PSP shmup list

[rib]

which shmups including collections are available for the psp.
i know these:

gradius collection
hudsons star soldier
sengoku cannon 3
capcom collection

[AGC]

Namco Museum Battle Collection has Galaxian, Galaga and Xevious.

[iatneH]

There is also some kind of Space Invaders game. Asian version only $13 at play-asia.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

At the 2005 TGS, Bandai demoed it's upcoming PSP game, Every Extend Extra, which was slated for a January 2006 Japan release. It's now April 2006, where is EEE...is it vaporware?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Dylan1CC]

^^^^

Agreed, I wonder myself. Was definitely anticipating EEE. As mentioned, 1up.com reported a release date of Jan '06 last October. Now their profile has ?/blank under release date.

[neojma]

There is also some kind of Space Invaders game. Asian version only $13 at play-asia.

WARNING... WARNING... WARNING...

A HUGE BATTLESHIP "crappy game that might fool you into thinking it's the other (good) Space Invaders on PSP" IS COMING THIS WAY


Space Invaders: Galaxy Beat = 3D first person garbage, uses the Space Invaders name. It's horrible. Cheap, but horrible. It's one of two Space Invaders releases for PSP.

Space Invaders Pocket, on the other hand... it's a collection of arcade perfect ports of the Space Invaders series. Includes the original Space Invaders (with variants like the rainbow-colored cellophane version), Space Invaders Part 2, Return of the Invaders, Majestic Twelve - Space Invaders IV (an AWESOME game!), and the absolutely goofy Akkanvader (aka Space Invaders '95 - Attack of the Lunar Loonies). It's VERY retro, and doesn't try to bring these games into the modern age at all. Very accurate ports, perfect from what I can tell. Fun games. It's the history of the series. I think it's most definately a worthwhile buy for PSP.

[Thunder Force]

Another PSP title to add to the list is Namco Museum Vol 2, which included the shmups Bosconian & Dragon Spirit.

Space Invaders: Galaxy Beat = 3D first person garbage

It's not really a 3D first person shooter. It's still 2D space invaders, except it gives you the option of some fake 3D views. The big change is that your shot power is increased when you fire "in rhythm" with the music. Because this is such a dominant part of gameplay, it's barely a shmup and a lot like a music game.

[LSU]

Is Galaxy Beat at least worth the current Play-Asia $13 asking price...?

Or is it really so bad that it's not even worth picking up cheap?

[Soldato J]

Is Galaxy Beat at least worth the current Play-Asia $13 asking price...?

Or is it really so bad that it's not even worth picking up cheap?

I second that question

[bVork]

Galaxy Beat is unplayable garbage. It has really, really irritating mechanics where enemies travel in a circle in and out of the field of fire. The idea is to get into a rhythm and shoot them, but it isn't fun.

Save your money and get something like the aforementioned Space Invaders Pocket collection. It isn't perfect (there are a few issues and differences in Akkanvader and Majestic 12) but its still awesome.

[malc]

galaxy beat - warrghhhh - bought it and had a couple of goes of future mode, an put it back in the box as a bad buy.

whilst looking out some games recently to sell on ebay, I plonked this back in the psp for a last go.

and guess what... it was still rubbish.... until - I got into the zone!!! (YAY!)

now, its still flawed, but I've just come off a 2 hour session with it, and I'm definitely keeping it. Here's why...

first of all, its very very confusing. I dont have the US version, so it doesnt help that the info is in jap. And neither is there much help on the web anywhere. But I managed to do something rather cool and it turned into a totally totally compulsive game.

OK, mini faq coming. You have two buttons, normal shot and beat shot. To play the game, shoot using NORMAL (circle button) shot at the normal wee aliens until they die. (duh!) Ignore the motherships for now.

You'll notice that if you kill a column of 5 (4 on easy mode) of them you gain an item. Keep killing lots of them til you gain about 25 or so items. Items are basically BEAT shots. Dont bother much with columns which have less than 4 aliens, as they are more unlikely to reap items from. If the mothership is spawning wee enemies slowly, let it spawn lots and have a break til theres full columns. However, some types of enemies or more likely to give an item than others - try and recognise them.

DONT make the mistake I did, and assume you have to time your shots to kill the wee baddies. Just stand in front of them and fire your normal shot until the die. Holding fire gives autofire, which is slightly less powerful, but not much. I use autofire anyway. Just dont try to shoot them in time with the beat, its not necessary, although at first it certainly seems like you should be doing just that. Or maybe you are, I dunno, I cant read the instructions. Forget it unless you know specifically that you are. Didnt help me any though.

Then there are two types of BEAT shots. There is a normal BEAT shot, and a BREAK shot. Lets start with the first. you can press the beat shot button (triangle) on any beat (check the far left top counter icon) and it fires a beat shot. The beat shot starts as quite a weak thing, barely capable of blasting an entire column of wee baddies. But if you combo the shots (that is, getting 4 beat shots in a row) your beat shot gets better. Its actually very easy to do, missing is hard after a while. You'll hear a little PLINK sound when you miss, so you'll know if you arent gettin git right. Also, you can cancel any enemy bullets when you do a beat shot, so you dont need to dodge using them.

To get 2, 3 or 4 beat shots in a row (and thus get a combo), you must press on every beat in the bar, not just the first beat on the bar. After a while, you'll notice that your beat shot becomes capable of wiping out 2 or 3 columns of aliens at once. Keep using your normal shot every so often to keep your items up a bit. You'll find as you get better you wont need to though. Once you get into the swing of it you'll find that you are quickly nipping from column to column, taking them out with every beat.

This is where you basically get into the zone. Continue to ignore the motherships until you gain about 100 or so items. This is very quick, now that the beat shot is so powerful. Totall stop using normal shot at this time, its worthless. Just concentrate on doing lots of beat shots, and combos. Brilliant fun, honest! while you are doing all this, the music gets more channels added as your beat shot power improves.

The point here is to amass item (beat shots) as much as possible, and to upgrade your beat shot as much as possible too. I think the channels in the music have something to do with the strength of beat shot - the more channels the more powerful the beat shot is.

Once you have your beat shot at 8 or 9 power, its capable of wiping out 3 columns of enemies at once, and you dont even need to aim that well. When you get here, every beat shot item you use gains you about 2 or 3 in return. This is important!

Then theres the BREAK shot. This is a type of beat shot that you start at the very beginning of the 4th bar of the music loop, and hold until its just before the very end of the 4th bar. Helpfully, the icons at the top left have 4 bars which you can see, to use visually. Plus the word CHARGE appears when its time.

This results in a huge explosion, wiping out everything in the vicinity. It also hurts the motherships too if they are around, usually upping your beat shot power a bit too. But it doesnt give you any more items, sadly. Break shot is easy to do, once you know how to do it. Make sure you start JUST after the 4th bar of music has started, and let go of the button JUST before the 4th bar finishes entirely. Imagine it as a clock. Hold the button on 1 oclock and let go at 11 oclock. Practice them, but keep break shots for motherships if you are low on items.

WARNING: Get too mad with destroying little enemies and you'll find there might be hardly any left for you to get items from. Although motherships spawn new ones, it can be slow. SO find the balance between destroying just enough wee enemies with a break shot to up your beat shot power, but not too little that it doesnt up it at all. You do need to milk them the best way. Normal button milks them best because it doesnt use up any items, but its slow, beat shotting with hi power weapon gives you more items than you expend, and break shot raises your power best, but kills too many wee baddies at a time and doesnt give you any items at all.

So, by now you might be beat shotting away madly, and not having to use any visual cues at the top left at all. This is when I got in the zone! just playing the game by feel and sound alone, and not having to continually check the beat bars. I amassed about 250 items, and then went after the motherships. You'll need about 25 items per mothership usually, as a rough guide. But I like to have lots!! Now, ignore the wee aliens. Beat shot the motherships, using combos - one beat shot per bar isnt really enough. You have to use every beat in the bar to grind away their energy. Finish them off with a BREAK shot for style. use your judgement when to shoot the break shots and beat shots, because the motherships move quite fast from left to right.

SO anyway, bash away enough at a mothership and its death bar will move up to full, and then explode nicely! Later levels have more of the buggers - just concentrate on one at a time. Refuel your items if need be, but chances are as you are beat shotting away at them you'll be wasting the wee baddies to and fueling up on items as you go. Blast all the mothers and its next level.... and more music and harder baddies. Later music gets a little harder to listen to the correct beat, I've found. Intentionally of course.

I know a few people who have this, and nobody has bothered to play it past level one. Its definitely NOT an intuitive game, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be well chuffed with what you thought of as a piss poor space invaders. Actually, I think its brilliant (yes, but a bit flawed) and doesnt remind me of space invaders much at all. In play, the sort of zoned out feel you get is more akin to Lumines or Rez. Yes, its repetitive, but so was the original SI (which I incidently hate). Its an all new kind of repetitive, the kind of trance like induced synaesthesia state that the aforementioned other titles emanate. I could play it for hours - and I did.

so if you have it in your collection gathering dust bunnies, and dont know how to play it properly, go on and give it a go. I'm glad I did - I nearly let it go without trying it properly. And if you can find one cheap, and are prepared to spend a little while getting to grips with it, I dont think you'll be that sorry. In fact, I'll bet that you'll be glad you did.

If you want a score - damn, I'd have to give it an 8/10, for sheer fun value when you work out how to play it, but a 1/10 if you don't. It wont last forever though, but while it does it burns bright.

oh, and its best with good headphones, up loud.

PS: if you find it hard - play it on easy: little enemies take less hits. On normal mode you might have to not use the autofire as it takes 2 autofire hits to fully kill a wee baddy.

byebye - malc

(first post in bloody months!! years??)

[Soldato J]

Hmnn......very interesting

[Thunder Force]

Nice review malc, I agree with most of that. The game is definitely not for everyone, but I think it'll find gradually more of an audience over time, as long as people are in more of a Lumines frame of mind when they buy it. It really is a rhythm game in shmup's clothing...

Then theres the BREAK shot. This is a type of beat shot that you start at the very beginning of the 4th bar of the music loop, and hold until its just before the very end of the 4th bar. Helpfully, the icons at the top left have 4 bars which you can see, to use visually. Plus the word CHARGE appears when its time. This results in a huge explosion, wiping out everything in the vicinity.

I knew about the Beat shot but wasn't really aware of a specific way to do the Break shot, so I'll have to give this a try again soon.

[malc]

hi TF! Been messing with it again, to try and find the best way to raise the beat counter up (better weapon, more music channels). I'm finding that break shots raise it up quite nicely, more than anything else in fact. Doing a bunch of nicely timed beat shots works good too, as well as combos, but they use a hell of a lot more items than a break shot and you end up with no items in stock really easily again. I think the key here is "getting over the hill" - once you do , you're coasting! Its easier to get there in easy mode, but far more satisfying in normal mode.


if i want to be really crude here, I could liken it to masturbating. Easy is two hands and lube, normal is one hande..... erk, better stop right there. Play it though and you'll see the analogy isnt that inaccurate in gameplay and goals. Both are rhythm shooting games after all.....

malc

[Thunder Force]

Both are rhythm shooting games after all

Jokes like that remind me of the Aural Six days of the site. Classic.

[Ceph]

Wow, The Malc is not a mere myth! He does indeed exist!!

[Soldato J]

Wow, The Malc is not a mere myth! He does indeed exist!!

And with a badass avatar to boot

[Ceph]

Hello Malc, nice to read you. Since you are here I have a request to make: Please allow someone you trust to make updates to shmups.com, especially the xenocide files. Members of the forum have been collecting stuff that needs an update here: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=6571
Out of desperation people recently started a reviews section in this forum http://shmups.system11.org/viewforum.php?f=10
Thank you!

[Damocles]

Resurrecting an old thread, since a new one is pointless. Star Soldier on the PSP is now getting a "Best" version.

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-if- ... -1qh2.html

[vtmobius]

a claymation game called Platypus.