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Shoot the Core! - Gaf Shoot ‘em Up (aka Shooter/SHMUP) Reference Thread

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
Just bought Blazing Lasers, Axelay, Gley Lancer, Lords of Thunder (and Castlevania Rondo of Blood) off Wii VC for $40.

Fuckin' 1993 in here
 
Regarding Thunder Force V, which version does shooter GAF recommends? Generally, the PlayStation version seems to come out on top, but I'm wondering if it's not due in part to the fact that it was the version most here played. (I know it's 3D and all and the Saturn doesn't usually handle it as well as the PS, but there are exceptions.)

TFV looks better on Saturn than PSX.
 

Dave Long

Banned
Just bought Blazing Lasers, Axelay, Gley Lancer, Lords of Thunder (and Castlevania Rondo of Blood) off Wii VC for $40.

Fuckin' 1993 in here

Ha! Nice. I played Fire Shark (Gen) like a boss the other night. Over a million points and level seven (on normal) before I lost my first life. I wasn't sure what to do with myself after that. LOL!

It sure did feel like the 90's for me too. :)
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
You're like having the best day ever.

This seems oddly sarcastic but I promise I'm not trying to gloat!

Spent the most time with Gley Lancer, I like it lots. I made it up to stage 4 or 5 on one credit, but I don't think the game is too easy. Lords of Thunder didn't immediately grab me after 1 credit but I need more time with it. Haven't touched Axelay or Blazing Lazers.

Not a shmup but holy fucking shit Castlevania Rondo of Blood is incredible.
 

gunstarhero

Member
This seems oddly sarcastic but I promise I'm not trying to gloat!

Spent the most time with Gley Lancer, I like it lots. I made it up to stage 4 or 5 on one credit, but I don't think the game is too easy. Lords of Thunder didn't immediately grab me after 1 credit but I need more time with it. Haven't touched Axelay or Blazing Lazers.

Not a shmup but holy fucking shit Castlevania Rondo of Blood is incredible.

Ha - no, not at all. That pick-up list is seriously awesome - it would be a best-day-ever for me, that's for sure.

I'm curious about Gley Lancer - will need to check it out. IIRC, it never came to the U.S., right?

Have you played Gates of Thunder? I like it a lot more than Lords - but it's still great.

And yes, Rondo is amazing - one of my favorite games on the Wii VC.
 

BOTEC

Member
That sucks. Maybe it will sell 500,000 copies and they'll do a cheaper "Best" release down the line.

lol

I'm leaning more towards that no one will buy it and retailers will slash prices to clear out the old stock. Ketsui for Xbox is quite affordable.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
I'm leaning more towards that no one will buy it and retailers will slash prices to clear out the old stock. Ketsui for Xbox is quite affordable.

It is riduculously high-priced. No word if there is even anything additional for it.

I'm going to have to go to my basement storage and dig out a PS3 Seimitsu stick for the release.
 

Tain

Member
Honestly, there is pretty much no chance. These are older doujin games that are just getting localized. I'd suggest getting a PC setup if you're into this genre (or Japanese action games in general), though.

I loved the Japanese Kamui demo back in the day, looking forward to getting all of this at a good price.
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
Have you played Gates of Thunder? I like it a lot more than Lords - but it's still great.

Nope I haven't - I was debating which to get and decided on LoT due to it being thematically different from the rest of my shopping cart. I'll have to add it to the next WiiVC spree!
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Nope I haven't - I was debating which to get and decided on LoT due to it being thematically different from the rest of my shopping cart. I'll have to add it to the next WiiVC spree!

Do!

Though I'm hard-pressed to pick the better of the two. They are both so good. That music.
 

gunstarhero

Member
Nope I haven't - I was debating which to get and decided on LoT due to it being thematically different from the rest of my shopping cart. I'll have to add it to the next WiiVC spree!

Yeah, Lord is definitely cooler in terms of it's theme. Gates is more traditional "badass, unstoppable space ship vs. everyone" vibe.

Going to play both tonight - you reminded me how awesome those games are.


Do!

Though I'm hard-pressed to pick the better of the two. They are both so good. That music.

The music is amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fxmX_6xGGE

And that art and graphics:

COVER-Gate_of_Thunder.jpg


tumblr_m5sigcpDvR1rqgdryo1_500.jpg


lords20of20thunder2013.jpg


normal6.gif
 

Tain

Member
I've been digging Eschatos lately. I haven't even bothered to look into any non-obvious mechanics yet. Still early. After a handful of credits I'm surprised at how much I'm coming to like the aesthetics. It's a pretty sterile-looking game in terms of enemy design, but I think I'm a sucker for bright and clean ships flying over bright and clean polygonal cities. I actually like the camera changes and the music is pretty catchy. The pacing isn't too slow, either.
 

Adam Blue

Member
Just bought Thunder Force VI even though I know its region is JPN. Best way to get around to playing it? I have a fat PS2 and plan to get more JPN games in the future.
 

BOTEC

Member
Woot, Caladrius!

j7PIuTK.jpg


Man, I think the disc art on these 360 games is getting cheaper and cheaper with each month. Soon they'll just be DVD-R's with misspelled names written in marker.
 

Tain

Member
Just bought Thunder Force VI even though I know its region is JPN. Best way to get around to playing it? I have a fat PS2 and plan to get more JPN games in the future.

It's been a while, but you might want something like Free McBoot with HDLoader. There are multiple software-based exploits that will allow you to get around region-locking and do convenient stuff like store games on a hard drive. I don't know what the best one these days is.
 
Owners of R-Type Delta on the PlayStation: is there a registration card in the middle of your manual?

Purchased Soldier Blade, Final Soldier, Super Star Soldier and Blazing Lazers on the Virtual Console today. Man, do these games have jammin' first level tunes or what? (Especially the Hudson games.) :)
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
Owners of R-Type Delta on the PlayStation: is there a registration card in the middle of your manual?

Purchased Soldier Blade, Final Soldier, Super Star Soldier and Blazing Lazers on the Virtual Console today. Man, do these games have jammin' first level tunes or what? (Especially the Hudson games.) :)
Soldier Blade is sooooo goooooood
 
Wasshoi archive vids are up for those folks interested:

http://www.dailymotion.com/user/3hitcombo/1

The Futari God mode run is my personal favorite ;)

Sorry if this has been covered (I'm a bit behind), but has there been any mention of a home version of the Nesica Crimzon Clover?

No and there probably won't be for awhile I imagine. This game is already tearing up the remaining shooter arcades, it is very popular. Apparently it's going toe-to-toe with Saidaioujou in terms of people waiting to play it at HEY in Akihabara. Given that, Yotsubane and Bouken Kikaku would be best off financially keeping it an arcade exclusive as long as possible.

I don't think this game has been praised enough, so let me explain what's so amazing about it.

Reasons why Crimzon Clover arcade is already my GOTY and will probably have an effect on how the genre evolves

1. 4 different modes that play very differently

The simplest way to explain it is that it's basically Mushi Futari all over again, with an Original (Boost), a Maniac (Original) and an Ultra (Unlimited). Plus you get Time Attack mode, which I believe has all original stages.

2. Boost Mode
is all about speed, and it is one of the most intense arcade games I have ever played (and I've played tons of them), with possibly more manic rapid chaos than Dangun Feveron and Futari Black Label Original. The rules are simple. Kill enemies, collect stars. The stars drive up your multiplier. When you reach a certain threshold, BREAK MODE. Kill enemies with shot to drive up your star-based multiplier, and then occasional kill groups of them with lock-shot to drive up your secondary multiplier (in green). You can grind on enemies not yet on screen to leech stars off of them (sort of like Futari Original).

Here's the thing. As your multiplier gets higher and higher, so does the bullet speed. The longer you stay in Break Mode (which is basically a Hyper mode), the speed will relentlessly climb. AND certain enemies will drop suicide bullets once the rank gets high enough.

So why stay in Break Mode? It gives you a massive multiplier AND helps you kill enemies much quicker than normal. Also, as you stay in Break Mode, you earn big bonus points about every 30 seconds. This bonus also steadily climbs the more times you earn it, and is key to scoring well.

The only thing that can save you is your one (rechargable) bomb, which you can use at moments of crisis to bring down the rank. There is no "capacity" to your bomb, instead you can use it when your Break meter gets high enough. However the more bombs you use, the higher the threshold gets to use them, meaning that if you bomb say 3 times in a level, it will take you about a minute to earn back another one, which may be fatal in such a hostile environment.

In this way, the mode is eloquently balanced. There is the constant feeling of fighting to the top of a room filling with water. But oh, all that gold you're collecting. :)

I haven't even played the other three modes, I've been absolutely obsessed with this one. A Japanese scorer friend of mine said the following about Boost Mode: "I can feel my brain fluid coming out when I play it."

3. Online scoreboards

Yeah we've had that for 360 for years now, but NESiCA has it now, and Yotsubane has done a really impressive implementation of it. First, your personal best is constantly saved at the top right of the screen. Specifically, it's saved to your NESiCA card, so it's always with you.

Next, a breakdown of all the top scores on a national and local (your arcade) basis are accessible from the Title Screen, which lets you browse through and see who's on top for each mode and ship type extremely easy. No page navigation, it's all in one scrolling table.

4. In-game achievements

Yes, Crimzon Clover arcade has achievements (saved to your NESiCA card). Something like 25 of them, and they level up. So when you beat the first stage, you get a bronze medal, but when you beat the third, you get a silver one etc.

What's so good about achievements? Well first they give a little bit of motivation. Second, when you see a person at the arcade with a ton of achievements stacked up, you know they kick ass at the game. At HEY, everyone migrates over whenever someone with a lot of medals sits down at the machine to check out their strategies.

========================================
So yeah, not only do I think Crimzon Clover for arcade is the best game of the year already, I think it's also going to change the way shooting games are released. If a small doujin outfit like this can make such an impressive game, one that will define the genre at least on the NESiCA platform, other devs like CAVE and Grev will have to follow suit if and when they do more arcade releases.

Edit: bonus shot of my friend NTSC-J playing CC on a white vertical NESiCA cab (apparently less than 10 nation-wide):

ix0qe4Ml.jpg
 

Beckx

Member
I think I've asked this before, but can't find the answer - where is the best place to buy JP PSN credit? Play-Asia has a pretty big markup and I recall seeing a site that took paypal for digital codes and didn't have a huge markup. Just can't find it. :(
 

Yes Boss!

Member
I think I've asked this before, but can't find the answer - where is the best place to buy JP PSN credit? Play-Asia has a pretty big markup and I recall seeing a site that took paypal for digital codes and didn't have a huge markup. Just can't find it. :(

Go to Solaris Japan....best exchange rate currently. Does take up to 36 hours to deliver via email though. I just got a 1400 MS card there for cheap and quick.

Search for "points" but I see the 3000 one on the front page for $35 (1000 yen card is currently $13.13, 5000 at $57.07):

http://www.solarisjapan.com/

Also, this morning I made a new mini PS3/PSN CRT Tate setup in the corner. Mainly to play some Donpachi and Dodonpachi in anticipation of the big release later this month. Got a bit of overscan on the left side but I'm having fun. Love!

 

RS4-

Member
Wow, just watched a few vids of CC, I want that. Watched a bit of that Futari God Mode thing too, fuck.

Had my friend give Caladrius a go since he loves these types of games, he handled quite a few achievements for me lol. The 10m score and uhh, beating the game on very hard on or something.
 
If you guys want to get a look at Crimzon Clover's Boost Mode, the only available video right now is this recording of some superplayers taking on the game day 1:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/31936601/theater

The Boost Mode run itself starts at 36 minutes in, but skip to the 45 minute mark to get an idea of how fast the bullets get in this game. lol

Also you can see the player's achievements in the bottom left corner of the screen.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Watched that video.

Game looks so mind-fuckingly beautiful. All those colors! Must be sublime playing that on a cab with the audio cranked up in a Japanese arcade.
 

BOTEC

Member
Here's a fun question: how do you guys configure your joysticks for Caladrius? The default layout works well enough with slight modification. The top row are the elemental weapons (slightly out of order), and the bottom row are shoot, burst, and bomb.

I'm wondering how the arcade panel will be laid out. Since a dedicated burst button seems redundant, it will have to be at least five buttons. I'd guess they'll keep the three elemental weapons on the top row, and the bottom row will be only shoot and bomb. That seems manageable.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
I do top three buttons elementals (reversed only in the sense the meter on the bottom is out of order). Putting my shield elemntal first, homing elemental second, weak spread elemental third.

I use the nun chick.

Then I put shot on the first button on the lower layer for a four-button layout beginning with my index finger on shot. I dip a finger next to my pinky down to bomb on the lower layer but really don't use it them since I've trained myself to not bomb in shooters. It is there though, if I want it. I don't ever use the dedicated burst button.

Seems to be working for me. Sometimes I accidentally hit two elementals still draining all my power.

I'm guessing a good in-line five-button layout might be good, swinging your pinky over for bomb...I might start doing that.

I really, really like the game.
 

BOTEC

Member
I do top three buttons elementals (reversed only in the sense the meter on the bottom is out of order). Putting my shield elemntal first, homing elemental second, weak spread elemental third.

I use the nun chick.

Then I put shot on the first button on the lower layer for a four-button layout beginning with my index finger on shot. I dip a finger next to my pinky down to bomb on the lower layer but really don't use it them since I've trained myself to not bomb in shooters. It is there though, if I want it. I don't ever use the dedicated burst button.

Seems to be working for me. Sometimes I accidentally hit two elementals still draining all my power.

I'm guessing a good in-line five-button layout might be good, swinging your pinky over for bomb...I might start doing that.

I really, really like the game.

Five button in-line is an interesting idea. I guess I done goofed by removing the fourth button from each row on all my custom sticks. The catch is, I don't think there exists an arcade panel with that layout. I doubt MOSS will have dedicated cabs for this game, so it'll have to fit into whatever is out there.

About bombs, I think it's crucial in this game. There is too much hectic shit going on, and the ships are too damn slow to dodge some of it. So it's either burst or bomb.

I'm still "quarter feeding" to get through everyone's storylines and to get a general feel for the whole game, but when I tried for a 1 credit run, I definitely had the most luck with Maria, the nun. Dat spread shot.
 

BOTEC

Member
The upcoming DoDonPachi Saidaioujou - ug, what is with all that crap going on on the sides?!? Someone shut those girls up, I'm trying to kill over here!

Heh, when this game was first announced I made a crack about how this sounded like a girlfriend raising sim or some such. Looks like I was more right than I thought. Still, if this animu fanservice gets Cave an extra 1,000 sales, it's cool in my book. Besides, that's Xbox Mode, you can still play a chatter-free version in Arcade Mode.
 

shaowebb

Member
If you guys want to get a look at Crimzon Clover's Boost Mode, the only available video right now is this recording of some superplayers taking on the game day 1:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/31936601/theater

The Boost Mode run itself starts at 36 minutes in, but skip to the 45 minute mark to get an idea of how fast the bullets get in this game. lol

Also you can see the player's achievements in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Oh lord yes. Sooooooooo good.
 

BOTEC

Member
So I took a break from Caladrius to give Crimzon Clover demo a try. I think I see what adversesolutions was talking about. They have a lot of good ideas packed just into that small demo, so if given enough time and budget I can see how Yotsubane can crank out something that can be a milestone in the genre. I'll be keeping an eye on this one from now on.
 

japtor

Member
Heh, when this game was first announced I made a crack about how this sounded like a girlfriend raising sim or some such. Looks like I was more right than I thought. Still, if this animu fanservice gets Cave an extra 1,000 sales, it's cool in my book. Besides, that's Xbox Mode, you can still play a chatter-free version in Arcade Mode.
Anyone know if the PCB has a chatter free option? Not that it bugs me that much, it seems to be just a little window that pops up in the corner on there at least (rather than perpetual giant heads).

...not that I have the PCB, tempted to get it down the line though after not buying a game in years. Thinking about selling DOJ to fund it partially, apparently it's holding value well cause you can ROM swap it to the Black Label version nowadays. I like DOJ well enough but not all that much, hoping I'll like SDOJ more.
 

BOTEC

Member
What's the etymology of the word "tate"? I feel like I'm getting punk'd in the SNES thread.

I thought "tate" means "stand up" in Japanese. What's the discussion about?

@japtor: I have no experience with the arcade PCB, so I couldn't tell you, sorry.
 
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