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Official Dodonpachi Black Label EX thread of 360 bullet hell

Dodonpachi Daioujou Black Label EX (Xbox 360)


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Dodonpachi Daioujou is the extremely successful arcade shooter created by CAVE in 2002 and ported to PS2 in 2003. When released, it was so notoriously difficult that veteran shooters struggled to 1CC (one credit clear) it as it challenged so many traditional strategies. While there is the obvious imperative to survive amidst the storm of bullets, players must also alternate between shot and laser with good timing in order to build up a HIT chain. When the chain hits a certain number, the player will earn a hyper, which not only multiplies the value of the chain, but also makes the player temporarily invincible (almost like a bomb). Hidden bee items in stages are worth a set amount of points that is multiplied by the value of the chain.


To summarize:

1. Survive
2. Chain
3. Hyper
4. Collect bees
5. Survive


Black Label is a slightly altered version of the original with important balance adjustments made. Check out this interview with CAVE's Tsuneki Ikeda for the gritty details: http://www.cave-stg.com/forum/index.php?topic=398.0


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Official Game Promo video:

Here


Gameplay videos:

Here

PS2 version with excellent player


Developer: CAVE
Publisher: 5pb
Region: NTSC-J
Website: http://5pb.jp/games/div2/ddpdojblex/info.html
Price: 7140 yen
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: February 19th (according to Play-Asia, and according to the dev blog, the game has gone GOLD:
http://hgqp.blog44.fc2.com/blog-entry-454.html)
Genre: Vertical Shooter
Game Modes: Original (Dodonpachi Daioujou), Black Label (Arcade Black Label remix), X-mode (see below)
Game Rating: CERO- B
Features: Replays, Score rankings, 3 Arranged BGM options


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Basic plot (my translation)

A thousand years ago...

An ancient civilization had built an army of sentient machines imbued with strategic consciousness, waging a massive and unmanned world war.

Finally the machines had developed to the point of being unstoppable. Humanity, which had lost everything to these machines, sealed the machine army on the moon so that these mistakes would never be repeated again.

And so 1000 years passed, and humans entered a period of peaceful civilization.
In this age, robot technology advanced; tasks that were previously hard for humans to do were handed over to robots.

Without warning, a disturbance on the moon was reported.
The machines which had been sealed away were once again active.
Who broke the seal...?
Or is this computer consciousness...?

The United Nations army learns that the awakened machine army is building up to attack earth, and launches a pre-emptive strike on the moon's capital Lunapolis.

Among the fighters sent on this mission are enhanced navigators, the "element dolls", who pilot powered-up fighter ships. These element dolls are fighter robots who connect into their crafts to manage all of their ships' weapon programs and boost their weapon power. The element dolls enable these crafts to operate at an enhanced capacity, powering up their weapons according to type and playing an indispensable role on the battlefield.

However, here a contradiction emerged.

Humanity was once more commiting the same mistake of the war of machine versus machine....


Element Dolls:

Shotia

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Leinyan

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EXY

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Piper

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Craft Types:

Type A (narrower shot, powerful laser):

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Type B (wider shot, weaker laser)

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Gametypes:

Original: This is a port of the original Dodonpachi Daioujou. Hopefully the same as the PS2 port.

Black Label: Black Label is a remixed version of the original game that lead programmer Tsuneki Ikeda put together in order to adjust the difficulty and iron out some difficult chaining spots. Recommended as the mode to focus on.

X-mode: This is a new mode in which chaining is made much easier, substantially easier for beginners. A new element doll, Piper, is introduced and has particular play characteristics. She is always in a hyper state, and when she collects a hyper item she can start cancelling bullets, which really helps getting through the bullet fields the game throws at you.

Achievements

Total: 50
Points:1000 

Open:39/820G
DFSD-010 Shotia Play as Shotia 5
DFSD-014 Leinyan Play as Leinyan 5
FSD-002  EXY Play as EXY 5
Beat the stage 1 mid-boss Kangaku 5
Beat the stage 1 boss Suzaku 10
Beat the stage 2 mid-boss Raiha 5
Beat the stage 2 boss Byakko 20
Beat the stage 3 mid-boss Kuura 5
Beat the stage 3 boss 30
Destroy the huge cannon in stage 4 5
Destroy the laser cannon in stage 4 5
Beat the stage 4 boss 40
Beat the stage 5 mid-boss 10
Beat the stage 5 mid-boss 5
Beat the stage 5 mid-boss 5
Beat the last boss Kouryuu 5
Beat the second form of last boss Kouryuu 50
Defeat Hibachi, the true last boss 120
The last laugh Watch Shotia's ending 20
The miracle of love Watch Leinyan's ending 20
The true enemy Watch EXY's ending 20
Hyper mode Use a hyper 5
Full-power hyper mode Store up 5 hypers and use them 15
Perfect Bees Get all the hidden bees in stage 1 15
Perfect Bees Get all the hidden bees in stage 2 15
Perfect Bees Get all the hidden bees in stage 3 15
Perfect Bees Get all the hidden bees in stage 4 15
Perfect Bees Get all the hidden bees in stage 5 15
Produce and Increase Obtain the hidden 1-up in Stage 4 10
Star collector 10,003 Obtain 10,003 star items (total) 20
Star collector 100,001 Obtain 100,001 star items (total) 30
King of destruction 53,596 Destroy over 53,596 enemy craft 20
King of destruction 200,000 Destroy over 200,000 30
Combo stage 1 Connect a combo over 500 hits on stage 1 10
Combo stage 2 Connect a combo over 1,200 hits on stage 2 15
Combo stage 3 Connect a combo over 550 hits on stage 3 20
Combo stage 4 Connect a combo over 1,000 hits on stage 4 25
Combo stage 5 Connect a combo over 1,200 hits on stage 5 30
Combo Master Connect over 1,000,000 hits total 80

Secret achievements 11/180G
Secret 5
Secret 5
Secret 5
Secret 5
Secret 5
Secret 10
Secret 20
Secret 25
Secret 30
Secret 20
Secret 50


Reviews

TBA
 
Daigoro said:
localize! :(

It's fucked I know.

I've mentioned it in the CAVE thread a few times, but I talked to a 5pb rep at two game shows who told me that it would eventually be localized. No date or commitment though. Given how long the port took to get out I don't have a ton of confidence in this company...
 
PepsimanVsJoe said:
XBLA release ain't gonna happen.




Needless to say I can't imagine it working out too well.
Oh well once my tax refund comes in I'm getting a J360 so woop woop.

I'm estimating the game will be out in mid-February given that we'll probably see the final release date announced in the new Famitsu XBOX 360 mag. See you on the high score boards! :D
 

Jonnyram

Member
PepsimanVsJoe said:
XBLA release ain't gonna happen.




Needless to say I can't imagine it working out too well.
Oh well once my tax refund comes in I'm getting a J360 so woop woop.
Actually, wasn't there a rumour going around that this and Ketsui are being reconsidered for XBLA now?
 

Jonnyram

Member
adversesolutions said:
Would make sense given MS's courting of Treasure and RS...
Well I'm not sure how it started off, but between the fact that both Ketsui and Dodonpachi are being delayed randomly, and the fact that Ikaruga and Triggerheart Exelica were the most popular XBLA titles in Japan last year, I guess there could be something in it.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Jonnyram said:
Well I'm not sure how it started off, but between the fact that both Ketsui and Dodonpachi are being delayed randomly, and the fact that Ikaruga and Triggerheart Exelica were the most popular XBLA titles in Japan last year, I guess there could be something in it.

God, I hope not. I've got a japanese 360 in the US and I've had this on preorder from play-asia forever.

If it is japanese XBLA then I don't have anyway to access the japanese store, right?
 
Yes Boss! said:
God, I hope not. I've got a japanese 360 in the US and I've had this on preorder from play-asia forever.

If it is japanese XBLA then I don't have anyway to access the japanese store, right?

You'd have to buy J points off someone. I'm pretty sure Americans and Europeans can dl from the J store...no?
 

Yes Boss!

Member
adversesolutions said:
You'd have to buy J points off someone. I'm pretty sure Americans and Europeans can dl from the J store...no?

I dunno, I turn on my japanese 360 (with my gamertag on a MU) and it automatically logs into the american store. Can I change the country to access the japanese store?
 
Yes Boss! said:
I dunno, I turn on my japanese 360 (with my gamertag on a MU) and it automatically logs into the american store. Can I change the country to access the japanese store?

Should be able to. That's how I downloaded HD Remix from Japan.

slidewinder, good point. Honestly I just grabbed the first Black Label vid I could find. Really I'd like to show people the HFD superplay DVD but that's not up on any site (besides torrents, heh). Will change.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
adversesolutions said:
Should be able to. That's how I downloaded HD Remix from Japan.

slidewinder, good point. Honestly I just grabbed the first Black Label vid I could find. Really I'd like to show people the HFD superplay DVD but that's not up on any site (besides torrents, heh). Will change.

Ok, very cool then. I'll try that. I do have an Otomedius character code I'd like to use. Play-asia sells points so that is not a problem.

Now that you mention it I know that Cheapy D accesses the American store from within Tokyo so it makes sense.
 

Darkpen

Banned
:(

The cover art is deceiving. For a moment, I thought this was some sort of post-apocolyptic humans vs robots story that spawned from Japan's fascination with Bladerunner, weaving a delicate tale of love, war, and what it means to be, as is almost always the case with Japanese sci-fi star-crossed romance.

While sure, the backstory explained in the OP makes for what could potentially be touching, its still just a schmup :(
 

manzo

Member
I say fuck the XBLA releases, makes getting the game insanely hard.

Back on topic, my preorder has been waiting from october 2008, so I really hope it has gone gold.
 
Don't think i'll be picking up a JP 360 for this yet, I just don't play the PS2 version enough as it is - any word on when the Ketsui port is supposed to be out? I'm totally addicted to Death Label on the DS so i'll definetly be picking up the 360 version once it's available and i'm also really interested in Death Smiles.

Is there currently any way to mod a 360 to play imports? I'd guess not since so many people seem to picking up JP 360's, but it would certainly be an ideal solution for me - I don't play my 360 at all, so if I could use a chip or flash the firmware to play JP games that would be awesome and would save me buying a 2nd 360.
 

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
will buy when i get a j360 -- i've got the ps2 version, but i'm shamefully bad at it, and maybe black label will make it a bit less imposing

NOW BRING ON KETSUI

bootay: no way to get around a 360's region lock, unfortunately
 
moms dude on the shmups forum just reported Play-Asia listing the game for a Feb. 19th release! Thought it might be around then! :D

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-jp-15-dodonpachi-70-3169.html

Bootaaay said:
Don't think i'll be picking up a JP 360 for this yet, I just don't play the PS2 version enough as it is - any word on when the Ketsui port is supposed to be out? I'm totally addicted to Death Label on the DS so i'll definetly be picking up the 360 version once it's available and i'm also really interested in Death Smiles.

Is there currently any way to mod a 360 to play imports? I'd guess not since so many people seem to picking up JP 360's, but it would certainly be an ideal solution for me - I don't play my 360 at all, so if I could use a chip or flash the firmware to play JP games that would be awesome and would save me buying a 2nd 360.

Yeah Death Label is really awesome; perfect bite-sized DS shooter if you ask me. There was a scoring contest recently where you can see someone take on the monstrous Death Label mode without dying up to the boss:

http://www.cave-stg.com/forum/index.php?topic=450.0

Unfortunately, region changing a 360 is extremely difficult if not impossible according to everyone I've talked to. Why MS sticks to backwards region coding I do not understand. I am a 360 stan but Sony's commitment to region-free games is much more impressive.

drohne said:
will buy when i get a j360 -- i've got the ps2 version, but i'm shamefully bad at it, and maybe black label will make it a bit less imposing

NOW BRING ON KETSUI

bootay: no way to get around a 360's region lock, unfortunately

Daioujou was always a really intimidating game to me, just because you're chaining under hellish circumstances with a sort of janky chain system. Still, I learned to love the game and just took it stage by stage. At this point I can full chain stage 1, stage 2, half of stage 3, and do ok on stage 4. Still haven't 1CC'ed it despite getting to the last boss. Looking forward to the console release to finally do it.

Ketsui should also be good. I played the demo at the Osaka games expo and it was pretty authentic to the arcade. Given that we'll probably see Deathsmiles in March, I'm betting on Ketsui in May or so.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
adversesolutions said:
moms dude on the shmups forum just reported Play-Asia listing the game for a Feb. 19th release! Thought it might be around then! :D

That's crazy as I check the site daily for an update and missed it today. In any case, thanks for the good news!

Hopefully we will get a date for Death Smiles sooner rather than later...
 

suffah

Does maths and stuff
I've been waiting for a release date every damn day since they pushed it back. Finally, hopefully 2/19 holds true.
 

manzo

Member
Yes Boss! said:
That's crazy as I check the site daily for an update and missed it today. In any case, thanks for the good news!

Hopefully we will get a date for Death Smiles sooner rather than later...

Hopefully BOTH Ketsui and Death Smiles.

I really hope I get my HRAP EX from SNKCapcom before they come out. :(
 
Yes Boss! said:
God, I hope not. I've got a japanese 360 in the US and I've had this on preorder from play-asia forever.

If it is japanese XBLA then I don't have anyway to access the japanese store, right?

I did the same, but you can access the japanese store. Just:
- create a e-mail account with a Japanese address;
- create a Live account using this e-mail account (can be only Silver if you want)
- buy a point card from ebay (search "xbox points japan", there is plenty of offers)

Then access the japanese store using this account. Everything you buy is available to all gamertags on that console, so you can play with your normal account.

For the Japanese address it is best to use a common address, like the US embassy or MS headquarters in Tokyo. Keep all the information, including the gamertag and password you have created, just in case you have to move the licenses between consoles.

Edited: this is what I have done to download plenty of stuff from JPN marketplace, including videos, demos and extra characters (Otomedius).
 
Bootaaay said:
Is there currently any way to mod a 360 to play imports? I'd guess not since so many people seem to picking up JP 360's, but it would certainly be an ideal solution for me - I don't play my 360 at all, so if I could use a chip or flash the firmware to play JP games that would be awesome and would save me buying a 2nd 360.

No way to mod the 360 to play imports. Even pirate firmware can only make the console play bootlegs, but only copies from the same region as the console. This is due to the fact the region code in the disk is covered by the disk checksum. Change it, the checksum does not match, the console does not play the disc.

And even so if you mod your 360 you won't be able to play it online, or to add your entry in the scoreboards.

If you look around there is always someone selling cheap (< US$ 200) Japanese 360. Or you can buy it at NCS (http://www.ncsx.com/).
 

manzo

Member
Chiaroscuro said:
I did the same, but you can access the japanese store. Just:
- create a e-mail account with a Japanese address;
- create a Live account using this e-mail account (can be only Silver if you want)
- buy a point card from ebay (search "xbox points japan", there is plenty of offers)

Then access the japanese store using this account. Everything you buy is available to all gamertags on that console, so you can play with your normal account.

For the Japanese address it is best to use a common address, like the US embassy or MS headquarters in Tokyo. Keep all the information, including the gamertag and password you have created, just in case you have to move the licenses between consoles.

Edited: this is what I have done to download plenty of stuff from JPN marketplace, including videos, demos and extra characters (Otomedius).

I have a japanese account but I haven't bought anything with it, because I thought the stuff is tied to my japanese account (I play everything with my primary european account).

Good to know, I'm off to buy a japanese points card so I can empty all the DLC for Otomedius G.
 
manzo said:
I have a japanese account but I haven't bought anything with it, because I thought the stuff is tied to my japanese account (I play everything with my primary european account).

Good to know, I'm off to buy a japanese points card so I can empty all the DLC for Otomedius G.


Remember to write down in a safe place the Japanese gamertag and password you are using (including the address you have used). Most people create the Japanese account, store the password in the auto login option of the console and forget about it. You may need these information later if you have to move the content to another console (license transfer). Who knows when the RROD will happen....

As for Otomedius, the only content available at the moment (aside the free pre-order character) are 5 new BGM packs, each for 400 pts: http://marketplace.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024b4e07ee/?of=3
 

manzo

Member
Chiaroscuro said:
Remember to write down in a safe place the Japanese gamertag and password you are using (including the address you have used). Most people create the Japanese account, store the password in the auto login option of the console and forget about it. You may need these information later if you have to move the content to another console (license transfer). Who knows when the RROD will happen....

As for Otomedius, the only content available at the moment (aside the free pre-order character) are 5 new BGM packs, each for 400 pts: http://marketplace.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024b4e07ee/?of=3

Yep, I'm one of those fucking idiots who just made the account and forgot the password. Same with my US account. >_<

I'm storing my gamertags on a memory card for easy swapping between machines, so I'm sure I don't have to worry about the console RROD:ing, unless I want to do the license transfer..

Time to try and find/guess the password I had for the account. :(
 
Chiaroscuro said:
Then access the japanese store using this account. Everything you buy is available to all gamertags on that console, so you can play with your normal account.

Is this confirmed? I thought MS separated things out based on account
 
Jack Random said:
Is this confirmed? I thought MS separated things out based on account

DRM on the 360 is based on 2 things: the serial number of the console and the gamertag that made the purchase.

Content is available to:
- the gamertag who made the purchase in every console as long it is logged into Live.
- all users/gamertag in the console where the purchase is made.

So if you buy something in your Japanese account everything will be available to your normal account on that specific console. If you want to use the content in another console, you have to move the license (you can do that once a year using the DRM transfer tool at xbox site).
 
manzo said:
Time to try and find/guess the password I had for the account. :(

or create a new account. I have to do that too, since I forgot the password for my first JPN account. There was no reason to keep it before the DRM transfer tool. I also move my gamertag between the consoles (three very soon, one from each region :D ) using a memory card.
 
Chiaroscuro said:
DRM on the 360 is based on 2 things: the serial number of the console and the gamertag that made the purchase.

Content is available to:
- the gamertag who made the purchase in every console as long it is logged into Live.
- all users/gamertag in the console where the purchase is made.

So if you buy something in your Japanese account everything will be available to your normal account on that specific console. If you want to use the content in another console, you have to move the license (you can do that once a year using the DRM transfer tool at xbox site).

I'm going to be having the same trouble soon when I get my japanese machine.

Except I'm in a bigger pickle. I have a japanese account but my main account is american. I want all my eventual achivements to be on that account. I even have a memory card ready for this transition (so I can move my primary gamertag between machines).

So Question: Would I be able to migrate my Japanese account to my Japanese 360, download the content to that machine/user, then would I be able to access that content with my other gamertag on the Japanese machine, even if I was offline?

Man my head hurts.
 
Arpharmd B said:
I'm going to be having the same trouble soon when I get my japanese machine.

Except I'm in a bigger pickle. I have a japanese account but my main account is american. I want all my eventual achivements to be on that account. I even have a memory card ready for this transition (so I can move my primary gamertag between machines).

So Question: Would I be able to migrate my Japanese account to my Japanese 360, download the content to that machine/user, then would I be able to access that content with my other gamertag on the Japanese machine, even if I was offline?

Man my head hurts.

You are describing exactly the same situation I already mentioned. This is the way I play. My main account is American (where I play, where I get achievements, in both machines), my second account is Japanese (where I log in the JPN console only to get the content). Both accounts are on a Memory Unit, so I can switch them between consoles.

You will be able to play the Japanese content, even offline, at your US gamertag, but only in the console you bought the content (your JPN 360). If this system failures and you get a new Japanese console, then you have to use the migration tool to move the license to the new machine, otherwise your US account won't be able to use it. For that you will have to keep the JPN account information in hand.
 
Chiaroscuro said:
You are describing exactly the same situation I already mentioned. This is the way I play. My main account is American (where I play, where I get achievements, in both machines), my second account is Japanese (where I log in the JPN console only to get the content). Both accounts are on a Memory Unit, so I can switch them between consoles.

You will be able to play the Japanese content, even offline, at your US gamertag, but only in the console you bought the content (your JPN 360). If this system failures and you get a new Japanese console, then you have to use the migration tool to move the license to the new machine, otherwise your US account won't be able to use it. For that you will have to keep the JPN account information in hand.

Ok thank you.

And sorry for my reading incomprehension earlier.
 

RickA238

Member
I need a Japanese 360 for DDP Death Label, Ketsui DL, and Deathsmiles among others; does anyone know of a reliable 360 retailer? I'd only want to buy one of the newer, more reliable models, arcade (or Jp equivalent is fine) as I already have a US 360. Anyone have an idea of the pricing? I can't access Play-Asia right now because I am at work, but I've checked a few times over the last couple months and they are always out of stock.
 

FiRez

Member
does someonehave the cover art in high resolution?

is so badass :3

btw I wish I could play this game, fuck region locks :/
 
Even if Play-Asia has them in stock you will pay near $100 for shipping to the US. It might be less for Europe, but it'st still not going to be cheap.

NCSX gets them in stock sometimes, although they're currently also out as well.
 

Balb

Member
People will flatter themselves these days by claiming something like Halo 3 is a hardcore game.

THIS is truly a hardcore game.
 
djSyndrome said:
Even if Play-Asia has them in stock you will pay near $100 for shipping to the US. It might be less for Europe, but it'st still not going to be cheap.

EDITED: oh, I only noticed now that you are talking about the shipping costs of a console, not the game. Sorry.
 

Flyguy

Member
Chiaroscuro said:
EDITED: oh, I only noticed now that you are talking about the shipping costs of a console, not the game. Sorry.

Aww, man. Your avatar was my favorite thing ever. Did you get a new one that was NSFW, or did somebody decide after many many months that it was suddenly NSFW? /derail
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Chiaroscuro said:
I did the same, but you can access the japanese store. Just:
- create a e-mail account with a Japanese address;
- create a Live account using this e-mail account (can be only Silver if you want)
- buy a point card from ebay (search "xbox points japan", there is plenty of offers)

Then access the japanese store using this account. Everything you buy is available to all gamertags on that console, so you can play with your normal account.

For the Japanese address it is best to use a common address, like the US embassy or MS headquarters in Tokyo. Keep all the information, including the gamertag and password you have created, just in case you have to move the licenses between consoles.

Edited: this is what I have done to download plenty of stuff from JPN marketplace, including videos, demos and extra characters (Otomedius).


Thanks! Set up an account but I just did it through the NXE and used my normal email. It did not prompt me for a japanese address. Everything works fine and I've even downloaded some japanese demos and they work perfectly with my american gamertag. Only thing not available was the Biohazard 5 demo.

I was surprised seeing all the crappy american XBLA games on the japanese marketplace...wondering if japanese 360 fans actually buy them:lol

manzo said:
Hopefully BOTH Ketsui and Death Smiles.

I really hope I get my HRAP EX from SNKCapcom before they come out. :(

This too, but I've got the DS Ketsui boss rush game so I'm prepared to wait for Ketsui 360 a little longer. Looking forward most to Death Smiles...especially so since it has been upgraded in resolution.
 

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
Balb said:
People will flatter themselves these days by claiming something like Halo 3 is a hardcore game.

THIS is truly a hardcore game.

this is certainly a hardcore game, but so is anything designed for high-level competitive play, and halo very obviously qualifies. let's not misuse 'hardcore' and 'casual' for daft videogame culture wars
 

Enk

makes good threads.
Errrggg! Someone please port this quickly so I can make my leave my mark on the leaderboards.
 
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