Incline Shoot'em up goodness (review and discuss)

[Matador]

Armed Police Batrider normal course 1CC.

Wanted a change of pace from Cave-danmaku games. What a great game, and didn´t scratch all the game depth, I like Raizing style, only bad aspect is bad bullet visibility.

The Normal Course is easy if you now how to avoid triggering extra final bosses in Stage 5. Just took a day of playing credits with Tag-T, type B ship, recommend that if anyone want an easy 1CC. I imagine Advance course should be much more challenging, I will try that in the future.

 

[gabel]

Eh, Raizing/Eighting shmups are utter shit.
Intransparant, unintuitive scoring mechanics, awful input lag, and unreadable graphics.
Belongs in the trash bin. Worst of the worst.

Try the Raiden Fighters games instead. Still worse than Toaplan/Cave, but enjoyable at least.

 

[Matador]

Eh, Raizing/Eighting shmups are utter shit.
Intransparant, unintuitive scoring mechanics, awful input lag, and unreadable graphics.
Belongs in the trash bin. Worst of the worst.

Try the Raiden Fighters games instead. Still worse than Toaplan/Cave, but enjoyable at least.

I think I´m going for Out Zone next, but will try some games. I have Raiden Fighters games installed.

 

[gabel]

KYS Great Deceiver, nigger.

 

[Great Deceiver]

@Great Deceiver Dedicated to you . You helped me introducing to the genre with the free sync monitor and retroarch tips, and many more noob questions I made and you answered.

Very nice to see this much progress, you're already way better than me and I've been playing these games all my life!

Congrats. I'm glad you're enjoying them. Also especially glad you're liking the wonderful Raizing games, may I recommend the very first Mahou game (Mahou Daisakusen/Sorcer Striker), it's an absolute blast. My 2nd favourite game by them is Batrider.

 

[Nutmeg]

only bad aspect is bad bullet visibility.

You can change the colour of any and all bullet types to whatever you want. A B and C on boot up to unlock the special version. Then in the game press start to pause and you will be able to change bullet colour.

 

[Nutmeg]

Eh, Raizing/Eighting shmups are utter shit.
Intransparant, unintuitive scoring mechanics, awful input lag, and unreadable graphics.
Belongs in the trash bin. Worst of the worst.

Try the Raiden Fighters games instead. Still worse than Toaplan/Cave, but enjoyable at least.

I think I´m going for Out Zone next, but will try some games. I have Raiden Fighters games installed.

Batrider is my absolute favorite. Congrats on the Normal 1CC. That was about the most challenging clear I ever achieved as well -- I never 1CC'd Dodonpachi like you. Do advanced next. It remixes the early levels in subtle ways and gives you three more, from memory. Also as I said make sure to play with special ver. so you have access to all the ships (so you can trigger all the bonus bosses) and the special course for practice.

I can also recommend Out Zone. It's an easy 1-ALL to 1CC but later loops get harder up until loop 4 or something and unlike other loopy games I don't feel exhausted after the first loop. Just kinda flow into the 2nd. Personally never made it to the 3rd but with your skill I imagine you'll easily do it.

 

[gabel]

Retards.

Once you played this genre extensively, you realise that Cave perfected it.
Or you're a retard who thinks Ikaruga is a shmup.
lel

 

[Morenatsu.]

Out Zone is amazing. Favourite Toaplan game, easily.

Normal courses are fine, but since they have less stages, it's not really a full clear, I feel.

Also Ikaruga is a shmup, kys gabel. Tell us, how far had you made it in Garegga before you ragequit?

 

[gabel]

Ikaruga is awful.
The retard-detector among "shmup-enthusiasts".

 

[Morenatsu.]

Yeah, so awful, not unlike every CAVE game since DOJ lmao get fucked

 

[Matador]

Out Zone is amazing. Favourite Toaplan game, easily.

Normal courses are fine, but since they have less stages, it's not really a full clear, I feel.

Also Ikaruga is a shmup, kys gabel. Tell us, how far had you made it in Garegga before you ragequit?

Some day will try the Advanced course.

Haven't played Garegga more than 30 minutes. Game seems cool, but the bullets are hard to see. Maybe I should try the M2 PS4 port, that had improved visibility.

 

[Nutmeg]

Out Zone is amazing. Favourite Toaplan game, easily.

Normal courses are fine, but since they have less stages, it's not really a full clear, I feel.

Also Ikaruga is a shmup, kys gabel. Tell us, how far had you made it in Garegga before you ragequit?

Some day will try the Advanced course.

Haven't played Garegga more than 30 minutes. Game seems cool, but the bullets are hard to see. Maybe I should try the M2 PS4 port, that had improved visibility.

There's a new version rom or some such that changes the colors. Saturn port as well has bullet color customization IIRC, as well as level select, difficulty adjust and other features for practice.

 

[Morenatsu.]

Out Zone is amazing. Favourite Toaplan game, easily.

Normal courses are fine, but since they have less stages, it's not really a full clear, I feel.

Also Ikaruga is a shmup, kys gabel. Tell us, how far had you made it in Garegga before you ragequit?

Some day will try the Advanced course.

Haven't played Garegga more than 30 minutes. Game seems cool, but the bullets are hard to see. Maybe I should try the M2 PS4 port, that had improved visibility.

There's a new version rom or some such that changes the colors. Saturn port as well has bullet color customization IIRC, as well as level select, difficulty adjust and other features for practice.

It's Garegga Type 2, I'm assuming, but that version gives each ship a specific option formation instead of letting you switch, which is incredibly shit and I don't understand why they did this. Might have been for balance, but it takes out one of the main features. Though Batrider also mostly didn't have it either, so.

 

[Matador]

@Great Deceiver Dedicated to you . You helped me introducing to the genre with the free sync monitor and retroarch tips, and many more noob questions I made and you answered.

Very nice to see this much progress, you're already way better than me and I've been playing these games all my life!

Congrats. I'm glad you're enjoying them. Also especially glad you're liking the wonderful Raizing games, may I recommend the very first Mahou game (Mahou Daisakusen/Sorcer Striker), it's an absolute blast. My 2nd favourite game by them is Batrider.

What are your favourite ships/option shots in Sorcer Strike? I like the game and played some credits, but didn´t got serious to try to clear it with save state practice an so.

 

[Morenatsu.]

I LIKE MIYAMOTO

 

[Nutmeg]

@Great Deceiver Dedicated to you . You helped me introducing to the genre with the free sync monitor and retroarch tips, and many more noob questions I made and you answered.

Very nice to see this much progress, you're already way better than me and I've been playing these games all my life!

Congrats. I'm glad you're enjoying them. Also especially glad you're liking the wonderful Raizing games, may I recommend the very first Mahou game (Mahou Daisakusen/Sorcer Striker), it's an absolute blast. My 2nd favourite game by them is Batrider.

What are your favourite ships/option shots in Sorcer Strike? I like the game and played some credits, but didn´t got serious to try to clear it with save state practice an so.

For me, it's Bornnam. It's a really good game but it has console game pacing in that all the challenge is in the tail end. The final boss rush and the final boss are ten times harder than the rest of the game. If you like it, check out MUSHA, Spriggan and Soldier Blade on the Megadrive and PC Engine respectively, for very similar tho slightly less refined games (the first two are even made by the same people).

 

[Matador]

I decided to go for the next level after Dodonpachi 1CC, and try to 1CC Ketsui or DOJ Black label, to be decided.

Long term projects due to the difficulty. Hope to be able to do one of them in 6 months or so, no rush, just try to enjoy and improve bit by bit.

I have to say I would like more games with Ketsui Lock-On mechanic. I think it was a genius idea that rewards good routing and sound mobility (clear popcorn spammers while you move to expected medium or big enemy->Lock on->move to safer position while locked-on clearing some of the popcorn-> release lock-on->lock another target or repeat cycle. ). I would say that is kind of forgiving if you think about it, compraed to narrow vertical laser, but the game of course launchs at you nasty creative patterns and lots of suicides assholes.

Also the scoring seems intuitive and easy to improve from the start in contrast to Dodonpachi chains (they are intuitive but too strict). It´s very fun to get into enemy hordes faces to get big chips and then look for the lock-on targets to cash out.

Another thing better designed than in Dodonpachi is the reduced ship and bullets hitboxes. I sometimes felt in Dodonpachi level 5 that they were too big for the kind of patterns thrown at you (they were fine until that point though). No possibility for hero micro-dodging; in Ketsui you can try to go through gaps you didn´t think were possible before .

 

[Nutmeg]

I have to say I would like more games with Ketsui Lock-On mechanic.

Progear. I also like Progear's scoring a bit more cause it doesn't have that fussy empty locking that I wish I never read about.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Some of my favourite shmups with lock-on shots (though not the same mechanic as Ketsui):

• Rayforce (an outstanding, underrated shmup, one of Taito's best. Awesome Zuntata OST). The rest of the series is ok, but doesn't hold a candle to the first game.
• Soukyugurentai. I think it's a very atmospheric game, even if the graphics are a little muddy. No other game gives me the same vibe of dive bombing stuff/perspective chasing.
• Crimson Clover (latest ver. is World EXplostion). Probably the best doujin shmup I've ever played. I love it.

The first two aren't that great for scoring, but still awesome games. CC has a more indepth system.

 

[Nutmeg]

Rayforce isn't underrated is it? It's a fan favorite. It's very good. Seconded.

Rayforce takes its reticule lock on all the way back from Xevious. The Japanese PC shmup Kamui builds on Rayforce's two layer shooting but the reticule is replaced with whole screen coverage.

Then there's Under Defeat with its own quite different take.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I have the impression that whenever people think about the Ray series they think more often about the sequels, but that could just be me. I don't see it mentioned very often in favourite lists, but it's definitely on mine.

I have very fond memories of Xevious. The machine used to be so loud that it used to dominate every arcade I went to as a kid.

 

[Sukhāvatī]

Having fun with the Bleed series. a platformer shmup which leans more on the latter with its constant movement and shooting, and features a 1CC arcade option after beating the main story. Solid stuff, and when on sale the pair go for about £1.50.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/3545/Bleed_1__2_Combo_Pack/

 

[Matador]

Some of my favourite shmups with lock-on shots (though not the same mechanic as Ketsui):

• Rayforce (an outstanding, underrated shmup, one of Taito's best. Awesome Zuntata OST). The rest of the series is ok, but doesn't hold a candle to the first game.
• Soukyugurentai. I think it's a very atmospheric game, even if the graphics are a little muddy. No other game gives me the same vibe of dive bombing stuff/perspective chasing.
• Crimson Clover (latest ver. is World EXplostion). Probably the best doujin shmup I've ever played. I love it.

The first two aren't that great for scoring, but still awesome games. CC has a more indepth system.

Rayforce seems very cool indeed.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I'm curious about why you'd post that in a shmup thread. Looks like a super edgy mod for Hotline Miami without the cool atmosphere.