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[Gunstar Ikari]

• Title: The Legend of Dark Witch Episode 2: The Price of Desire (Majin Shoujo Episode 2 -Negai e no Daika-)
• Platform: Nintendo 3DS eShop
• Genre: 2D Action Platformer
• Developer: Inside System
• Publisher: Flyhigh Works (Japan) | CIRCLE Entertainment (North America and Europe)
• Release Date: November 4, 2015 (Japan) | December 17, 2015 (North America) | February 11, 2016 (Europe)
• Price: 800 yen (Japan) | $6.99 (North America) | TBD (Europe)
• Official Website (Japanese)
• English Trailer

Zizou Olympia is back! In this sequel to the original Legend of Dark Witch, Zizou investigates the actions of the nation known as Germa. Germa intends to declare war on neighboring country Liana, and has sent a team of elite researchers called "Ich" to infiltrate the nation. More platforming action, wacky enemies, and awesome powers await!

The game has many similarities to the Mega Man series: select from eight bosses, shoot everything in sight, take down the boss and earn their Technical Skill! However, the Enforcement Slot meter adds a new dimension to the game. This gauge increases when you collect the Tres that is released when enemies are defeated and can be redeemed for powerups. Be careful, though! Taking a hit will decrease the Enforcement Gauge, and losing a life will cause you to forfeit all of your enhancements!

The Tres that you collect, in addition to raising the Enforcement Slot gauge, also serve as currency that the player can use to give their character more permanent stat boosts. Also, be on the lookout any strangely-placed platforms; invisible Pura Syega gems might be hiding there!

• Revenge Magic: As you take damage, the gauge next to the lifebar fills. Once it has enough energy, press the Revenge button to unleash an ultra attack!
• Capacity Meter: In the first game, using a Technical Skill took some energy out of the Enforcement Gauge. Episode 2 has changed that. Now, Technical Skills (and normal shots from that matter) reduce the fast-recharging Capacity Meter. Don't get caught in a jam without enough Capacity!
• Expanded Customization: In addition to the normal status-raising shop (known as the Growpart menu in the first game), players can now customize their Enforcement Gauge! Papelne (you might remember her!) presents the options to the player, who can then use their Tres and Pura Syega to upgrade their Gauge and add new options. Due to this, some changes have been made to the Pura Syega system: there are now four in each stage, and they no longer boost stats by themselves.
• Magic Item: Single-use items! Players can take their Tres over to Al (you might remember her, too!) and buy items that restore health, saves the player from a pitfall death, or locate Pura Syega.
• Very x2 Easy Mode: Remember Easy Mode from Mega Man 10? It's kind of like that. Perfect for your little nieces and nephews!
  Spoiler

  Or yourself, nobody will judge.
  The other Difficulty Levels have been renamed to Casual, Expert, and Lunatic. Now you don't have to feel bad about getting your ass kicked by so-called "Normal" mode!
• After Talk: Cute skits between the characters. These are unlocked as you defeat bosses.
• More Minigames: In the first game, players earned Syega by clearing Playing Levels (in-game achievements) or by finishing the game. Syega is used for the Syega Shop, which applies fun effects on subsequent playthroughs. Episode 2 now gives the players more opportunities to earn and spend their Syega. In addition to the returning Poker minigame, there is now Rudymical and Syegacha. Rudymical is a simple little rhythm game where the player takes the role of Rudy (one of the eight bosses) and slices Boing Boings (one of the eight Technical Skills) to the rhythm of the music. Syegacha is a machine where you insert Syega or Play Coins and receive Gallery items.

Note that these screenshots are taken from the official website, some of which were published when the game was still in development.

Part of The Legend of Dark Witch's appeal is its colorful cast of characters. Let's meet them!

First, the player characters:

Now, the devious bosses:

Even more bosses await once "Ich" has been defeated!

Q: Why is this game $6.99? The first game was only $3.99!
A: Episode 2 has much more content than the first game, seeing a more than 50% increase in stages alone! For what it's worth, Circle did try to mitigate the cost increase by using the USD-Yen exchange rate instead of just swapping Yen for USD, as they did for the first Dark Witch.

Q: 60fps or 30fps?
A: The game runs at 60fps, minus the rare slowdown here or there.

Q: The first game doesn't utilize 3D. How about this one?
A: Unfortunately, still no 3D.

Q: Is there a demo?
A: Circle usually releases their demos (when they do release a demo) some time after the game is released, so no. However, the first game does have a demo that you can try. Just be warned that Klinsy is no slouch!

Q: What is Blocking?
A: Tap forward or backwards when an incoming projectile attack is about to hit the player and the character will parry it! You have been keeping your 3rd Strike skills sharp, right?

Q: Hey, the first Dark Witch didn't release in my country. Will I miss out on this one, too?
A: Circle is utilizing IARC with this game, meaning that it should release in countries such as Germany that did not receive the first game. The jury is out on whether the first game itself will release in these nations, however.

Q: Gunstar, your OT is poverty.
A: Yeah...

The first game, The Legend of Dark Witch, can normally be found on the 3DS eShop for $4, as well as Steam for $5. If you have a JP or HK PlayStation Network account, you can also buy the game on the Vita. The Steam version has HD menu assets and allows you to save Ghost Data if you clear a stage without taking damage. Aside from that, it's up to personal preference.

 

[@MUWANdo]

I liked certain aspects of the first game--the spritework and boss fights, basically--but thought everything in between was dull and undercooked. Is this one any better in that respect? Like, are the levels actual levels and not doujin-quality wireframe hallways with no real design to speak of?

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

I liked certain aspects of the first game--the spritework and boss fights, basically--but thought everything in between was dull and undercooked. Is this one any better in that respect? Like, are the levels actual levels and not doujin-quality wireframe hallways with no real design to speak of?

From what I've played, it's...a bit of a mixed bag. Like, Icke's stage was more expansive than anything in the first game, but I just got through Klinsy's stage which was literally running forward and shooting stuff. I'd have to play through the entire game before I pass judgement (the stages after the 8 bosses apparently combine gimmicks), but it's currently looking closer to more of the same than a super-huge improvement.

I will note that there is much, much more enemy variety in this game. The first Dark Witch had like 3 enemies to a stage haha.

 

[whiterabbit]

I remember seeing your OT for the first game and almost bought it, but I don't have that one either. These games look really low budget. I like that they are similar to Mega Man and probably inspired by Mega Man too. I'll subscribe to this thread and maybe I'll buy it. The trailer didn't do much for me unfortunately (they didn't show much gameplay).

 

[eojoko]

Nice OP! Will be picking this up. I liked the first game but never beat it.

The screenshots from this game actually look beautiful compared to the first one. (The first game wasn't ugly, but...) Cool backgrounds going on here.

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

Ah! Had no idea this was coming out until I saw the new themes.
I enjoyed the first more than I thought I would, so I'll have to grab this!

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

I remember seeing your OT for the first game and almost bought it, but I don't have that one either. These games look really low budget. I like that they are similar to Mega Man and probably inspired by Mega Man too. I'll subscribe to this thread and maybe I'll buy it. The trailer didn't do much for me unfortunately (they didn't show much gameplay).

Yeah, it's a really small team, most of which are dealing with character design or music. The fact that the sprites are so pretty make the cut corners at times that much more jarring.

The Legend of Dark Witch is actually a spiritual successor to some Mega Man-inspired Touhou games from Inside System. They share the upgrade meter, Tres, and even a couple of enemies.

Nice OP! Will be picking this up. I liked the first game but never beat it.

The screenshots from this game actually look beautiful compared to the first one. (The first game wasn't ugly, but...) Cool backgrounds going on here.

Yeah, the backgrounds in the first game have a sort of..."stock" feel at times. Episode 2 is much better in that regard, at least from what I've played.

 

[Jazz573]

I seem to remember the first one getting.a Steam release. Am I remembering correctly? Yeah. Seems it was published directly by INSIDE SYSTEM.

I'm sure the same will happen to this one, so I'll probably wait until then. Or maybe I will double dip.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

I seem to remember the first one getting.a Steam release. Am I remembering correctly? Yeah. Seems it was published directly by INSIDE SYSTEM.

I'm sure the same will happen to this one, so I'll probably wait until then. Or maybe I will double dip.

Steam lower prices vs 3DS portability .

 

[@MUWANdo]

Steam lower prices vs 3DS portability .

It's also on Vita, I think.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Seems like the game is easier in general aside from maybe the bosses after the original 8. Playing on Expert.

I seem to remember the first one getting.a Steam release. Am I remembering correctly? Yeah. Seems it was published directly by INSIDE SYSTEM.

I'm sure the same will happen to this one, so I'll probably wait until then. Or maybe I will double dip.

The standard "no plans now, but maybe if it sells a lot" response was given when someone asked about the sequel coming to Steam. I have to wonder how successful the Steam version of the first game was for Inside System, especially since a lot of people weren't happy with it when it first dropped.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Episode 2 come to the Vita, where nobody in the west will be able to play it thanks to whatever business is holding up the first game.

 

[Tizoc]

Why is europe delayed :/
At least it isnt that long a gap like dark witch 1

 

[ChrisD]

It's also on Vita, I think.

Doesn't change the conundrum.

Saw the themes for this today in the Theme Shop. The first was one of those titles that looked interesting enough to give a shot one day. Just... not when I'm already swarmed in other titles taking my interest.


I feel it should also be stated that the first game is on sale on the NA eShop -- From $3.99 to 2.79, the sale lasts until January 7th. Plenty of time to spend some Christmas cash to try the series out!

 

[CaviarMeths]

Steam lower prices vs 3DS portability .

It's $6 mate.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Why is europe delayed :/
At least it isnt that long a gap like dark witch 1

If I'm interpreting Circle correctly (their English is a bit rough), they plan for future games to be released on the same day for North America and Europe. I believe that Dark Witch 2 is their first IARC game, so they're still trying to figure out how that goes. It's a shame that this one couldn't have a simultaneous release, though.

I feel it should also be stated that the first game is on sale on the NA eShop -- From $3.99 to 2.79, the sale lasts until January 7th. Plenty of time to spend some Christmas cash to try the series out!

Will find some place in the OP for this information, thanks!

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

I finished the game earlier today. Miscellaneous thoughts and info:
-The game is definitely easier than the first game. The enemies are a lot less "bullet-spongy" even on the higher difficulties, and most of the bosses are completely locked down by their weakness weapon. (I'm not particularly happy about the latter.)
-At least a couple of Pura Syega require boss Skills to reach.
-If you die enough times, the game opens up the Forbidden item menu containing what basically amounts to cheat codes. It predictably locks you out of gaining Playing Levels on that file.
-You can turn off the yelps that the characters do when they jump, shoot, or get hit. Not sure if that was in the first one.
-Technical Skills are still fairly weak outside of High Power Beam. Overhelm in particular is worthless even against the character who is "weak" to it.
-Rudymical is a cool little minigame and the remixed version of Dark Witch 1's final boss theme is awesome.
-

Spoiler

My card for Sola is wrong, she doesn't start with Circlecron.

Oops.

 

[Tizoc]

Got a question regarding Dark Witch 1 actually-
What's the best order to go about beating bosses? And how the hell do these boss weapons work? I equip one and it only fires like 1 'bullet' of that special attack

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Got a question regarding Dark Witch 1 actually-
What's the best order to go about beating bosses? And how the hell do these boss weapons work? I equip one and it only fires like 1 'bullet' of that special attack

The weakness order is Klinsy > Blad > Sola > Papelne > Stoj > Al > Klinsy. Sola is the best starting point IMO, but it's up to you.

The boss weapons in the first game use up your Slot meter, so you'll be stuck with the basic weapon if it's empty. A giant pain in the ass on Lunatic where getting hit completely empties the meter.

 

[whiterabbit]

I got the first Dark Witch game on sale and enjoyed what I played quite a bit. It's harder than I expected even on the easy mode.

I might get the sequel later on...

 

[ohlawd]

I still haven't beat the first one since I'm a scrub. buying this just to support. sequel being easier is, honestly, a relief lol

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Just got all of the Playing Levels today. I have to say, Sola is an absolute beast. Her Drop Bomb does ridiculous amounts of damage and she can buy a sixth slot that completely fills all of her other slots.

I got the first Dark Witch game on sale and enjoyed what I played quite a bit. It's harder than I expected even on the easy mode.

I might get the sequel later on...

I still haven't beat the first one since I'm a scrub. buying this just to support. sequel being easier is, honestly, a relief lol

Yeah, the difficulty levels feel mislabeled in the first Dark Witch. Removing health drops and having really tanky bosses on the alleged "Normal" difficulty level is silly. The director actually warned buyers on Steam that "Normal is a little difficult" when the game first launched, lol. Episode 2 tries to remedy this by not having a difficulty called Normal.

One thing I noticed about Episode 2 that contributes to its lower difficulty is that the bosses (original 8, at least) are a lot simpler. Nothing like Al filling the screen with ice bullets. It's a bit of a double-edged sword though; some bosses (poor Urken) are way too easy to figure out.

 

[ohlawd]

this is some extra info because I don't think any other Canadian is gonna waltz in here

the game is $9.29 for us. awesome. but I bought it cuz I'm no welcher

 

[whiterabbit]

I just beat the first Legend of Dark Witch!

It was pretty fun. Kind of challenging but not too much even on the easy difficulty. Some of the platforming is really good.

It does have a bit in common with Mega Man games and I like that. Even down to copy abilities and the boss refights.

I'll probably get the second Dark Witch soon.

Also, I never got any Pure Syega in my play of the game. I'm wondering if it will be easier to find in the sequel.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Circle said on Twitter that the EU release is next month.

 

[whiterabbit]

Circle said on Twitter that the EU release is next month.

I PMed you but I figured I would also ask here:

Assuming it's the same in both games, how do you find Syega?

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

I PMed you but I figured I would also ask here:

Assuming it's the same in both games, how do you find Syega?

They are invisible; you have to search for weird/hard to reach places, fire weapons, and hope that they appear. 2 is much better in this regard; there's a subtle visual cue and there's an upgrade that temporarily points out where the nearest Pura Syega is.

 

[whiterabbit]

They are invisible; you have to search for weird/hard to reach places, fire weapons, and hope that they appear. 2 is much better in this regard; there's a subtle visual cue and there's an upgrade that temporarily points out where the nearest Pura Syega is.

Thanks. I found this youtube video that shows where the Syega is in Klinsy's stage, so I got those two.

I guess I'll get the second game now since I enjoyed the first one a lot.

 

[whiterabbit]

I think I got to the final boss (Franzer), but he absolutely destroyed me. How did you beat him, Gunstar? The first form jumps onto the wall where I can't really hit him and then swoops down and does a hard to dodge swipe at me. I can block it, but not all the time. Nothing in this game was challenging except this!

Also the game crashed on me just as I was about to fight him again. I have to fight all of the bosses again just to fight him.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

I think I got to the final boss (Franzer), but he absolutely destroyed me. How did you beat him, Gunstar? The first form jumps onto the wall where I can't really hit him and then swoops down and does a hard to dodge swipe at me. I can block it, but not all the time. Nothing in this game was challenging except this!

Also the game crashed on me just as I was about to fight him again. I have to fight all of the bosses again just to fight him.

If you have enough Speed/Express, you can just run away from the wall jump attack. You can jump over it as well, but it's a lot trickier. Franzer's weakness (

Spoiler

Dia Missile

) locks him down for most of the fight, too.

And yeah, I've had Franzer leap out of the arena on me before. The game in general has a number of minor and not-so-minor bugs. Apparently the game will receive a patch in Japan, no idea if we'll see that stateside.

 

[whiterabbit]

If you have enough Speed/Express, you can just run away from the wall jump attack. You can jump over it as well, but it's a lot trickier. Franzer's weakness (

Spoiler

Dia Missile

) locks him down for most of the fight, too.

And yeah, I've had Franzer leap out of the arena on me before. The game in general has a number of minor and not-so-minor bugs. Apparently the game will receive a patch in Japan, no idea if we'll see that stateside.

Thanks again. I leveled up Dia Missile so that it's better, and I'm just grinding Tres for other upgrades.

I bought Express and Dash in the shop, but I don't know how to use it. Dash doesn't show up on my Install bar and Zizou doesn't seem any faster. Do you know how this stuff works?

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Thanks again. I leveled up Dia Missile so that it's better, and I'm just grinding Tres for other upgrades.

I bought Express and Dash in the shop, but I don't know how to use it. Dash doesn't show up on my Install bar and Zizou doesn't seem any faster. Do you know how this stuff works?

You have to switch out Speed for Express and Wing for Dash. Hit L/R on the Install upgrade menu until you find the option to do so.

 

[whiterabbit]

Got it. Thank you so much for your help and your OT! I might have overlooked the game otherwise. I hope it does well on the eShop... I just beat the game on casual difficulty! Using Franzer's weakness on his first form made it pretty easy. It was very fun. This and the first were both really good games.

 

[schlew]

this is some extra info because I don't think any other Canadian is gonna waltz in here

the game is $9.29 for us. awesome. but I bought it cuz I'm no welcher

Thank the lord for the random bump this thread got. I loved Legend of Dark Witch, had no clue there was a sequel.

I feel like...a failure. Time to remedy this!

 

[ohlawd]

Thank the lord for the random bump this thread got. I loved Legend of Dark Witch, had no clue there was a sequel.

I feel like...a failure. Time to remedy this!

yeah do it man. second game is fucking awesome.

and cool, another Canadian here lol

 

[whiterabbit]

I am completely addicted to this game. I deleted the game and reinstalled it so that I would be able to use Syega to purchase Playing Levels (they get more expensive the more you unlock). I replayed the game on Expert mode first. I think your Life up abilities are a little too expensive in terms of Tres required.

I got to the last level and the boss refights in my Lunatic game. The boss fights are very hard here! They seem harder than when I fought them in their own levels for some reason.

I think I'm going to go through the levels and see which give me the most Tres, so I know which is best to farm Tres.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Nintendo Life reviewed this game and gave it a 5/10. I'm obviously biased here, but I feel like this is a fairly poor review. The reviewer gets strangely hung up on the whole "Episode 2" naming, and criticizes the weak weapons and lack of content despite being better in both areas than the first game. (That he gave a 7.) The price increase, which IMO is an easy thing to pin against the game, doesn't even get mentioned. Normally I wouldn't give a damn about reviews, but they can make or break a tiny game like this so it's disappointing to have one where it feels like the reviewer is grasping at straws to justify a middling score.

I am completely addicted to this game. I deleted the game and reinstalled it so that I would be able to use Syega to purchase Playing Levels (they get more expensive the more you unlock). I replayed the game on Expert mode first. I think your Life up abilities are a little too expensive in terms of Tres required.

I got to the last level and the boss refights in my Lunatic game. The boss fights are very hard here! They seem harder than when I fought them in their own levels for some reason.

I think I'm going to go through the levels and see which give me the most Tres, so I know which is best to farm Tres.

I remember hearing that the bosses have significantly more HP in the refights, but I haven't measured it myself.

 

[whiterabbit]

Nintendo Life reviewed this game and gave it a 5/10. I'm obviously biased here, but I feel like this is a fairly poor review. The reviewer gets strangely hung up on the whole "Episode 2" naming, and criticizes the weak weapons and lack of content despite being better in both areas than the first game. (That he gave a 7.) The price increase, which IMO is an easy thing to pin against the game, doesn't even get mentioned. Normally I wouldn't give a damn about reviews, but they can make or break a tiny game like this so it's disappointing to have one where it feels like the reviewer is grasping at straws to justify a middling score.

I remember hearing that the bosses have significantly more HP in the refights, but I haven't measured it myself.

I saw that review and I agree, it's not a good representation of the game. The game is packed with content and quite ambitious, and an improvement in some ways over the first game. I think most people would agree. Hopefully it does well for the developer on the eShop. I don't mind the price increase personally. I gave both games a 5 rating on the eShop.

I'm glad I wasn't going crazy if what you heard is true, that the bosses in the refights do have more HP. I'm at the final boss in my Lunatic game with Zizou. Just grinding up some more health and I think I can beat it if I get lucky!

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Dark Witch 2 releases in Europe Feb. 11th, Dark Witch 1 is coming to Germany and Australia.

 

[SerTapTap]

Just started this up, 3 bosses down on "normal"/default difficulty. Huge upgrade over the first game!

Do we have any idea when it's coming to PC? I want to do a let's play or stream it but no capture equipment. I guess the first game will do for now on that front.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Apparently the EU version has major graphical glitches, most notably in Herbert/Urken/Stoj stages. So buyer beware.

Just started this up, 3 bosses down on "normal"/default difficulty. Huge upgrade over the first game!

Do we have any idea when it's coming to PC? I want to do a let's play or stream it but no capture equipment. I guess the first game will do for now on that front.

I don't think I've heard anything about a Steam version of Dark Witch 2 outside of NAN-A mentioning to someone that it could eventually happen. It'll probably show up out of nowhere sometime after the issues are ironed out of the 3DS version.

 

[hikarutilmitt]

It was kind of weird when I bought this a few weeks ago, since I had no idea there was a sequel. I loved it even more and remembered enough of the first game to think "man, this feels like a Rockman 2 style upgrade instead of just another game with some slight changes to it".

A few nights ago I fired up the original because I never finished the second character's run through the game. HOLY CRAP I forgot how odd it feels, especially coming from its sequel. To say there are improvement is an understatement. If they can iterate like this for 3 I'll be a happy camper.

 

[SerTapTap]

Huh, since they ported the first to basically everything I assumed it was the plan to keep it up. But maybe they just keep quiet to keep sales on 3DS decent.

And yeah, I love huge leaps like this. Every single complaint I had with the original is fixed, the weird pattern of Comet, the weapon switching, the boss' weapons costing Tres, Seyga being invisible, the gradius thing being interesting but too simple, bosses being brick walls.

 

[Tizoc]

Casual is TOO easy, I can get if the first game's Normal difficultywas too much for some people, but I liked it since it required you to play a little carefully.

 

[SerTapTap]

This game is amazing. I started a guide for it.

It has "speedrun cards" to show your best times and any handicap items you used in that playthrough!

I'm a teeny bit worried about how grindy Syega are to get some of the unlocks, but I haven't gotten all the Playing Level challenges yet so maybe some have huge payouts.

Casual is TOO easy, I can get if the first game's Normal difficultywas too much for some people, but I liked it since it required you to play a little carefully.

Casual is named properly, and clearly a response to people who didn't want the Normal mode from the first game. "Expert" is what Mega Man veterans/people looking for a challenge should play on.

Though the real skill runs come from things like Lunatic difficulty or restricting yourself from buying shop items. The first playthrough is just practice, even on Expert, the "Playing Level" challenges are the real challenge.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Yeah, this game could benefit from a comprehensive guide. There's so much stuff that's either completely undocumented or very easy to miss. For example, I nearly had all of the Playing Levels before I learned about secondary upgrades for Technical Skills, and I just learned this morning that you can save ghosts on stages that you clear without dying by pressing L+R+Y on the results screen.

As for the difficulty, I think the "issue" with the first game's Normal difficulty (the fact that enemies were bullet-spongy) was fixed in Ep. 2, so there was no need to make Casual the implied default mode.

I have to agree that going back to first game really helps to appreciate how much better Ep. 2 is in most areas. I think that there's still room for improvement in a theoretical Dark Witch 3, though. Boss fights are probably the weakest part of Ep. 2; it's good that not every boss is of the bullet hell type anymore, but a lot of them feel like they are missing something. Urken should be chasing you down, Litty's two basic attacks should be one move, a whole bunch of bosses need to be moving around instead of just sticking to the right corner, etc. I'd also love for characters to gain extra tricks like Pelusa's ability to counter a jump with a Shoryuken, even if only on Lunatic. Aside from that, the only other thing that I could ask for are less "flat" stages like Klinsy's and to a lesser extent Mari's levels.

 

[SerTapTap]

I'm trying to flesh out the guide as I go, going to explain some of the options for the install bar...I'm not actually sure what "express" does vs "speed" though. Is it just a faster "speed"?

I knew about the technical skill upgrades (there's multiple pages for the Install Bar customizations too), but not about the ghosts, that's really cool!

The bosses are definitely a bit weak which is probably why Casual feels extra easy now. A lot of bosses can be cheesed simply by standing too close to them (most bosses only deal contact damage during certain attacks, not passively). I can't complain TOO much because it's how I've beaten a couple in Lunatic (it's still a bit hard even like that, but it won't be with max health...).

I kinda miss the bullet hell aspect of the last game's bosses, though some attacks were definitely too crazy.

The biggest changes are the gameplay systems themselves though. So much that replaying Dark Witch 1's exact stages/bosses with the new install bar/shop/etc would be amazing by itself.

Also does anyone know the best way to grind Syega (not pura, the unlocking kind)? If I get the last few Playing Levels like the Lunatic ones will I be able to buy some of the more expensive stuff? I don't want to resort to Poker. The Rudy rythym game is surprisingly effective though, I get 20-25 syega in a few minutes getting only 2 stars (I ain't great) on any song.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Yeah, one Express is like 2x Speed. There doesn't seem to be any reason to use Speed over Express unless you're doing a minimalist run.

If I remember correctly, Lunatic difficulty gives out boatloads of Syega when you clear it. Outside of that, I don't know. I mostly got my Syega through Poker.

 

[SerTapTap]

I'm not great at poker and don't like games of chance. I'll see how much I get out of my first Lunatic run I guess. I started Sola's first run as Lunatic, probably not the best idea but at least I'll get like 4 playing levels out of one run (sola, sola lunatic, all syega, all convos sola).

Protip for Sola, you can direct the shots of her angled bomb up or down. Not often useful, but sometimes. Also her Mastery ability is a necessity, she goes from weak to pretty decent instantly, I guess it's a sort of handicap since she's pretty weird to play as.

Love the forgiveness features built into the game. The 5 Syega you get each game over kinda makes me not want to buy extra lives

Edit: Holy SHIT how in the hell are you supposed to beat Pelusa with Sola on Lunatic? She takes almost no damage from anything and seems to have no weaknesses. And is between incredibly annoying and impossible to dodge without Fly.

 

[SerTapTap]

If anyone else is stuck on Pelusa, she doesnt' seem to have a weakness, but Sola's AIR jump slot is super effective at faking out her Shoryuken and completely avoiding her fire wave attack. Her Desperation attack is fortunately pathetically easy to dodge (just go in a corner, wait for "Final Evolution!" and walk to the other corner) so it's just a matter of outlasting her two basic moves.

Now I'm stuck on the boss rush that fortunately excludes Pelusa. I think I just need more lives and to get used to exploiting boss weaknesses, which I usually avoid. I prefer how Mega Man Zero/ZX handle that over the classic series, feels too byzantine and too cheap at the same time.

It's funny how super useless certain bosses are due to exploiting their weaknesses, but in Lunatic they can still be deadly if you drop the beat for a fraction of a second. It's almost a rhythm game at that point. Like Mari can be stucklocked indefinitely, but her spikeballs keep piling up, so if she's not stunned long enough to throw you in the air it's unavoidable.

 

[SerTapTap]

Oh wow. Both harder than I expected and not as hard was I was making it. I'll put my notes in my guide, final boss isn't THAT bad but you do need to know what to do for the boss rush. I did grind for about an hour or so to unlock some effects and test stuff before the final boss. Dark Matter enhancement is vital.

Anyone know how to unlock After Talk 16 for Sola? I figured for sure I would earn that one by 100%'ing Syega but no. Maybe it's a speed thing?