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I failed miserably in one of the objectives from my last post.
Even though I managed to clear Mars Matrix with Mosquito 2 before Christmas, Master of Weapon was a whole different story. When I could finally reach area 5 consistently, the game got so freaking hard that I realized it would take me ages to beat it by playing on the PS2 alone. I had to go to MAME in order to practice decently, and so I did.
Having failed to beat the game before Christmas, during the last week of 2019 I spent some time with my 360 at mommy’s, so my focus shifted to Mamoru-kun wa Norowarete Shimatta and Omega Five.
I grasped the basics of Mamoru-kun relatively fast, and even reached the type A last boss while playing 5 worlds. As for Omega Five, I beat it with all characters on regular Arcade mode, also winning all the achievements. I thought I was done with it, but then I got back home this year and connected the 360 to the Internet, just to be devastated by the high scores on the leaderboards (my HS in Arcade mode was around 4,6 M). After some research I found out the maximum multiplier in Arcade++ is x30 instead of x10. What bugs me is that both modes share the same leaderboard table! It’s stupid, there should be different boards for each one… Now my hands itch for Arcade++ and won’t let me put Omega Five down until I try to conquer it.
Lastly, there’s Rayxanber on the FM Towns Marty. I spent one night with it and got to the 3rd stage. Will get back to the game as soon as one of my other goals is achieved. By the way, I absolutely loved the BGM for the 2nd level!
Yep, I’m trying.
Two days ago I topped my previous Mosquito 1 1CC high score with Mosquito 2, but as soon as I entered stage 6 with two lives in stock I died horribly due to a severe lack of practice.
Since then I had a few rounds of score attack training in the last stage, so things are going to be definitely different once I get there again.
On the subject of torture, I’m also playing Master of Weapon on the PS2. Damn, this game is cheap, annoying and hard.
Hopefully both will be done before X-mas.
I’ve long stopped playing both games I mentioned in my last post, but I intend to get back to at least one of them soon.
The truth is I can only play Solar Jetman if I know in advance I’m gonna have at least a full afternoon for myself. Things have been so hectic lately that’ I haven’t been able to do it in weeks – and Jetman definitely isn’t a game one can play in short bursts.
Meanwhile I was dedicating myself to other games, but mainly Espgaluda on the PS2. Unfortunately, I felt the need to relinquish the game in favor of another old school shooter: Parodius for the MSX, as presented in one of the Konami Antiques collections on the PS1. I guess the turbo controller helped me decide for the PS1 as opposed to the Saturn, which is where I practiced (and eventually gave up) the game months ago.
I felt compelled to post again just because I was finally able to loop it. That last stage is one of the meanest Gradius-like stages ever designed, especially the 2nd part, and in the end I came up with two main strategies to fight the evil space tapir. Either you need to get to him with 3 speed-ups or at least 2 speed-ups and a shield. And did I mention perfect weaving through the choppy cilinders or managing luck with the panic power-ups?
I don’t want to see another MSX shooter in front of me for a long while.
I’ve been working a lot lately, so my gaming time has been severely reduced. That should’ve probably led me to choose some relaxing games for my serious play sessions, but I don’t think my next challenges fit that mold at all.
From the remains of Söldner-X and Zero Gunner 2 I moved on to completely different affairs, notably Dragon Spirit and Solar Jetman. Dragon Spirit is being played on the PS2, picked from the Namco Museum 50th Anniversary compilation. This seems to be an emulation of the original game, and for those out there already questioning if it is TATEable… No. No TATE, and I have absolutely no problem with YOKO. With this game I finally started using my brand-new turbo controller because I deeply hate shmups that don’t have an autofire option (unless there’s an inherent charge mechanic to the gameplay).
Autofire in Dragon Spirit is a tricky thing though. Case in question: blue power-ups in this game give the dragon up to two extra heads. Since each head is capable of shooting a single firing stream, be it regular fire our ground fire (just like in Xevious), anyone would assume that using a turbo controller and keeping both buttons pressed when the dragon has at least two heads is the perfect way to weave through the game. However, this is not exactly true. As I evolve through the many stages it gets more and more evident that it’s much better to use each attack separately when you have extra heads. It’s an odd statement, but it seems the game design guides the player into adopting this attitude, which also cuts a slack for those who decide to play the game with no autofire.
To compensate for the absence of any continue feature, you can at least select any stage to play when you hit the start button. That’s why my current Dragon Spirit sessions consist of: (1) a full credit starting in the first stage ; (2) several training credits starting in the stage I died last during my first credit; (3) another full credit aiming at surviving longer with what I learned from training. So far I can consistently reach stage 5, that one with the moving spike walls.
Ah, Solar Jetman on the NES… I’ve been wanting to play this for a long time. I have a soft spot for gravity arena shooters, and since this one seems to be the father of them all (Gravitar is too confined), it’s natural that I start to really know the genre by trying it. I was perfectly aware this was going to be a massive, huge undertaking, so I prepared myself by printing out the excellent strategywiki material for some proper guidance. I did intend to use the warps to beat the game faster, but I can’t help but keep playing the regular stages to see what’s next. And having spent two whole afternoons with it, I now believe I’ll need many more to get to the ending. For those who still wonder how hard this game is, bear in mind it was developed by the same company who delivered Battletoads – you know, that easy beat’em up everybody didn’t even sweat to beat back in the glory days of the NES.
Ah, I know I should’ve chosen more stuf in the likes of Cotton Original…
I know this game doesn’t get much love, but I’m right now infatuated with Söldner-X Himmelsstürmer on the Playstation Network. I must have odd tastes because as hard as I try I cannot understand all the harsh criticism it gets. I will not comply with all the bullshit about euroshmup features or presumably bad stage design. I think this game is gorgeous, extremely challenging and epic.
Last night I just collected all the necessary secret keys to access the 5th and last stage. This means that I’ll still be spending more time with the game for the next few days. And I need more practice to properly deal with Windgeist, for he’s an even greater prick than the 2nd boss was.
Another game I’ve been playing (again) is Zero Gunner 2 on the Dreamcast. I decided to get back to it because I had finished it in its default difficulty, which is 4 (Normal). After a while I knew that the correct default should be 5 (Arcade), which is actually in line with all other Psikyo games I’ve already played. Even with only one step higher in the difficulty range, it’s fairly easy to notice how the rank shifts from Normal to Arcade. Slightly faster bullets and longer fights, for which one more second or one more stray bullet does make a difference. One thing does remain the same though: the game is pure, undeniable fun. Still the most enjoyable Psikyo I’ve ever played.
On the shore of rare shmups, a few days ago I tried Space Turtle Battleship, the Korean-exclusive title for the Mega Drive. I think I was able to reach the 5th stage then. It’s pretty stantard vertical fare, but I did enjoy the fact that all bosses have a numerical health bar, something rather unique for its time. I was commissioned a review of this for Sega-16, so hopefully in a few weeks it should be ready for publishing.
With Homura and D-Force behind me, I was finally able to move on to new challenges.
The main one I’m dealing with now is Batsugun on the Sega Saturn (normal game). This babe starts easy, gets a bit taxing on the 2nd boss and soon enough hits a blazing hard plateau with enemies and bullets sweeping faster than your eye can actually see. I’ve reached the 4th boss so far, and have yet to establish a consistent strategy for the 2nd and 3rd bosses.
On the PS2 I have started to fly the upper route in Darius II, which can be found in the 1st volume of the Taito Memories II compilation. Whoever said the upper route here is easier – and I think this is mentioned in the game’s documentation as well – is undoubtedly joking. And I still hate Yamato’s guts. I decided to bypass stage K because of him and face Leadain in L instead. Yes, Yamato is definitely my nemesis in Darius II.
With the release of Söldner-X 2 upon us, I’ve been lately maturing the idea of getting the 1CC in Söldner-X Himmelsstürmer. I don’t care what the crushing majority of the hardcore community says about it, I enjoy this game a lot. I’m not bothered at all with the euroshmup traits, I see them as a different kind of challenge. Last time I played this game I remember I finally got to a decent strategy to deal with that pesky 2nd boss, and hopefully he’ll give in faster when I resume playing.
Some quick credits on PSN’s After Burner Climax have also made into my latest gaming routine. This is an awesome port, it’s really really close to what I remember from the real arcade machine. And the option to blast everything while listening to the After Burner II soundtrack is just irresistible!
Avid gamers frequently bump into periods where they play more because of pure challenge than because of the gaming pleasure itself. It’s in these moments that one reaches his/her performance limit, from where any further playthrough serves the sole purpose of perfecting strategies and/or overcoming very difficult situations. It’s in these moments that some people, despite being beaten, tired, sleepy, worn and angry, insist in playing the game. Instead of success, however, what generally sets in is frustration and ultimately the loss of some preciously needed moments of rest.
Even though we all strive not to do it, eventually a game will put us in such a situation. It’s inevitable.
I admit it, I used to be one of these suckers who sometimes went beyond the thin line that separates fun and frustration. Eventually I learned the value of time gaps, rest spells, quick strolls and… bad games. I do believe that bad games serve the noble purpose of putting things into perspective, simple because the more you play them the more you learn how to properly value better games, as well as how to spend time with them.
No progress on that 2nd phase of the last boss, no matter how hard I try? Now is the time to stop and give a chance to that neglected title no one cares about. After all, all bad games also deserve some love. Without them we would never know how exactly good the best games are.
Case in question: Homura (PS2 – still…) vs. D-Force (SNES).
Strangely enough, I still have problems dealing with the 1st form of Homura’s 4th boss, even though I can beat its 2nd form without bombing. If I manage to reach the last boss with at least 3 lives, I die stupidly because I’m not intelligent enough to use whatever bombs I have left. Three credits in a row and I fail miserably in all of them. Further credits end in stupid mistakes in the 2nd and – yuck! – 1st stages. …… What now?
I don’t deserve to play the game anymore.
I deserve to be punished for my incompetence.
Enter D-Force for the SNES, a notoriously bad vert that tries to copy Twin Cobra and Firepower 2000. Huge hitbox, hideous frame rate, cheap deaths all around. Cheesy, cheeeeesy music. Initial recognition done, and I keep playing it. I hate the mode 7 effects when starting or ending a credit and all the annoying delay with the HS table, but I endure. For the sake of practicing, I raise the starting lives to 9. I learn how to deal with shooting and exploration stages. On the next day (during another break from Homura) I find out stage 3 is unfair, a lot more difficult than stage 5. And the shooting mode option won’t let me play stage 7 after I beat stage 5. I go for a real credit with default settings and get to the 5th boss. I think I can beat the game.
As one would expect, after the bad game break I felt my gameplay in Homura during the next day was more polished. If I had insisted in the punishment of playing it, most probably I would be stuck in the same previous skill level. I appreciate the game a little more because of this.
Maybe this is a warped way to say I enjoy playing bad games. In my opinion doing it like this avoids burnout on good games, makes for better shmup appreciation and increases my overall knowledge of the genre.
I just hope I don’t beat D-Force before Homura.
Hopefully not.
I’m on the brink of finally 1CCing Homura for the PS2, and I’ve been thinking if it would be better to wait for a special treat from fellow Jonatas aka third_strike in the shmups forum.
I say this because recently there’s been some collective enthusiasm from shmupper friends about a superplay third_strike is about to record for this game. He now holds the highest score in the boards with over 2,2 billion, and seeing how he does it would be nothing less than awesome, as well as instructive for all Homura players out there.
For those wondering what this game is about, imagine a play style like Giga Wing but with a design that resembles Shikigami No Shiro. My current status is around 1,1 ~1,2 billion points as I reach the final boss. I’m confident enough to get a x55 multiplier in the 1st stage, but I still struggle a bit with the most dense pattern of the 3rd boss and some parts of the 4th stage.
If the weather remains this pleasant for the next couple of days and I have some spare time available I’ll certainly resume my journey on Homura. In any case, I recommend those interested to stay tuned on that shmups forum thread.
Shmup celebration in full steam yeah!
I’m always drifting from one subgenre to another, and in March I’ve covered quite a span of time in the history of shooting games. The oldest ones were Gradius on the NES and Astro Warrior. This version of Gradius is still great to play – a lot easier than the original, but charming and excellent for NES standards. Astro Warrior is just as much fun, I just wish there were more stages than just those ever-looping three.
I also launched myself in the mission of 1-lifeing Darius II on the Saturn. Darius II is one of the reasons I fell in love with the genre, and the Saturn port isn’t as easy as one might think. I’m glad I pulled it off, I think I might try the PS2 version next because, you know, I can’t get enough of Darius.
I’m not really fond of evil labelings such as “euroshmup”, but a few weeks ago a had a teste of what it’s like with X2 on the PS1. It wasn’t the greatest experience ever, but I can’t say it was a disaster either. Does anyone know if the soundtrack was ever released?
One minor and easy achievement this month was Aegis Wing on XBLA. This is the first downloadable game I beat – I know I’m late to the party, but only now I’m getting used to playing games that don’t come in catridges or CDs. In my case, Aegis Wing was mainly used as relaxation during those break spells from Homura and Blue Wish Ressurrection, which I’m still playing and hoping to 1CC soon. I’ll probably be moving to Batsugun on the Saturn afterwards, since I spent a couple of hours getting acquainted with this game a few days ago. And last but not least, I got back to Raiden Trad on the Mega Drive. I feel I needed to face this fear I have of the checkpoints in this game. Nerdy note: I always thought “Raiden Trad” was a cooler name than just plain “Raiden”.
The mission I received for Shmuppreciation Month is Game Tengoku aka The Game Paradise. Wacky, fun and not as difficult as it looks from the pseudo-Psikyo gameplay style. My best score currently stands at 13 M, reaching loop 2-5.
Is this too much shmupping for one month? I don’t think so, in fact 99% of my gaming time is spent on them!
Dan Haigh
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[DRZ] OTL-TIW
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