Holy shit! Lindbergh! (VF5 specifically)

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 8:08 am

Original thread which might get updates. This isn't shooting specifica hardware (furthest from it) so I put it here, rather than hardware.

Well, I got to play this today, and all I can say is HOLY SHIT. Absolutely stunning! Lindbergh cabinets will cost a fortune! I don't have the picture now, but basically a VF5 setup will have two cabs, with roughly 28" HD flat screens. The game was running beautifully, in what appeared to be 720P (16:9).

The game itself, while some of the moves feel different (closer to 3 than 4), there aren't that many new moves. I only played as Aoi, and a few fights as Eileen, but only managed to accidentally pull off one new move of Aoi's. Some of the people I played against (mainly Lion and Pai) did some new shit on me.

The stages, are absolutely breathtaking, especially the asian ones. They really outdid themselves on the detail. Absolutely smash the VF4 stages. One stage even has ankle-deep water.

What little character voices I heard (Lei and Aoi for sure) feature different voice actors than 4. I'm not sure if it's for the whole crew or not. I guess we'll find out later. There is, however, more sex appeal this time, but as per usual, Sega has kept it in very good taste. Aoi's B-type costume (2P) is basically a Japanese-style halter top to go with her Hakama. She has shorter hair by default as well. In a nutshell, she fits the Japanese "cuteness" a bit more, but not to the point that it'll make you vomit. Pai has a similar 2P costume. The new character, Eileen, is pretty small and agile. She plays like a cross between Lion and Pai. Basically, Lion's akwardness, and Pai's agility. I would love to learn her moves better.

Cards this time seem to be required, however, in addition to hiding your records like you could on VF4: Evo and so forth, you can actually had your current rank as well! I have no clue how this will work when fighting other people, since your opponents rank affects how yours goes up (or down). Also worth noting, is that when you finish each fight, a little "progress" bar changes, to show how much closer you are to going up to the next level. From what I noticed, you can lose points for the first 10 levels -- which wasn't the case previously.

Hmmm.... what else. VF.net has recieved a shot of steroids. An extra HD screen hooked up to the network shoes various little programs. One, showing recent stats/achivements of the area, and also of the game center you're in. If someone comes in and does a 50-win streak in the arcade down the street, it'll pop up the screen. Also, it shows "recent players", doing some moves, with what items and clothes they've equipped. Overall, very cool.

All in all, I would say Sega spent more time on bells and whistles than the game mechanics, but I think that's a good thing. The system was well made, and it will be easier for people to adapt from VF4:FT.

I had a great time when VF4 first came out. I have great memories of finishing work and throwing 100 coins into the machines for hours, smoking about a pack of cigarettes. It's for shame I won't be able to do that this time. My job outside of Japan is going well. While I think I'll end up back in Japan for the long term, VF5 will be well into it's tenure by the time that happens. Oh, well. At least it won't cost me such much money this time around.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 10:37 am

i like the HOTD4 cab... 62" plasmascreen and machineguns.. looks very sleek and awesome in veery way.. shame ill never get to play it on these shores tho.. not unless i buy one myself

Neo Rasa · Post by **Neo Rasa** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:13 pm

I'm hoping for massive success with HotD4, I'd love to see a 360 (or PS3 if it's that late) port.

VF5, God damn. I can't wait for that. I hope Namco/etc. aren't loosely spending their Japanese/South Korean arcade revenue, they'll want a lot of it saved up once VF5 drops and dominates east Asia.

Man I love a tricked out lightgun game. Remember Evil Night with the three lightguns, middle one was the pump action shotgun? There was a two player version of it but forget that.

Anyone play Beast Busters? I played the original SNK one all the damn time and it's great. Design-wise it's basically SAR: Search and Rescue (another criminally underrated SNK game, no one ever talks about it) but from the first person. I never got my hands on the HNG64 version but I heard the guns for it are awesome.

Alien 3: The Gun, hell as much as I love Alien 3 I actually think that game has a better plot than the actual movie.

Meanwhile, back in on-topic land, I wonder if VF5 will be another attempt to revitalize arcades in the US? I was kind of discouraged with how not even Namco/Nintendo/Sega COMBINED could pull it off with F-Zero AX.

Valgar · Post by **Valgar** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:43 pm

Arcades are never coming back in America. The stuff SEGA is pushing is so cool though.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:55 pm

How the fuck could American arcades afford this? They can't. The bare minimum for the stands would be like $5k apiece, but probably a shitload more. Last I checked, Net City cabs were $4 or $5 (in Japan), and they're pretty standard, and even weren't super hightech when they came out. That's a huge investment for a game that's not going to have people pumping coins into it.

Neo Rasa · Post by **Neo Rasa** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 3:00 pm

GaijinPunch wrote:How the fuck could American arcades afford this? They can't. The bare minimum for the stands would be like $5k apiece, but probably a shitload more. Last I checked, Net City cabs were $4 or $5 (in Japan), and they're pretty standard, and even weren't super hightech when they came out. That's a huge investment for a game that's not going to have people pumping coins into it.

I can dream.

Post by **Dave_K.** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:03 pm

GaijinPunch wrote:How the fuck could American arcades afford this? They can't. The bare minimum for the stands would be like $5k apiece, but probably a shitload more. Last I checked, Net City cabs were $4 or $5 (in Japan), and they're pretty standard, and even weren't super hightech when they came out. That's a huge investment for a game that's not going to have people pumping coins into it.

Well when games cost 100 YEN per play, I imagine they can afford those prices for cabs.

oxtsu · Post by **oxtsu** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 8:07 pm

The Lindbergh hardware and game Power Smash 3 cost more than the single Lindgergh cabinet. Game/hardware itself is yen600,000. A single cabinet is around yen460,000, VS cabinet at yen930,000.

Lindbergh (HotD4) in the US:
http://www.segaarcade.com/video/hod4.asp

Lindbergh spec and game lineup:
http://sega.jp/arcade/lindbergh/home.html

p.s. Anyone here check out the AfterBurner Climax loke test?
http://sega-afterburner.com/

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 9:04 pm

So you're looking at roughly $9k to $10k per game, assuming you don't have a cab yet. I would assume there's some extra fees for the card reader and maybe even the NIC for VF5. It will be interesting to see if other companies follow suit.

p.s. Anyone here check out the AfterBurner Climax loke test?
http://sega-afterburner.com/

Fuck. I would have if I went to the 1st floor.

kccttzj · Post by **kccttzj** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 6:22 am

Yeah, with all the new hardware arcade games have gotten so much more expensive. I was trying to get the owners at work to get Mario Kart Arcade, but they said it cost too much. I really want them to get HotD4. The previous HotD games do quite well, so they might invest money in it if it will make money. I can't believe the prices of these new games. No wonder arcades aren't doing well in the states. It will take so long for any of these machines to at least pay for themselves let alone make a profit.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:48 pm

To be honest, I don't think Lindberg is as expensive if you put it in relative terms. If I'm not mistaken, one Net City cab was about 400,000 yen (new), and two were required to properly play VF4 (at leaset in Japan). 600,000 seems about right, as the monitor would cost about $2k more than the 28" RGB 31khz monitor that comes w/ a Net City.