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[Nostalgic Nightmare]

It's cool to see more releases and all but as others have said, games that weren't released on the 360 would be ideal as people are only going to double dip for so long.

Galuda, Ibara, (while they did have PS2 ports they are pretty rough) ESP Ra. De., Feveron, Progear

These would probably make them the most money if they were to release honestly.

 

[Coda]

It's cool to see more releases and all but as others have said, games that weren't released on the 360 would be ideal as people are only going to double dip for so long.

Galuda, Ibara, (while they did have PS2 ports they are pretty rough) ESP Ra. De., Feveron, Progear

These would probably make them the most money if they were to release honestly.

Ibara and Mushimesama are not great ports and were done internally. But Espgaluda and DoDonPachi DaiOuJou on the PS2 are actually 99% arcade perfect and were done by Akira. Honestly I have yet to see a shmup look as beautiful as Espgaluda does running in 240p on a PS2 with a CRT.

 

[@MUWANdo]

These would probably make them the most money if they were to release honestly.

No way. You have to remember, they're not releasing these ports as a courtesy to people who already own and like them or in the hopes that people will double-dip, they're releasing them in the hopes that they'll find a new broader audience on a new platform, so the fact that games xyz have or haven't been released before doesn't matter as much as you might think.

Game #3 has to be a DDP game, either DFK or SDOJ.

 

[InfiniteNine]

No way. You have to remember, they're not releasing these ports as a courtesy to people who already own and like them or in the hopes that people will double-dip, they're releasing them in the hopes that they'll find a new broader audience on a new platform, so the fact that games xyz have or haven't been released before doesn't matter as much as you might think.

Game #3 has to be a DDP game, either DFK or SDOJ.

I wish I could pick between though since I want to get DFK but I love playing SDOJ on my 360.

 

[SmiteOfHand]

Game #3 has to be a DDP game, either DFK or SDOJ.

I'd like to see a DDP next as well, but I could see them saving the series for when, as you described, more of an audience has formed. All of these are just as possible..

Guwange
Muchi Muchi Pork
Pink Sweets
Ketsui*
Espgaluda II
Akai Katana

(*Not sure who owns the actual 360 port code? 5pb or cave?)

They could also return to Futari for game #3 since by then it will probably be a fall 2016 release if the schedule from the first two games is any indicator.

 

[Momentary]

If their games do well in the coming months, I think we'll eventually end up with a huge CAVE library. I'm definitely going to do my part.

 

[Dash Kappei]

Today I've learned 2 very painful truths:

MMP/PS doesn't seem to have a Tate option (or at least I can't find it, I'd love to be wrong). Fuck. I enjoy both games of this release but Tate missing kills if for me. Dang it!

Opened a new copy of Espgaluda 2 Platinum after having it sitting on my collection shelf for 3 years (lol) only to discover that the disc 9 out 10 doesn't get recognized by the console and when it does it stops working shortly after beginning to load... No dice trying to install it too. This sucks I don't feel like buying this game again when I literally just taken it off the shrink wrap -_- Don't get it, disc is pristine, there's not even a light scratch or anything like that!

So yeah, terrible shmup day! And Crimson Clover keeps stuttering on my pc no matter what! At this point give me a freakin' console port cause I'm done troubleshooting. Other Degica ports work fine btw, even Mushi after the update.

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

Ibara and Mushimesama are not great ports and were done internally. But Espgaluda and DoDonPachi DaiOuJou on the PS2 are actually 99% arcade perfect and were done by Akira. Honestly I have yet to see a shmup look as beautiful as Espgaluda does running in 240p on a PS2 with a CRT.

You're right, it had been a long time since I've bothered with the port but after trying it again , the port is very good. I might have been thinking of the mushi port as it was interlaced with some kind of filter.

No way. You have to remember, they're not releasing these ports as a courtesy to people who already own and like them or in the hopes that people will double-dip, they're releasing them in the hopes that they'll find a new broader audience on a new platform, so the fact that games xyz have or haven't been released before doesn't matter as much as you might think.

Game #3 has to be a DDP game, either DFK or SDOJ.

Oh I know they aren't, but of the 17k or so buyers of the Mushi steam release you have to wonder how many are double dip purchases, I know mine was (but yeah that doesn't really correlate to anything) but the game has been out since what early November?
It's a niche market, so why not take care of your core audience first and let the games stand on their own to attract newcomers is my take on it I guess.

I too would love to see DDP, preferably the OG even though they have decent ports on PS1 and Saturn.

Oh and for the poster above me , yes MMP/PS supports Tate for sure, I have it and play it that way. I believe left or right chooses the game, and up or down gets you to the screen options.

 

[Jaeger]

It's cool to see more releases and all but as others have said, games that weren't released on the 360 would be ideal as people are only going to double dip for so long.

Galuda, Ibara, (while they did have PS2 ports they are pretty rough) ESP Ra. De., Feveron, Progear

These would probably make them the most money if they were to release honestly.

I agree. I would kill for ports of all of the above. Add Battle Bakraid too.

 

[StarCreator]

MMP/PS doesn't seem to have a Tate option (or at least I can't find it, I'd love to be wrong). Fuck. I enjoy both games of this release but Tate missing kills if for me. Dang it!

Make sure you've gone online to install the title update. Tate was added post-release IIRC.

 

[japtor]

I wish I could pick between though since I want to get DFK but I love playing SDOJ on my 360.

Out of those two I'd prefer SDOJ, but the big caveat is that with DFK is the possibility of Ketsuipachi mode with it...in which case I think I'd prefer DFK.

(*Not sure who owns the actual 360 port code? 5pb or cave?)

Thought it was a bit messier than that, I vaguely recall Mihara from Arika got involved too. Searched around and found this, apparently 5pb's subcontractor stole code from Arika's PS2 ports and Mihara stepped in to fix shit:
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ketsui/ketsui.htm

Make sure you've gone online to install the title update. Tate was added post-release IIRC.

That's gotta be it, I remember playing it on my cab in tate so I was confused by Dash's post.

 

[shaowebb]

Thought it was a bit messier than that, I vaguely recall Mihara from Arika got involved too. Searched around and found this, apparently 5pb's subcontractor stole code from Arika's PS2 ports and Mihara stepped in to fix shit:
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ketsui/ketsui.htm

5pb? Wait the people who did Phantom Breaker Extra (or did they just publish it)?

 

[@MUWANdo]

5pb? Wait the people who did Phantom Breaker Extra (or did they just publish it)?

5pb. both developed and published DOJ; not only is it a crappy port but, as was mentioned, it uses illegally-obtained code from Arika's PS2 port.

The Ketsui ports was also published by 5pb. but they were outsourced to a company called Tachyon, the same people that made Bullet Soul, another 5pb-published shmup. They're much better and pretty much identical across X360 and PS3, AFAIK.

5pb. still owns the home publishing rights to both ports, so it's up to 5pb. to re-release them on PC or anywhere else for the forseeable future. CAVE's PR person did say they could feasibly produce new ports of those games based on the original PCB but it's not likely in the near term.

 

[Jotamide]

5pb. both developed and published DOJ; not only is it a crappy port but, as was mentioned, it uses illegally-obtained code from Arika's PS2 port.

Actually, post-patch DOJBLEX plays just fine IMO.

 

[Momentary]

Sora can be PRE-ORDERED right now for 20% off on Fruitbat's website. http://sites.fastspring.com/fruitbatfactory/product/buy

 

[StarCreator]

5pb. still owns the home publishing rights to both ports, so it's up to 5pb. to re-release them on PC or anywhere else for the forseeable future. CAVE's PR person did say they could feasibly produce new ports of those games based on the original PCB but it's not likely in the near term.

I was under the impression their DOJBLEX license got canceled in the aftermath of the code-stealing incident. All unsold stock had to be pulled from stores immediately when it happened and it has never been made available for purchase since.

It's possible the Ketsui license has expired; why would they bother releasing it on PS3 years after the 360 release except as a last minute cashgrab? Unless the release also extended their license.

 

[Momentary]

The port for ESCHATOS is just downright fierce. Such an amazing job. Hopefully more STGs follow suit.

I was only able to test this up to 9:16 1440x2560. From what I hear it goes up to 4K as well. I think Mushihimesama added this to its options.

 

[SmiteOfHand]

Apropos of nothing I've been bouncing around old GCCX episodes and just watched the Star Force episode starting Arino's long, dark journey with shmups. Good times. Totally forgot about Toujima with how many ADs they've been through, wonder what that guy has been up to.

 

[Momentary]

Also, I finally figured out how to set FINAL BOSS to TATE. I feel bad because I sent the creators an Email about it, but all you have to do is set your display resolution to 90 degrees to change it to 9:16 or whatever have you, then the game just scales to it. This is AWESOME!!!

It scales up to 1440x2560 very nicely. It looks awesome.

 

[Teknoman]

The further I get in Eschatos, the more awesome this game gets. Just everything...the sound design, dynamic camera angles, UFO shapes that are "common place" in the usual reports these days / classic sci-fi. The constant progression of stages help too, with only a slight loading pause at times.

 

[Momentary]

The further I get in Eschatos, the more awesome this game gets. Just everything...the sound design, dynamic camera angles, UFO shapes that are "common place" in the usual reports these days / classic sci-fi. The constant progression of stages help too, with only a slight loading pause at times.

I use the pause time to take a swig of beer. But like you said, the way things are handled in the game is awesome. I'm about to jump back on that game soon. It's another game that got overshadowed by other releases. I also want to get into the 2 accompanying games released with it.

 

[nailbombxx]

I've went back to playing Crimzon Clover, admittedly the old version. I now realize that the true game (at least in Original mode) is all about using break mode strategically. How satisfying that is, breaking at just the right moment and obliterating swarms of tough enemies. I usually can't get past the boss of the 3rd stage though.

Thoughts on Crimzon Clover? It is of incredible quality for a doujin game. One of the most visually stunning STGs I've ever played, and it plays like a dream just as well. Stacks up with even the best of Cave's games. Hell, I believe its even better than some of Cave's games.

 

[shaowebb]

I've went back to playing Crimzon Clover, admittedly the old version. I now realize that the true game (at least in Original mode) is all about using break mode strategically. How satisfying that is, breaking at just the right moment and obliterating swarms of tough enemies. I usually can't get past the boss of the 3rd stage though.

Thoughts on Crimzon Clover? It is of incredible quality for a doujin game. One of the most visually stunning STGs I've ever played, and it plays like a dream just as well. Stacks up with even the best of Cave's games. Hell, I believe its even better than some of Cave's games.

Guy that helped Cave to balance their games made it and yes it definitely is one of the best around. Breaking and more importantly hitting DOUBLE BREAK MODE are amazing thrills. Plus it dangled the carrot so perfectly. Want to practice a certain stage? Earn enough points to unlock the option and buy it in the shop. Want continues? Go buy em with your earned points. Want a new ship type? Go earn it. It teaches you to grind and earn. Soooooo good.

 

[ultraspank]

Has anyone here played Strania? Is it good?

 

[Dash Kappei]

Make sure you've gone online to install the title update. Tate was added post-release IIRC.

For some unknown reason even tho I was playing while signed into Live/online the game wasn't updated 0_0

Thanks! So weird tho, never had anything similiar happen to me...

 

[Momentary]

Has anyone here played Strania? Is it good?

Strania is damn good. They also update to version 1.02 which fixed the VSync issue they had.

The only thing wrong with the game is that it's set to 720p even when setting it at 1080p. They are still updating the game from what I'm reading on social media.

 

[Remembrance]

Two more characters being added for Varstray. Hopefully part of the planned features update? https://twitter.com/varstray/status/681764639814762496/photo/1

Character page already updated. http://varstray.com/character.html

 

[Momentary]

Two more characters being added for Varstray. Hopefully part of the planned features update? https://twitter.com/varstray/status/681764639814762496/photo/1

Character page already updated. http://varstray.com/character.html

They were already in the game. You just had to play the story mode to unlock them. You also beat the game with both of them to unlock the true endings to the other 4 characters.

 

[Momentary]

Just wanted to remind everyone that it's RayStorm's 20th Anniversary and Darius' 30th Anniversary this year.

Was reminded of this when I saw Tarrow100's artwork on Twittwer.

"The "Ray" series is actually on its 22nd anniversary I believe. Maybe we'll see the Ray series come back to PC again.

 

[Momentary]

*I don't know what happened*

 

[ultraspank]

Strania is damn good. They also update to version 1.02 which fixed the VSync issue they had.

The only thing wrong with the game is that it's set to 720p even when setting it at 1080p. They are still updating the game from what I'm reading on social media.

ok, thanks. Looks pretty cool from what i saw.
One thing that bother me these days is the lack of demo on Steam.
Especially for shmup, i think it would be easy fro devs to make them available.

 

[ultraspank]

Just wanted to remind everyone that it's RayStorm's 20th Anniversary and Darius' 30th Anniversary this year.

Was reminded of this when I saw Tarrow100's artwork on Twittwer.



"The "Ray" series is actually on its 22nd anniversary I believe. Maybe we'll see the Ray series come back to PC again.

I hope so, i'll pay full price for Raystorm/Raycrysis on Steam.

 

[PantsuJo]

Has anyone here played Strania? Is it good?

Strania is awesome.

 

[nailbombxx]

Here's my 360 shmup collection

• Raiden IV
• Raiden Fighters Aces
• Dodonpachi Resurrection
• Mushihimesama Futari ver 1.5
• Deathsmiles
• Akai Katana Shin
• Otomedius Excellent

They play really well with my Hori RAP VX-SA stick and my Asus VH238H monitor in ghetto TATE mode.

What else do I need to grab? What downloadables should I look into? Any other imports worth getting that play on a US 360? Not going down the rabbit hole of getting a Japanese 360. I would totally go out of my way to import Ketsui for the PS3 if I still had mine and my PS3 stick still worked lol.

 

[Remembrance]

If you don't have it yet, the Futari Black Label DLC for 360 was released in regions outside of Japan for people who imported the disc.

 

[shaowebb]

Here's my 360 shmup collection

• Raiden IV
• Raiden Fighters Aces
• Dodonpachi Resurrection
• Mushihimesama Futari ver 1.5
• Deathsmiles
• Akai Katana Shin
• Otomedius Excellent

They play really well with my Hori RAP VX-SA stick and my Asus VH238H monitor in ghetto TATE mode.

What else do I need to grab? What downloadables should I look into? Any other imports worth getting that play on a US 360? Not going down the rabbit hole of getting a Japanese 360. I would totally go out of my way to import Ketsui for the PS3 if I still had mine and my PS3 stick still worked lol.

• Espgaluda 2
• Muchi Pork/Pink Sweets
• Deathsmiles 2x
• Dodonpachi SaiDaiOuJou
• Bullet Soul
• Caladrius Blaze
• Eschatos & Ginga Force Wonder Pack
• Shooting Love Collection 200x

I think that would essentially cover the bulk of the whole Gen for you. Deathsmiles 2x is available digital only though on non Japanese consoles. The rest should be grabbable but some are VERY hard to get. Muchi Pork/Pink Sweets was mid $30's when I got it then 5 months later it was over $100+.

There are also a lot of XBLA ports worth mentioning you should check out.

• Trouble Witches Neo (please dont use english voice pack)
• Raystorm HD
• Triggerheart Exelica
• RADIANT SILVERGUN (get it. Its several hundred for physical discs)
• Bangai O Missile Fury (has a stage builder O_O)
• Hard Corps Uprising
• Ikaruga

There are a ton more but those are my top picks there. Really recommend Hard Corp Uprising, and Bangai O Missile Fury. TONS of fun there. Trouble Witches also has a crazy amount of unlockable stuff and replay value.

 

[nailbombxx]

stuff

Thanks a lot! I will probably get Espgaluda and SaiDaiOuJou next and maybe the Treasure shmups on XBL.

 

[shaowebb]

Thanks a lot! I will probably get Espgaluda and SaiDaiOuJou next and maybe the Treasure shmups on XBL.

Glad to help! The Xbox 360 has one of the greatest Shmup libraries in gaming so its always fun to list them all for folks. There are a ton of varying quality titles in the XNA indie stuff too. Chronoblast, Redshift and a few others are alright. Nothing on the level of the ports and releases I mentioned earlier though.

 

[PantsuJo]

Glad to help! The Xbox 360 has one of the greatest Shmup libraries in gaming so its always fun to list them all for folks. There are a ton of varying quality titles in the XNA indie stuff too. Chronoblast, Redshift and a few others are alright. Nothing on the level of the ports and releases I mentioned earlier though.

Omega Five?

 

[Remembrance]

Trouble Witches also has a crazy amount of unlockable stuff and replay value.

Unfortunately, this was delisted. Everything else should be up, though.

Also, don't forget Under Defeat and Strania. Caladrius Blaze is not on 360 at all, but the original Caladrius and DLC are downloadable in the US.

 

[nailbombxx]

Unfortunately, this was delisted. Everything else should be up, though.

Also, don't forget Under Defeat and Strania. Caladrius Blaze is not on 360 at all, but the original Caladrius and DLC are downloadable in the US.

I'm loving all of these recommendations. I didn't know you could download the original Caladrius in the US! Awesome! My 360 is going to be my household STG machine.

 

[shaowebb]

Unfortunately, this was delisted. Everything else should be up, though.

Also, don't forget Under Defeat and Strania. Caladrius Blaze is not on 360 at all, but the original Caladrius and DLC are downloadable in the US.

WHAT!?
Holy crap why? I still got it on my Xbox360 and its awesome with its time slow fields. You can run a stage repeatedly and still never be certain if you optimized your scoring on that game because of the timing on bullet harvesting and powerups.

Did they ever release that edition elsewhere?

 

[ultraspank]

If you could give me your opinions on the following games, i'll be grateful :

-SYder Arcade
-Raiden 4 overkill
-Kromaia

 

[Aizo]

I recently went to the Hey Gamecenter in Tokyo, and I was blown away. I'm sure some of you are familiar with it. It probably has about 40-50 cabs with shmups on them. Pretty much everything you could imagine is playable. They even had an old Darius one with multiple huge screens, as well as a new Darius with the two screen setup. Pretty enchanting place... besides the cigarette smoke.

 

[shaowebb]

If you could give me your opinions on the following games, i'll be grateful :

-SYder Arcade
-Raiden 4 overkill
-Kromaia

Got Syder Arcade. Its good, but I never really felt the pull of things like R Type and all those as hard as I did from danmaku titles so it didn't keep my attention even though it was highly polished. I'd say if you like the older shmups this would be a fantastic evolution in both style and shot patterns you would enjoy.

Kromaia I straight up passed on due to the color palette coming off as an obstruction to the action instead of a compliment. Too easy for me to lose myself in it. If you liked Forsaken though you'd probably enjoy this a lot. Just don't play it if you're prone to seizures or headaches from flashy screens because it looks like it could cause eye strain heavily with the way its palette is setup.

Raiden 4 Overkill is fantastic. Ships all feel super fast and powerful, shot types all feel great, dodging is super tight, soundtrack, modes...its just superb. By far the best of the bunch. If you have to choose one choose this one unless you have some severe nostalgia for Forsaken or older style shmups eating at you.

Again though...I'm more a Danmaku guy. I adore Cave titles, Treasure, and I tend to enjoy things like Neogeo shmups such as Ironclad/Blazing Star if I go more classic. Take that for what it is because I know it means my opinions are weighted towards those tastes.

Would any Gradius, R Type, Darius style old school fans like to weigh in on these? I'd like them to get a second opinion from folks geared to the other side of the shmup spectrum too and not just hear me lust after the bullethell title the most like always.

 

[Alvarez]

Is Gradius VI out yet?

 

[ultraspank]

Got Syder Arcade. Its good, but I never really felt the pull of things like R Type and all those as hard as I did from danmaku titles so it didn't keep my attention even though it was highly polished. I'd say if you like the older shmups this would be a fantastic evolution in both style and shot patterns you would enjoy.

Kromaia I straight up passed on due to the color palette coming off as an obstruction to the action instead of a compliment. Too easy for me to lose myself in it. If you liked Forsaken though you'd probably enjoy this a lot. Just don't play it if you're prone to seizures or headaches from flashy screens because it looks like it could cause eye strain heavily with the way its palette is setup.

Raiden 4 Overkill is fantastic. Ships all feel super fast and powerful, shot types all feel great, dodging is super tight, soundtrack, modes...its just superb. By far the best of the bunch. If you have to choose one choose this one unless you have some severe nostalgia for Forsaken or older style shmups eating at you.

Again though...I'm more a Danmaku guy. I adore Cave titles, Treasure, and I tend to enjoy things like Neogeo shmups such as Ironclad/Blazing Star if I go more classic. Take that for what it is because I know it means my opinions are weighted towards those tastes.

Would any Gradius, R Type, Darius style old school fans like to weigh in on these? I'd like them to get a second opinion from folks geared to the other side of the shmup spectrum too and not just hear me lust after the bullethell title the most like always.

Thank you.
Well, i'm the exact opposite, i don't like danmaku
My favorites are R type, Gradius, Raystorm, Pulstar... Recently i loved Astebreed , Revolver 360 reactor (are they considered bullet hell?).
But any opinion is welcome.

 

[gunstarhero]

If you could give me your opinions on the following games, i'll be grateful :

-SYder Arcade
-Raiden 4 overkill
-Kromaia

Just wanted to jump in on Kromaia.

I recently got it for PS4 and am absolutely loving it. It's reminds me of Rez mixed with Galaxy Force, except in a full 3D world.

Visually it's amazing - but can be very abstract. I think that's where the Rez influence comes in for me, and I really dig it.

Controls are surprisingly intuitive - at first glance they seem complex, but it all clicked for me in minutes.

If you like something a bit different, give it a go. Well worth the price, and there's nothing on PS4 like it.

 

[Momentary]

Just a reminder that the SUPER GALAXY SQUADRON EX is releasing this month:

EX will release on January 25, 2016 (near the anniversary of the original game)
It’ll take the place of SGS on the Steam store (and in libraries), and will be priced at $9.99

The game has a Beta currently available from a while back. You gotta use the word "tunnelsnakesrule" to opt into it from the STEAM client. You'll get it for free if you already own the original game. It has had a drastic make over. The UI has changed, stages have changed, the ship sprites have changed. Here's an example. I think the BETA lets you try the first 2 stages.

The new game is releasing in January.

 

[PantsuJo]

If you could give me your opinions on the following games, i'll be grateful :

-SYder Arcade
-Raiden 4 overkill
-Kromaia

Imo:
Syder Arcade is really good. And it has an incredible soundtrack. But it's not a masterpiece in terms of gameplay.

Raiden IV Overkill is fucking awesome, I played it on Pc and, WOW, a true Raiden game, colorful and furious!

Never played Kromaia, sorry.