otherwise?

Unfortunatly i didn't get to meet any of the forum members. I was trying to meet up with Cthulhu but the forum went down and i didn't know how to get in touch with him. I was also hunting around for a Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou Black label pcb kit for Trevor Spenser, but i couldn't find one. Sorry Trevor.

It's funny how Super Laydock mentioned the word "pilgrimage" As that was exactly how it felt for me. It's something i really recommed to any who havn't been. It's amazing. Really amazing.

On another note concerning RaidenIII. i only got to the first boss. the boss was actually two large tanks. They both had these two huge revolving gun turret that spewed out bullets and lasers. The turrets resembeled the gun barrels of an aold revolver. The gamplay felt like the old raiden crossed over a little with the fighter series. The ship was a little slower that i was used too, but not prohibitly so. The "tooth paste" laser was also NOT green but back to it's old colour.

I'll post some pics when i move my stuff and get settled into my new flat, which should be next week sometime.

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 5:48 am

Ord: Yeah, sorry about losing contact. I totally blame gamespy. The bastards.

I'm glad you made it to Hey! and some of the other places in Akiba though... it's just cool to go there. I never get sick of it. (My friends -DREAD- going to Akiba with me though...

)

While shmups are still a pretty niche genre overall here, there is enough interest to keep games coming out, and to make little places like this pop up.

jordy · Post by **jordy** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:19 am

I've been reading a fair bit of insertcredit recently, in particular Tim Rogers exploits and I must say it has really peaked my interest in visiting the temples that they call arcades over there. Its on the list, thats fo sure.

Tychom · Post by **Tychom** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 3:53 pm

I'm curious where you picked up the pcbs from (Mak?) and what kind of selection they have there when it comes to shmups.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:46 pm

zyloj wrote:I'd like to know something about Trizeal. There are rumours about a dreamcast release in April...

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-x-1 ... 0-h36.html

Famitsu confirmed it'll be released April 7, cost 7,000 yen, and I'm pretty certain the first run will come with a cloth (bandanna?).

df0notfound · Post by **df0notfound** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:53 pm

jordy wrote:I've been reading a fair bit of insertcredit recently, in particular Tim Rogers exploits and I must say it has really peaked my interest in visiting the temples that they call arcades over there. Its on the list, thats fo sure.

yeah but hes just a big liar dont listen to him

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:41 pm

Tychom wrote:I'm curious where you picked up the pcbs from (Mak?) and what kind of selection they have there when it comes to shmups.

I had a look at Mak Japan, and they had a good selection of pcb's but they didn't have Ketsui which was the one i was after. So i went to GameFront which has a HUGE selection and they had every Cave game there, including Mushihimesama! They were quite cheap and very helpful. Great store.

Trevor spencer · Post by **Trevor spencer** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 4:46 pm

Ord wrote:I was also hunting around for a Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou Black label pcb kit for Trevor Spenser, but i couldn't find one. Sorry Trevor.

.

Hey no worries dude , thanks for looking for me.. man im so jealous , i will go there one day

Balzac · Post by **Balzac** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 6:37 pm

df0notfound wrote:
jordy wrote:I've been reading a fair bit of insertcredit recently, in particular Tim Rogers exploits and I must say it has really peaked my interest in visiting the temples that they call arcades over there. Its on the list, thats fo sure.
yeah but hes just a big liar dont listen to him

Tim Rogers seamlessly interweves fact with fiction in a gooey nugget of pretentiousness. He is a ROCKSTAR JOURNALIST SUPERSTAR.

Fact: Tim Rogers cannot go for two sentences without mentioning something/someone Japanese.

UnFact: Tim Rogers never stole a pink Gameboy Advance from a Japanese woman he slept with.

jordy · Post by **jordy** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 8:43 pm

.[/quote]
yeah but hes just a big liar dont listen to him[/quote]

maybe so, but he's entertaining as hell, whilst painting Japan in a inviting sort of light.

chtimi-CLA · Post by **chtimi-CLA** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 10:27 pm

i have to know before i decide what to think about raiden 3, how are the music and the explosions?

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:06 pm

Ok folks i've just got myself hooked up to broadband and my digital camera is cookin. Some of you have asked for some pics so here are a few -

The first thing you see when you get off the JR line from the subway. Follow the sign to Electric town.

Viola!

This is Hey! Arcade and it's really, really great!

This is the second level where all the games are shooters. This is also where i saw and played Raiden III for the first time.

A closer, and blurrier (sorry) look at this very cool game.

This is what melted my heart. All these cabs playing Cave games. There were more Cave games round the back.

I reluctantly left Hey! and went looking for a pcb board seller. I found what i was after at Gamefront. A New Ketsui Kit and a used Dangun Feveron Board. Yes this is me and my newly purchased goodies.

Another excellent arcade. In truth everything here puts the arcades in the west to shame.

If verts arn't your thing, then that's no problem

And finally i get to spend some QT with the stunning Mushihimesama

Thanks for your time.

Post by **Dave_K.** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:41 pm

Fantastic pictures! Thanks for posting them!

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:37 pm

Definitely cool pics. Thanks for the post.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:52 pm

Good to know Japanese?

Really, it helps learning the language?

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:37 pm

Fighter17 wrote:Good to know Japanese?

Really, it helps learning the language?

Well i got by with my phrase book, a little preperation and some good manners. People there were really very helpful.

the2bears · Post by **the2bears** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:58 am

Awesome pictures, thanks for posting them! I'm really feeling bad now that during my 2 years living in Taipei I didn't head over to Japan:( I could lose a lot of time and money in arcades like those

Bill

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 3:29 am

Akihabara is pretty easy to get through w/o Japanese, even though the shop keepers will pretty much only use Engrish as a last attempt. Just nod and say "hai"... they're usually just telling you the system your game is for.

Defcon 5 · Post by **Defcon 5** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:57 pm

Wow nice pictures, very very cool location ! Wonder why it's all that empty ?

TWITCHDOCTOR · Post by **TWITCHDOCTOR** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 8:38 pm

Awesome pics man!!! You totally made my day now.

I'm off to go and mount a blue ashtray on my X-Arcade right now...gotta run!

Hey, am I just a freak, or do all those storefront lights/signs look like GIANT Spine Cards!!!???

(second pic, to the left. Looks like I side profile of a giant import Dreamcast game) The arcade itself, looks like a shelf housing at least 5 PC-Engine cd's.